Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 1–17 © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0146167216651854 pspb.sagepub.com Article Despite recent progress in the legal rights afforded to gay and bisexual men and women (hereafter referred to as LGB), these groups still experience prejudice and discrimination. For example, in 2014, 1,014 individuals in the United States expe- rienced a hate crime based on their sexual orientation (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2015). Although a plethora of research exists regarding heterosexuals’ prejudices toward LGB, little research examines the reverse relationship— LGB’s prejudices toward heterosexuals. Accordingly, this research seeks to understand LGB’s prejudices toward hetero- sexual men and women by applying a threat-based approach to prejudice (e.g., Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005). The Affordance Management Approach The affordance management perspective (Cottrell & Neuberg, 2005; Gibson, 1979; McArthur & Baron, 1983; Neuberg, Kenrick, & Schaller, 2011) suggests that human cognitions, emotions, and behaviors evolved to manage the perceived threats and opportunities to survival and reproduc- tion, including those posed by other people (i.e., affor- dances). What threats and opportunities are particularly important? The fundamental motives theory (Kenrick, Neuberg, Griskevicius, Becker, & Schaller, 2010) suggests that recurrent threats and opportunities to survival and repro- duction (e.g., physical safety, mating) serve as the primary threats and opportunities exerting evolutionary pressures, and therefore should be particularly strong drivers of cogni- tion, emotion, and behavior. Functional accounts of emotions (Keltner & Gross, 1999; Tooby & Cosmides, 1990) suggest that emotions evolved to help humans respond effectively to threats and opportunities related to survival and reproduction and are specific, effi- cient responses designed to bring about function-related con- sequences to promote survival and reproduction. Different stimuli (e.g., threats or opportunities) elicit specific emotions that engage a functional behavioral reaction intended to act 651854PSP XX X 10.1177/0146167216651854Personality and Social Psychology BulletinPirlott et al. research-article 2016 1 Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL, USA 2 University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, USA Corresponding Author: Angela G. Pirlott, Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, 3700 W. 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655, USA. Email: pirlott@sxu.edu Perceptions of Threats to Physical Safety, Sexual Autonomy, Values, and of Discrimination Drive LGB Prejudices Toward Heterosexuals Angela G. Pirlott 1 , Marta L. Rusten 2 , and Reese M. Butterfuss 2 Abstract Many studies have investigated heterosexuals’ prejudices toward nonheterosexuals, yet LGB’s prejudices toward heterosexuals remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we sought to determine the threats and opportunities (i.e., affordances) LGB perceive heterosexuals to pose and whether those affordances explain their sexual prejudices toward heterosexuals. Study 1 analyzed LGB’s reasons for liking and disliking heterosexuals, which determined whether the threats predicted to be salient for LGB mirrored the affordances they generated. Study 2 measured these perceived affordances and examined the extent to which they drove LGB’s prejudices toward heterosexuals. Generally, perceptions of discrimination and unreciprocated sexual interest threats drove anger, physical safety and sexual autonomy threats drove fear, and values threats drove moral disgust toward heterosexuals, although results varied slightly by perceiver and target groups. Goals to alleviate the tensions between heterosexuals and LGB require an understanding of the dynamics between these groups. This research provides preliminary insights into understanding those dynamics. Keywords sexual orientation, LGB, stereotypes, prejudice, sexual prejudice Received November 2, 2015; revision accepted May 5, 2016 at SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY on June 23, 2016 psp.sagepub.com Downloaded from