Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Perceived Biological Bases of Sexual Orientation and Sexual Prejudice: The Moderating Role of Gender and Religious Beliefs

First online date2024-12-23
Abstract

Prior correlational studies have shown that belief in the biological theory of sexual orientation (BTSO) is associated with more positive attitudes toward homosexuality. However, individuals often interpret scientific evidence in ways that align with their pre-existing beliefs and motivations. This research experimentally investigated whether gender and religiosity moderate heterosexual individuals' responses to scientific evidence either supporting or refuting BTSO. In two studies, heterosexual men (Study 1, N = 118) and both men and women (Study 2, N = 280) reported their religiosity and were exposed to evidence suggesting either biological differences or similarities between heterosexual and gay individuals. Results showed that, in the biological differences condition, heterosexual women and less religious men were more likely to perceive homosexuality as a natural biological variation and expressed more positive attitudes toward it. In contrast, more religious men interpreted the same evidence as indicating a biological anomaly in gay individuals and displayed more negative attitudes toward homosexuality.

Keywords
  • Biological determinism
  • Intergroup differences
  • Religiosity
  • Sexual orientation
  • Sexual prejudice
Citation (ISO format)
FALOMIR PICHASTOR, Juan Manuel et al. Perceived Biological Bases of Sexual Orientation and Sexual Prejudice: The Moderating Role of Gender and Religious Beliefs. In: Archives of sexual behavior, 2024. doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-03070-6
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
Additional URL for this publicationhttps://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10508-024-03070-6
Journal ISSN0004-0002
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622downloads

Technical informations

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