A study by UGA professors "outs" freepers

[auburngrad82]

From Fundamentals of Extremism:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=UH0FZSaApv&isbn=0972549617&itm=1

"In 1996, Henry Adams, Lester Wright, Jr, and Bethany Lohr, all of the University of Georgia, conducted an experiment. It lent credence to the long-held hypothesis that homophobia, usually meaning a hatred of homosexuals, rather than simply fear, may be a reaction to unacknowledged "homosexual inclinations." In this experiment, heterosexual men viewed videotapes of homosexual, lesbian, and heterosexual acts while hooked up to a penile plethysmograph.

"The men were given a questionaire before the experiment to determine their attitudes toward homosexuality. Those men who were categorized as homophobic before the experiment showed sexual arousal while viewing the homosexual videos. Those who had not been categorized as homophobic did not. Nevertheless, when they completed a closing questionaire, the homophobic group denied their sexual arousal during the homosexual video. This would indicate that homophobics are repressing or at least unwilling to acknowledge homosexual feelings."

Let's all pray for our Freeper brethren to see the error of their ways and to come out of the closet. That way they can play with the "guns" they really want to play with...

[SmokingJacket]

1. That's just sad.

Or it would be, if these nimnods didn't take out their self-loathing on others.

[annabanana]

3. .. or funny..

Or it would be, if these nimrods didn't take out their self-loathing on others.

[displacedtexan]

2. Your link is bad.

It goes to microsoft.com

[auburngrad82]

4. Sorry. Couldn't get it to work so I changed the link. nt

[peekaloo]

5. Too bad it didn't give them an electric shock upon arousal.

}(

[TlalocW]

6. Did the researchers then show them the results?

And was there an increase in the number of freeper suicides later that day?

TlalocW

[William769]

7. Thanks for ruining my day!

I don't want these assholes part of my group.x(

[SpiralHawk]

8. Scottie McLellan; "Thank you for that question. I have already

answered, and said everything I want to say. Let me repeat. Everyone here at the White House thinks that gays are totally evil and we all hate. hate, hate them. Totally. It's really true, I promise."

[Ian David]

9. A better study is needed. Fear can invoke an "arrousal" in some people

They need to replicate the study adjusting for that.

Still, it looks pretty certain that the hypothesis is correct.

I expect the general conclusion-- but not the numbers-- to be the same.

[Mairead]

10. Not to mention that who we are is defined by our choices, not stuff

over which we've no control.

The kind of conclusions these guys drew from their study comes from the same kind of magical thinking that underlies the notions of 'heritable criminality', 'heritable insanity', 'racial superiority', etc.

[iconoclastNYC]

11. Arousal is an autonomic response -- not a concious choice.

Your assertion is bull and your analogies are bull as well. Why do you hate science?

[Mairead]

13. I think you forgot the smiley.

At least I hope you did.

[rinsd]

15. I can't believe someone would post "why do you hate science"

As a means of defending a single study on a subject.

And in the spirit of hating science, the poster's original question were fleshed out in a Psychology News article that came out at the time

http://www.psych.org/pnews/96-09-20/phobia.html

"The researchers offer competing explanations for the arousal experienced by the homophobic men in response to erotic videos of male homosexual acts. The psychoanalytically oriented theory would view homophobia "as one type of latent homosexuality where persons either are unaware of or deny their homosexual urges," they point out.

An alternative hypothesis, which they attribute to Barlow, Sakheim, and Beck, focuses on the role of anxiety in sexual responsiveness. It postulates that "viewing homosexual stimuli causes negative emotions such as anxiety in homophobic men but not in nonhomophobic men. Because anxiety has been shown to enhance arousal and erection, this theory would predict increases in erection in homophobic men." Thus, the homophobic men's increased arousal is a response to a perceived threat rather than to stimuli they find sexually arousing.

Evaluating the validity of either theory requires further research, the authors caution"

[Ian David]

19. I think I'm missing your point. Maybe just re-state it for me?

[Mairead]

27. I was referring to what I call the 'biblical school' of psychology

We all carry around a bundle of fears, fetishes and other baggage left over from childhood. But the fact that it might provoke a physio response when we think of, e.g., rape doesn't really mean--except to 'biblical school' lunatics such as Freudians and similar--that we would regard raping/being raped with anything other than horror and revulsion in real life. Likewise, mutatis mutandis, with physio response to homoerotic imagery.

That's all I meant: we're responsible for what we choose, not for the things that come, unbidden, from our personal lumber rooms.

[Ian David]

28. Got it. Thanks! n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

12. It's either that

or they're just turned onto sex and really really deprived of anything to deal with their harmones. They may not necessarily be gay. I'm sure people can like watching any type of sex without subscribing to it personally. :shrug:

[Ian David]

20. Good point. Here's an idea for an experiment

1) Show men pictures of women. Half the women are ugly, half are pretty.
2) Have the men rate each woman on a scale of 1-10
3) Test their arousal responses when viewing each of the women
4) Have them describe their reaction to each of the women they rated as very ugly. Have them select from a list ranging from "un-appealing" to "repellent."
5) Show the men videos of the women they rated least attractive having sex.
6) Show the men videos of the women they rated most attractive having sex.
7) Compare arousal response.

