Moral Intuitions and Attitudes toward Gay Men: Can Moral Psychology Add to Our Understanding of Homonegativity?

In the present study, we surveyed university students (n = 183) to determine if the inclusion of moral intuitions as described in Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) would aid in the explanation of two types of homonegativity toward gay men. After accounting for demographic variables, social desirability, and intrinsic religiousness, results of hierarchical multiple regression procedures indicated that the inclusion of moral intuitions improved prediction of both traditional and modern forms of homonegativity, although this occurred through differential emphases on specific moral foundations. Our findings suggest that the more participants regarded the individual rather than the group (e.g., family or society) as the focus of moral concern, the less likely they were to evidence either type of homonegativity. MFT appears to provide the sexual prejudice literature with a means of understanding the motivational schema of Christian and other conservatives in less derogatory terms than have heretofore been examined. This can enhance the study of homonegativity and the public policy that flows from it.