A series of paired-samples t-tests was performed and found that sAA responses to images of same-sex kissing ( t (98) = 3.124, p = .002) and universally disgusting images ( t (98) = 2.128, p = .036) were significantly greater than sAA responses to the slide show depicting everyday items. Participants in the current study viewed six different slide shows depicting same-sex PDA, mixed-sex PDA, everyday items, and disgusting images, while providing saliva samples in the lab. In examining physiological responses to same-sex PDA, the present study hoped to assist in explaining current levels of anti-gay hate crimes despite growing positive public opinion for the LGBTQ community. The current study sought to examine how Utah men’s physiological reactions to viewing same-sex public displays of affection (PDA), measured through salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), differ as a function of sexual prejudice, as assessed using the Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men Scale (ATLG) and the Modern Homonegativity Scale.
