Being Pushed and Pulled in Different Directions: Examining People's Ambivalence Toward Transgender-Specific Policies

dc.contributor.advisorWilliams, Jane
dc.contributor.authorAbdul Karim, Muhammad Fazuan
dc.contributor.otherAshburn-Nardo, Leslie
dc.contributor.otherSalyers, Michelle
dc.contributor.otherStockdale, Margaret (Peggy)
dc.contributor.otherDaniel, Jamie Levine
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-09T08:54:35Z
dc.date.available2025-01-09T08:54:35Z
dc.date.issued2024-12
dc.degree.date2024
dc.degree.disciplinePsychology
dc.degree.grantorIndiana University
dc.degree.levelPh.D.
dc.descriptionIUI
dc.description.abstractObjectives: This work examines the dynamic relationships between people’s ambivalence and support for specific transgender policies, namely the bathroom bill and the transgender sports participation policy. Even though attitude ambivalence has been studied extensively in the social psychological research, our current understanding of this topic as it relates to attitudes toward transgender policies remains scant. Method: In Study 1, cisgender participants were surveyed about their values, ambivalence, likelihood of seeking new information, and attitudes toward transgender policies. In Study 2 and Study 3, cisgender participants were asked to report their ambivalence (distinguishing between potential and felt ambivalence), likelihood of seeking new information, and attitude toward the bathroom bill. In Study 4, cisgender participants were randomly assigned to reflect on either one-sided arguments or two-sided arguments of the transgender sports participation policy. Lastly, Study 5 investigated the extent to which cisgender participants’ endorsement of the transgender sports participation policy was a function of social norms. Results: Studies 1-3 revealed that there exist relationships among potential ambivalence, felt ambivalence, likelihood of seeking new information, and attitudes toward the bathroom bill, and these relationships were consistent with the extant literature. Study 4 demonstrated that when asked to reflect on both sides of the transgender sports participation policy, participants reported greater ambivalence than when they were asked to reflect on only one side of the policy arguments. Study 5 revealed that regardless of ambivalence levels, participants’ attitudes toward the transgender sports participation policy changed in accordance with social norms. Conclusion: This body of work allows us to understand the impact of attitudinal ambivalence in predicting support for specific transgender policies. The current work documents how ambivalence could be leveraged to mobilize support for transgender policies but may be less influential compared to social norms, especially in the context of bathroom bill and transgender sports participation policies.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1805/45213
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subjectAttitude
dc.subjectAttitudinal ambivalence
dc.subjectFelt ambivalence
dc.subjectPotential ambivalence
dc.subjectTransgender policies
dc.titleBeing Pushed and Pulled in Different Directions: Examining People's Ambivalence Toward Transgender-Specific Policies
dc.typeThesis
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