Authors
Amelia Chong Yu-Wen, Bart Hugo-Morgan, Sarah Marlena Binte Malik & Sharon Tan Wei Ping
Supervisors
Benjamin Detenber
Year
Abstract
The research study tested the contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) by analysing how contact with gay strangers over computer-mediated communication (CMC) affects attitudes toward gay men (ATG). Specifically, the effect of online contact type was manipulated through i) direct self-disclosure of homosexual orientations, and ii) indirect self-disclosure of homosexual orientations. The influence of culturally-linked individual differences on ATG was measured via social harmony values. 227 students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore participated in a cooperative contact experiment online and completed pretest and posttest measures. No significant main effects were found for type of self-disclosure or social harmony values on attitudes toward gay men, attitudes toward self-disclosure and relational intimacy. Interaction effects were also found to be nonsignificant. Follow-up focus group sessions were conducted to understand their online interaction experience. Possible explanations to our null findings and future directions for research are also discussed.
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http://hdl.handle.net/10356/63398