Exploring the Role of Inner Dialogue and Social Identity Complexity in Tolerance Towards Homosexuality in Youth

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the influence of Inner Dialogue (Hermans et al., 2017) on youth tolerance towards homosexuality in the Netherlands, and whether Social Identity Complexity (SIC) (Roccas & Brewer, 2002) moderated this relationship. An online pre-test post-test experimental design was employed with two conditions. A sample of 59 participants (aged 16-30) completed the Scale of Attitudes towards Lesbians and Gay Men (Gato et al., 2012). In between the two administrations participants were randomly assigned to two conditions, either the inner dialogue condition (n=29) or the control condition (n=29). Subsequently, all participants filled out the SIC and the tolerance measure again. An ANCOVA with repeated measures tested whether condition affected tolerance change, with SIC as a covariate for moderation. Results showed no significant effect of condition on tolerance (F(1, 54) = 0.055, p = 0.818), nor a significant moderation effect of SIC (F(1,54) = 0.007, p = 0.934). The covariates religion and sexuality were included as well, to account for a difference in the composition of the sample for each condition. Religion, had a significant effect on tolerance (F(24, 14) = 3.708, p = 0.008), while sexuality did not (F(16,14) = 1.396, p = 0.269). These findings contradict previous research, potentially due to limitations such as heteronormativity in the scales and a small sample size. Future research should address these limitations to better explore the effects of inner dialogue and SIC on tolerance.