Abstract
We examined implicit attitudes (Fazio & Olson, 2003) towards same-sex couples’ rights to adopt. Although there is no clear scientific evidence to suggest that gay couples are less capable of raising adopted children, those opposed to gay adoption argue, from intuition or ideology, that placing adopted children with same-sex parents is detrimental to the children’s well-being. If those opposed to gay adoption base their decision on the well-being of the child rather than the parents’ sexual orientation, it follows that they would also share concern for at-risk children adopted by heterosexual parents and that sexual orientation per se would not be a factor in the concern. However, we hypothesize that raising the issue indirectly (as described below) will reveal that opposition to gay adoption is driven by heterosexist bias. Participants completed a questionnaire concerning policies that might follow from specified hypothetical scientific discoveries, e.g., “If people who drink more than 2 liters of water per day are found to be less likely to require corrective eyewear or surgery to improve their vision…” After each hypothetical finding, participants endorse those policies they would support in response. Half the participants read the statement “If people who were raised in an adoptive family by straight parents are found to have an 18% higher rate of suicide than those who were raised in an adoptive family by gay parents...” For the others, “gay” and “straight” are switched. Consistent with our hypothesis, participants endorsed more restrictions in the gay parents’ condition.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Glenn Scheyd
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-13-2012 1:00 PM
End Date
4-13-2012 5:30 PM
Peeking Behind the Mask of Tolerance: Investigating Implicit Views Towards Gay Adoption
Alvin Sherman Library
We examined implicit attitudes (Fazio & Olson, 2003) towards same-sex couples’ rights to adopt. Although there is no clear scientific evidence to suggest that gay couples are less capable of raising adopted children, those opposed to gay adoption argue, from intuition or ideology, that placing adopted children with same-sex parents is detrimental to the children’s well-being. If those opposed to gay adoption base their decision on the well-being of the child rather than the parents’ sexual orientation, it follows that they would also share concern for at-risk children adopted by heterosexual parents and that sexual orientation per se would not be a factor in the concern. However, we hypothesize that raising the issue indirectly (as described below) will reveal that opposition to gay adoption is driven by heterosexist bias. Participants completed a questionnaire concerning policies that might follow from specified hypothetical scientific discoveries, e.g., “If people who drink more than 2 liters of water per day are found to be less likely to require corrective eyewear or surgery to improve their vision…” After each hypothetical finding, participants endorse those policies they would support in response. Half the participants read the statement “If people who were raised in an adoptive family by straight parents are found to have an 18% higher rate of suicide than those who were raised in an adoptive family by gay parents...” For the others, “gay” and “straight” are switched. Consistent with our hypothesis, participants endorsed more restrictions in the gay parents’ condition.
