The effects upon helping behaviour of wearing pro‐gay identification

Abstract

Shoppers were approached either by an ostensibly pro-gay person, wearing a tee-shirt bearing a pro-gay slogan, or by a person wearing an unmarked tee-shirt, asking for change of a pound. Help was less likely to be given to the ostensibly pro-gay person. This effect was not attenuated when the request was justified by a socially acceptable reason for needing change (although, overall, help was more likely to be given when requests were so justified). There were no effects of the sex of the subject or the sex of the person asking for change; nor were there any interactions involving those variables. The results suggest that the negative attitudes towards homosexuals reported in other studies have clear behavioural correlates and that 'homophobia' may be widespread in the general population.