A testament to the power of the contact hypothesis:
It could likely be the “big sort” in play….(i.e. people who are more tolerant of gays and lesbians are more likely to live in urban/metro areas so their tolerance has little to do with knowing gays and lesbians). It would be interesting to unpack this one someday 🙂
HT: The Daily Dish
Comments 3
Dangger — June 2, 2009
Hi, I would like to take a look at the image but there is no clic to enlarge :S
Kenneth M. Kambara — June 3, 2009
Dangger,
Click on the Daily Dish link above to see the graphic.
It's been a while since I've read the social psych. literature, but I think there might be a few interesting interactions going on here. Right this second, I'm working on web 2.0 community stuff examining how interactions generate knowledge and shape attitudes. There's an interesting paradox (to me), with respect to online behaviors. Online interactions with anonymity foster more self-disclosure and can lead to building relationships, as well as speeding the process. On the other hand, that same anonymity can allow people with prejudiced views to have an unfiltered candor that perpetuates stereotypes and myths about the "other."
Sociological Images » Gay Marriage And The Contact Hypothesis — June 6, 2009
[...] Jose at Thick Culture suggests that this could be evidence for the contact hypothesis. But he also asks whether it might also be true that less homophobic people are more likely to come into contact with gays and lesbians because of a third variable that correlates with both (like choosing to live in a big city), making the relationship spurious. [...]