Study: Public polls underestimate same-sex attraction, especially among Christians

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/13/study-public-polls-underestimate-same-sex-attraction-especially-among-christians/



Recent research suggests that people are more honest about the extent of their attraction to their own sex if they are assured that their answers will be anonymous. According to Bloomberg News, unless people believe that their identities will be kept secret and separate from their answers, they tend to be less than honest about their same sex attractions and, interestingly, about their negative attitudes toward LGBT people.

A team of researchers at Ohio State University found that when respondents were assured of anonymity, their admission to same sex attraction and activity rose sharply. In a normal survey, an average of 17 percent of those surveyed (12 percent of men, 24 percent of women) said they have had a sexual experience with someone of their own sex. For the anonymous, or “veiled” survey, the number rose to 27 percent (17 percent of men and 43 percent of women), an increase of 58 percent.

In the standard survey, 11 percent or respondents said they did not consider themselves to be heterosexual. In the veiled result, the percentage leapt to 19 percent, a 65 percent increase.

However, the incidence of anti-LGBT sentiment underwent a similar jump between standard and veiled survey results. Bloomberg’s Cass R. Sunstein wrote, “Did participants believe that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation should be illegal? In the standard survey, only about 14 percent said no. That number increased to 25 percent in the veiled report.”