All Conference Presentations, Performances and Exhibits
Location
Guzman Lecture Hall
Start Date
4-15-2016 4:30 PM
End Date
4-15-2016 5:30 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
William Philips, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
America is rapidly becoming more accepting of homosexuality. This is not only seen by more public acceptance of gay people in media, but also according to a PEW Research study conducted this year, the majority of Americans now support gay marriage (PEW Research Center, 2015). It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what factors have contributed to this change in perception despite numerous studies. Past research has found that traditional media outlets including television and magazines, among other outlets, does not significantly influence opinions of homosexuality (Becker & Scheufele, 2011). The purpose of the present study is to determine if there has been a change of opinion of homosexuality from age 14 to college and what factors attribute to this change, including the role of social media and other media outlets. Participants (n=90) will be solicited from Dominican University undergraduate programs in the field of Psychology as well as by online social media outlets, namely Facebook. Students who volunteer to participate will be sent a link to the online survey using SurveyMonkey.com. The voluntary survey will consist of 25 questions from the Homophobia Scale (Wright, Adams, & Bernat, 1999) and demographic items regarding age, gender, grade level, sexual orientation, political preference, and religious affiliation. There will also be questions asking participants about their opinion of homosexuality now, their opinion of homosexuality at age 14, their preferred media news outlet, how often they watch or read news, and if they personally know someone who identifies as part of the LGB community. It is hypothesized that a) there will be a positive relationship between opinion of homosexuality and interest in social media news, b) opinion of homosexuality has changed positively since the age of 14, and c) social media will be the most prevalent form of news among the studied populous. Data collection for this research will occur in February and March of 2016.
Opinion of Homosexuality In Relation To Preferred News Outlet
Guzman Lecture Hall
America is rapidly becoming more accepting of homosexuality. This is not only seen by more public acceptance of gay people in media, but also according to a PEW Research study conducted this year, the majority of Americans now support gay marriage (PEW Research Center, 2015). It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what factors have contributed to this change in perception despite numerous studies. Past research has found that traditional media outlets including television and magazines, among other outlets, does not significantly influence opinions of homosexuality (Becker & Scheufele, 2011). The purpose of the present study is to determine if there has been a change of opinion of homosexuality from age 14 to college and what factors attribute to this change, including the role of social media and other media outlets. Participants (n=90) will be solicited from Dominican University undergraduate programs in the field of Psychology as well as by online social media outlets, namely Facebook. Students who volunteer to participate will be sent a link to the online survey using SurveyMonkey.com. The voluntary survey will consist of 25 questions from the Homophobia Scale (Wright, Adams, & Bernat, 1999) and demographic items regarding age, gender, grade level, sexual orientation, political preference, and religious affiliation. There will also be questions asking participants about their opinion of homosexuality now, their opinion of homosexuality at age 14, their preferred media news outlet, how often they watch or read news, and if they personally know someone who identifies as part of the LGB community. It is hypothesized that a) there will be a positive relationship between opinion of homosexuality and interest in social media news, b) opinion of homosexuality has changed positively since the age of 14, and c) social media will be the most prevalent form of news among the studied populous. Data collection for this research will occur in February and March of 2016.