Location
Herek, G.M. (1988). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: Correlates and gender differences.
Journal of Sex Research, 25 , 451/C0477.
Herek, G.M. (1994). Assessing heterosexuals’ attitudes toward lesbians and gay men: A review of empirical
research with the ATLG scale. In B. Greene & G. M. Herek (Eds.), Lesbian and gay psychology: Theory, research, and
clinical applications (pp. 206 /C0228). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Results and Comments
The ATLG is perhaps the most prolific of scales assessing anti-LGB bias due, in part, to its ease of administra-
tion and interpretation. The 3- and 5-item short versions are well validated and generally recommended ( Herek
& McLemore, 2011 ). Scores are easily interpretable as the ATL and ATG subscales are unidimensional, with all
items loading onto the factor, Condemnation/Tolerance , and can be summed to yield a total ATLG score. Though
the original ATL and ATG subscales differed in the content of their items, Herek (1988, 1994) recommends using
parallel items when comparing attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. This is generally achieved by changing
the target in the ATG items such that they reference lesbians. For more information on the development and
application of the ATLG /C0seeHerek (1994, 2009) .
ATLG SAMPLE ITEMS
1.Sex between two men is just plain wrong*
2.I think male homosexuals are disgusting*
3.Male homosexuality is merely a different kind of
lifestyle that should not be condemned (R).
Notes :
Items are rated on a 5-, 7-, or 9-point Likert-type scale
ranging from: Strongly disagree to Strongly agree.*Included in the 3-item versions of each subscale.
Items displayed are for the ATG subscale. For the
ATL version, substitute women for men and female
for male.
(R) Reverse scored item.
Reproduced with permission.
Evaluation Thermometer (ET)
(Haddock et al., 1993 ).
Variable
The ET is a one-item measure designed to capture overall evaluative attitudes toward the outgroup (i.e.,
‘homosexual individuals’).
Description
The ET was adapted from the Feeling Thermometer (e.g., Campbell, 1971) and has been used to study attitudes
toward multiple outgroups ( Esses et al., 1993 ), including homosexuals ( Haddock et al., 1993 ). The ET is a single-
item, 101-point scale on which participants indicate their overall evaluation of ‘typical members of the target
group’ (in this case ‘homosexuals’). Possible responses range from 0/C14(extremely unfavorable ) to 100/C14(extremely
favorable ).
Sample
A total of 145 undergraduates (73 women, 72 men) at the University of Waterloo completed the initial adminis-
tration of the evaluation thermometer (Study 1; Haddock et al. 1993). The average attitude score was 40.84
(SD525.48). A total of 151 subjects (79 women, 72 men) completed Study 2 ( M540.87, SD521.71).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Because this is a one-item measure, no statistics reflecting internal consistency can be calculated.725 MEASURES OF ANTI-LGB BIAS
VI. SOCIOCULTURAL INTERACTION AND CONFLICT