My hypothesis: Most men will be aroused watching even ugly women have sex.

[BamaLefty]

14. UGA---

Is actually one of the universities in the South that isn't dominated by conservative students. Clark County GA voted for Kerry mainly because of the students of UGA. Go Dawgs!

Florida, Vanderbilt, Duke, North Carolina, Miami, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, FSU--- most liberal "big time" universities in the Southeast.

[Greyhound]

16. Which is the one in Lexington, KY?

I love that city, and hope it's progressive, although, I wouldn't be surprised to find otherwise, they're not the sharpest minds I've encountered.

[BamaLefty]

18. The University of Kentucky

Is in Lexington. Yeah, the students at UK are mainly Democratic but the city is basically a mix of everything.

Pretty close race for uber-liberal Kentucky. ;)

FAYETTE COUNTY, KENTUCKY

Republican Bush 66,406 53%

Democratic Kerry 57,994 46%

[Orrex]

17. The use of the penile plethysmograph is pseudoscience

Just like the polygraph; both can be confirmed to measure the biological responses that they purport to measure, but there's been no confirmation that these biological responses correspond to the underlying behavioral/perceptual processes they are claimed to reveal.

[Ian David]

21. I haven't heard that, but you may be right. Have any links? n/t

[Orrex]

22. Here's a good start

Check out this write-up.

Skeptic's Dictionary is a great resource for debunking pseudoscience and other bogus claims.

[Ian David]

23. I'm well acquainted with Skeptic's Dictionary. Just not plethysmographs

Thanks! It looks pretty unreliable, and its results are not necessarily meaningful.



penile plethysmograph (PPG)

The penile plethysmograph (pluh-THIZ-muh-graf) (PPG) is a machine for measuring changes in the circumference of the penis. A stretchable band with mercury in it is fitted around the subject's penis. The band is connected to a machine with a video screen and data recorder. Any changes in penis size, even those not felt by the subject, are recorded while the subject views sexually suggestive or pornographic pictures, slides, or movies, or listens to audio tapes with descriptions of such things as children being molested. Computer software is used to develop graphs showing "the degree of arousal to each stimulus." The machine costs about $8,000 and was first developed in Czechoslovakia to prevent draft dodgers from claiming they were gay just to avoid military duty. Farrall Instruments Inc., of Grand Island, Nebraska, manufactures the device and in 1993 had sold most of the 400 units then in use in sex-offender treatment centers in some 40 states. Medical Monitoring Systems of New Jersey is also one of the leading PPG manufacturers. Another vendor of the PPG is Behavioral Technology Inc. in Salt Lake City. In addition to the United States, the device is being used in China, Hong Kong, Norway, Britain, Brazil and Spain.

<snip>

This much everyone seems to agree on: the device measures penile engorgement. Any male who has awakened with an erection knows, however, that penile engorgement is not always a measure of sexual arousal. On the other hand, most males would probably acknowledge that penile engorgement occurring while watching pornographic movies is due to sexual arousal.

What utility could such a device possibly have? Two uses have already been mentioned: to weed out false gays and to treat of sex-offenders. The latter is sometimes done in conjunction with aversion therapy, which involves subjecting patients to electric shocks or foul odors while being shown sexually suggestive pictures. The hope is that the treatment will dull the patient's interest in sexy materials. Psychologists use the PPG to measure the success of the therapy.

<snip>

It seems to be the case that the device has been the subject of many scientific studies and the results have been mixed, to put it kindly. The reliability and utility of the device have been argued in court and penile plethysmographic evidence has been declared inadmissible because of its "questionable reliability." The case in which Dr. Tyson testified was heard by the North Carolina Court of Appeals. That Appeals Court upheld a lower court's exclusion of testimony by Dr. Gullick because her testimony was based upon the use of the penile plethysmograph. The defendant in the case was accused of sexually molesting his 5-year old stepdaughter. He called Dr. Gullick to testify that his "arousal pattern" when tested on the plethysmograph indicated that he was not aroused by children. Presumably, the defense believed that this was strong evidence that he didn't molest the child. The trial court ruled that "Dr. Gullick would be permitted to testify as to any opinions which were not based on the plethysmograph." The Appeals Court agreed with the trial court that "the instrument was of questionable reliability; that the testimony was not relevant; and that even if relevant, its probative value was outweighed by its prejudicial effect."

More:
http://skepdic.com/penilep.html

[SouthernDem2004]

24. Why is an Auburn grad reading something written by a Ga prof? :)

[auburngrad82]

25. Well, the book isn't written by a GA prof, the study was done by them

Besides, my brother went to Georgia and I feel bad that Auburn is so much better...

:evilgrin:

[Lex]

26. BIG PROBLEM with that study. Homosexuals can become

aroused watching heterosexual sex, and heteros can become aroused watching homosexual sex.

I disagree that the arousal means one's orientation is different based on that.