Abstract
This article describes a 2 × 2 factorial design experiment with 334 undergraduates testing the influence of exposure to gay-related photographs on endorsement of tolerant gay attitudes and likelihood to interact with the photograph within a social media context. Individuals were more likely to interact with and be attitudinally influenced by pro-gay rather than anti-gay content. Prior media exposure to gay-related content was positively associated with likelihood to interact with the photographs. The experimental condition moderated this association. Our results provide support and extension for social cognitive theory, cultivation, and the heuristic processing model, as well as offer new information related to the study of social media, particularly those current conversational trends related to gay men and lesbians.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angelini, J. R., & Bradley, S. D. (2010). Homosexual imagery in print advertisements: Attended, remembered, but disliked. Journal of Homosexuality, 57, 485–502. doi:10.1080/00918361003608665.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action (pp. 5–107). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bardis, P. (1961). A religion scale. Social Science, 36, 120–123.
Belmi, R., Barragan, R. C., Neale, M. A., & Cohen, G. L. (2015). Threats to social identity can trigger social deviance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41, 467–484. doi:10.1177/0146167215569493.
Blakeslee, L. (2012). Jumping on the social media bandwagon. School Business Affairs, 78, 8–10.
Bloomberg. (2013). Race, abortion, and same-sex marriage. http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2013-09-27/bloomberg-national-social-issues.html
Bonds-Raacke, J. M., Cady, E. T., Schlegel, R., Harris, R. J., & Firebaugh, L. (2007). Remembering gay/lesbian media characters: Can Ellen and Will improve attitudes toward homosexuals? Journal of Homosexuality, 53, 19–34. doi:10.1300/J082v53n03_03.
Calzo, J. P., & Ward, M. L. (2009). Contributions of parents, peers, and media to attitudes toward homosexuality: Investigating sex and ethnic differences. Journal of Homosexuality, 56, 1101–1116. doi:10.1080/00918360903279338.
Choi, S. (2014). Flow, diversity, form, and influence of political talk in social-media-based public forums. Human Communication Research, 40, 1–29. doi:10.1111/hcre.12023.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143–1168. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x.
Ford, T. E. (1997). Effects of stereotypical television portrayals of African-Americans on person perception. Social Psychology Quarterly. 60, 266–278. http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/docview/212787700/fulltextPDF?accountid=10051
Garg, R., Smith, M., & Telang, R. (2011). Measuring information diffusion in an online community. Journal of Management Information Systems, 28, 11–38. doi:10.2753/MIS0742-1222280202.
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signorielli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 121–153). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gonzales, L., Vodicka, D., & White, J. (2011). Leadership 2.0: Social media in advocacy. Leadership, 41, 18–20.
Gonzenbach, W. J., King, C., & Jablonski, P. (1999). Homosexuals and the military: An analysis of the spiral of silence. Howard Journal of Communications, 10, 281–296. doi:10.1080/106461799246762.
Graham, S. M., Huang, J. Y., Clark, M. S., & Helgeson, V. S. (2008). The positives of negative emotions: Willingness to express negative emotions promotes relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 394–406. doi:10.1177/0146167207311281.
Harrison, K. (2001). Ourselves, our bodies: Thin-ideal media, self-discrepancies, and eating disorder symptomatology in adolescents. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 289–323. (Retrieved from Ebsco).
Harrison, K., & Hefner, V. (2006). Media exposure, current and future body ideals, and disordered eating among preadolescent girls: A longitudinal panel study. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(2), 146–156.
Hefner, V., & Kahn, J. (2014). An experiment investigating the links among online dating profile attractiveness, ideal endorsement, and romantic media. Computers in Human Behavior, 37, 9–17. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.04.022.
Hefner, V., & Wilson, B. J. (2013). From love at first sight to soul mate: The influence of romantic ideals in popular films on young people’s beliefs about relationships. Communication Monographs, 80(2), 150–175. doi:10.1080/03637751.2013.776697.
Hefner, V., Woodward, K., Bevan, J. L., Figge, L., Santora, N., & Baloc, S. (2014). The influence of television and film viewing on midlife women’s body image, disordered eating, and food choice. Media Psychology, 17, 185–207. doi:10.1080/15213269.2013.838903.
Herek, G. M. (2002). Gender gaps in public opinion about lesbians and gay men. Public Opinion Quarterly, 66, 40–66. doi:10.1086/338409.
Hirsch, P. M. (1981). On not learning from one's own mistakes. A reanalysis of Gerbner et al.'s Findings on cultivation analysis, Part II. Communication Research—An International Quarterly, 8(1), 3–37.
Human Rights Campaign. (2013). Growing up LGBT in America: View statistics. http://www.hrc.org/youth/view-statistics#.Uk3wbhzxaas
Instagram. (2013). Our story. Retrieved October 31, 2013. http://instagram.com/press/
Jackson, S., & Jacobs, S. (1983). Generalizing about messages: Suggestions for design and analysis of experiments. Human Communication Research, 9, 169–191. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.1983.tb00691.x.
Kingkade, T. (2013, March 21). Millennial support for gay marriage hits all-time high: Pew research center. Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/21/millennial-support-gay-marriage_n_2924993.html
Larsen, K. S., Reed, M., & Hoffman, S. (1980). Attitudes of heterosexuals toward homosexuality: A likert-type scale a construct validity. Journal of Sex Research, 16, 245–257. doi:10.1080/00224498009551081.
