2017 Research in the Capitol
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation (UNI Access Only)
Keywords
Transgender people--Public opinion;
Abstract
Discrimination and negative attitudes toward transgender individuals lead to much higher suicide rates among this population (41% vs. national average of 2%; Haas, Rodgers, & Herman, 2014), and fears for their safety (Perry & Dyck, 2014). In this study, we investigated whether inducing empathy would improve attitudes toward transgender men vs. women. 242 participants read one of four vignettes (i.e., a definition of “transgender,” a personal story of a transgender female or male, or a control story), rated their empathy and attitudes toward transgender individuals, and completed demographic and personality measures. The vignettes did not increase empathy, but participants who were more religious or conservative reported more negative views of transgender people, regardless of the transgender person’s gender. Participants higher in general levels of empathy reported more positive attitudes. A focus on biological underpinnings of trangenderism (i.e., that it is not a “choice”) may improve attitudes more than empathy alone.
Start Date
28-3-2017 11:30 AM
End Date
28-3-2017 1:30 PM
Event Host
University Honors Programs, Iowa Regent Universities
Faculty Advisor
Helen Harton
Department
Department of Psychology
Copyright
©2017 Natalie Kaufman
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Kaufman, Natalie; Welch, Emma; Hatch, Hailey; Fleming, Toni; and Harton, Helen C., "Predictors of Attitudes toward Transgender Men and Women" (2017). Research in the Capitol. 9.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/rcapitol/2017/all/9
Predictors of Attitudes toward Transgender Men and Women
Discrimination and negative attitudes toward transgender individuals lead to much higher suicide rates among this population (41% vs. national average of 2%; Haas, Rodgers, & Herman, 2014), and fears for their safety (Perry & Dyck, 2014). In this study, we investigated whether inducing empathy would improve attitudes toward transgender men vs. women. 242 participants read one of four vignettes (i.e., a definition of “transgender,” a personal story of a transgender female or male, or a control story), rated their empathy and attitudes toward transgender individuals, and completed demographic and personality measures. The vignettes did not increase empathy, but participants who were more religious or conservative reported more negative views of transgender people, regardless of the transgender person’s gender. Participants higher in general levels of empathy reported more positive attitudes. A focus on biological underpinnings of trangenderism (i.e., that it is not a “choice”) may improve attitudes more than empathy alone.
