Prejudice towards gay men and a need for physical cleansing

• Imagined contact with gay men increases need of physical cleansing.
• This need is specific to body parts engaged in the contact.
• This specific need is stronger among political conservatives.
• Manuscript finds and explains link between prejudice and physical contamination.
• Manuscript proposes a novel perspective on previous findings.

The results of four studies suggest that contamination concerns involved in prejudice towards male homosexuals may be expressed in the increased need for physical cleansing after an imagined contact with a homosexual man. Participants in Study 1 completed word fragments according to the theme of cleansing, and in Study 2, they chose a cleansing wipe more often after imagining using a mobile phone of a homosexual (vs. heterosexual) man. The need for cleansing was specific to the body parts engaged in the contact. In Study 3, participants evaluated hand and mouth cleansing products as more desirable after imagining using a mobile phone of a homosexual (vs. heterosexual) man. The specific need for cleansing, but not the accessibility of cleansing related words, was more pronounced among political conservatives (Study 4). The results are discussed with reference to the behavioral immune system hypothesis, research on moral disgust, and the embodiment literature.