Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Speaker Panels Lead to Attitude Change Among Heterosexual College Students

The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954) suggests that a speaker panel intervention may be effective in reducing prejudice toward sexual minorities among heterosexual individuals. Addressing methodological limitations of prior studies, the present study compared the effects of a speaker panel presentation versus a control condition in altering attitudes among 186 heterosexual university students. After controlling for context effects by collecting attitude measures presumably as part of a separate study, we found that students who received the speaker panel intervention generally demonstrated more positive attitudes afterward.