New poll with sneakier questions suggests more homosexual behavior — and less acceptance of LGBs — than subjects have admitted in other studies

See PEW's summation of study here.

Nathaniel Frank, writing in Slate, looked at a new study from a team of researchers from Ohio State and Boston Universities using a survey technique known as the “veiled elicitation method” to correct for social desirability bias (the desire not to give socially unacceptable answers to survey questions.) The part of the study he found most arresting (as it was the only part he excerpted):

The veiled method increased self-reports of on-hetero­sexual identity by 65% (p<0.05) and same-sex sexual experiences by 59% (p<0.01). The veiled method also increased the rates of anti-gay sentiment. Respondents were 67% more likely to express disapproval of an openly gay manager at work (p<0.01) and 71% more likely to say it is okay to discriminate against lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals (p<0.01).

Frank went on:

Should I care about what others think and feel if they behave properly? Here’s the thing: Feelings have consequences. Juries make life-altering decisions based on them; police officers who pull triggers before they have time to correct for their biases end lives because of them; and gay kids who grow up with parents who profess tolerance but quietly exhibit disapproval or disgust wreak havoc with their kids’ lives—all because biases shape our lives more than we’re often willing to concede. And remember, the veiled survey method increased by 71 percent the likelihood that subjects said it was “okay to discriminate against lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals.” That is, not just to stigmatize them but to actually treat them worse.