Lee, T. T., & Hicks, G. R. (2011). An analysis of factors affecting attitudes toward same-sex marriage: Do the media matter? Journal of Homosexuality, 58, 1391–1408. doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.614906.
Levina, M., Waldo, C. R., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2000). We’re here, we’re queer, we’re on TV: The effects of visual media on heterosexuals’ attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 738–758. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02821.x.
Livingstone, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: Teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New Media and Society, 10, 393–411. doi:10.1177/1461444808089415.
Mazur, M. A., & Emmers-Sommer, T. M. (2003). The effect of movie portrayals on audience attitudes about nontraditional families and sexual orientation. Journal of Homosexuality, 44, 157–181. doi:10.1300/J082v44n01_09.
Montopoli, B. (2013, June 26). DOMA downfall: A basis to legalize gay marriage in states? CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57591133/doma-downfall-a-basis-to-legalize-gay-marriage-in-states/
Newman, B. S. (2007). College students’ attitudes about lesbians: What difference does 16 years make? Journal of Homosexuality, 52(3–4), 249–265. doi:10.1300/J082v52n03_12.
Noelle-Neumann, E. (1974). The spiral of silence: A theory of public opinion. Journal of Communication, 24, 43–51. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1974.tb00367.x
Papacharissi, Z. (2012). A networked self: Identity performance and sociability on social network sites. In F. L. Lee, L. Leung, J. Qiu, & D. Chu (Eds.), Frontiers in new media research. London: Taylor & Francis.
Peeples, J. (2013, July 16). Gay New Mexico teen commits suicide after years of bullying. Advocate.com. http://www.advocate.com/youth/2013/07/16/gay-new-mexico-teen-commits-suicide-after-years-bullying
Pew Research. (2013). The global divide on homosexuality: Greater acceptance in more secular and affluent countries. http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality
Riddle, K. (2010). Always on my mind: Exploring how frequent, recent, and vivid television portrayals are used in the formation of social reality judgments. Media Psychology, 13, 155–179. doi:10.1080/15213261003800140.
Schulz, A., & Roessler, P. (2012). The spiral of silence and the internet: Selection of online content and the perception of the public opinion climate in computer-mediated environments. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 24, 346–367. doi:10.1093/ijpor/eds022.
Segrin, C., & Nabi, R. L. (2002). Does television viewing cultivate unrealistic expectations about marriage? Journal of Communication, 52, 247–263. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02543.x.
Shrum, L. J. (2001). Processing strategy moderates the cultivation effect. Human Communication Research, 27, 94–120. (Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database).
Shrum, L. J., Wyer, R. S, Jr, & O’Guinn, T. C. (1998). The effects of television consumption on social perceptions: The use of priming procedures to investigate psychological processes. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(2), 447–458. doi:10.1086/209520.
Smith, K. T. (1971). Homophobia: A tentative personality profile. Psychological Reports, 29, 1091–1094. http://www.amsciepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2466/pr0.1971.29.3f.1091
Soriano, C. R. R. (2014). Constructing collectivity in diversity: Online political mobilization of a national LGBT political party. Media, Culture and Society, 36, 20–36. doi:10.1177/0163443713507812.
Statistics Brain (2013a). Facebook statistics. http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/
Statistics Brain (2013b). Twitter statistics. http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/
Stefanone, M. A., Lackaff, D., & Rosen, D. (2010). The relationship between traditional mass media and “social media”: Reality television as a model for social network site behavior. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 54, 508–525. doi:10.1080/08838151.2010.498851.
Susarla, A., Oh, J., & Tan, Y. (2011). Social networks and the diffusion of user-generated content: Evidence from YouTube. Systems Research, 23, 1–19. doi:10.1287/isre.1100.0339.
Swigger, N. (2013). The online citizen: Is social media changing citizens’ beliefs about democratic values? Politcal Behavior, 35, 589–603. doi:10.1007/s11109-012-9208-y.
Tynes, B. M., & Markoe, S. L. (2010). The role of color-blind racial attitudes in reactions to racial discrimination on social network sites. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 3, 1–13. doi:10.1037/a0018683.
Walker, M. H., & Lynn, F. B. (2013). The embedded self: A social networks approach to identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 76, 151–179. doi:10.1177/0190272513482929.
Whitley, J. E. (2009). Religiosity and attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A meta-analysis. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 19, 21–38. doi:10.1080/10508610802471104.
Williams, P. & McClam, E. (2013). Supreme court strikes down defense of marriage act, paves way for gay marriage to resume in California. NBC Politics. http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/26/19151971-supreme-court-strikes-down-defense-of-marriage-act-paves-way-for-gay-marriage-to-resume-in-california?lite
Wilson, A. R. (2013). Why Europe is lesbian and gay friendly (And why America never will be). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Wilson, B., Martins, N., & Marske, A. (2005). Children’s and parents’ fright reactions to kidnapping stories in the news. Communication Monographs, 72, 46–70. doi:10.1080/0363775052000342526.
Zhang, W., Johnson, T., Seltzer, T., & Bichard, S. (2009). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking site on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review, 28, 75–92. doi:10.1177/08944393093351.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hefner, V., Galaviz, T., Morse, V. et al. Refusing to Tolerate Intolerance: An Experiment Testing the Link Between Exposure to Gay-Related Content and Resulting Attitudes and Behaviors. Sexuality & Culture 19, 864–881 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9297-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9297-y