In-Person Versus Internet Training: A Comparison of Student Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

Abstract

The present study investigated the influence of training modality on attitudes toward lesbian and gay issues. In a short-term longitudinal design (pre-test, post-test, follow-up), 87 undergraduate and graduate students were randomly assigned to one of three workshop modalities (In-Person, Internet, Control) following pre-test. Participants completed a post-test immediately after the training and a follow-up assessment three weeks later. Analyses revealed that both modalities (In-Person Training and Internet Training), when compared to the Control group, resulted in substantial reductions in levels of homophobia following training. Furthermore, these reductions in homophobia remained stable from the post-test to the follow-up testing. Finally, analyses suggest that changes in participants’ levels of positive affect, during and following training, may play a central role in the effectiveness of both training interventions. Implications for student affairs professionals and directions for future research are discussed.This study is supported by a diversity grant from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Ford Foundation awarded to Lorraine J. Guth and David F. Lopez. Special thanks go to Andrea L. Short for providing helpful editorial comments.

Sexual Orientation and Counselor Competency: The Impact of Training on Enhancing Awareness, Knowledge and Skills

“…Several authors (Biaggio et al, 2003;Carroll & Gilroy, 2001;Guth, Lopez, Rojas, Clements, & Tyler, 2004;Kocarek & Pelling, 2003) have shared ideas and models for improving training of LGB issues in counseling programs. Yet none of them have assessed how their models of training influence trainee counselors' LGB competency as defined by all three components of competency: level of awareness, knowledge, and skills.…”

Health professionals’ attitudes towards AOD-related work: Moving the traditional focus from education and training to organizational culture

“…Stiernborg, Zaldivar, & Santiago, 1996) and gay and lesbian people (e.g. Guth, Lopez, Rojas, Clements, & Tyler, 2004).…”

Impact of a Homonegativity Awareness Workshop on Attitudes Toward Homosexuality

“…Although all people are thought to use both systems of information processing, individuals may show a more rational or a more experiential cognitive style. But the experiential system is more involved in many real-life decisions that often involve heuristics, superstition, and emotion (Guth, Lopez, Clements, & Rojas, 2001;Guth, Lopez, Rojas, Clements, & Tyler, 2004). That is, people often make decisions based on affective reactions, or vibes, from past experience rather than rational analysis; our attitudes, for example, may reflect what has made us feel bad or good in the past.…”

“…The first two components are rational in nature, while the third is experiential. Guth et al (2004) designed interventions around rational (e.g., lectures and tests) and experiential (e.g., face-to-face interaction; group discussion) principles and found the experiential intervention more effective in attitude amelioration. However, the rational components may serve to keep LGB status salient, allowing the attitude change to generalize to LGB individuals as a group (Scarberry et al, 1997).…”

“…Moreover, this approach puts a large body of research concerning prejudice and discrimination at our disposal (see Herek, 2000, for a discussion). A firm theoretical basis can help in the design of effective interventions (see Guth et al, 2001;Guth et al, 2004). Homonegativity research can also test the generalizability of theories developed with other outgroups; some theories may seem very effective when applied to one group, but do not generalize to other groups.…”