Congratulations to Luke MacNeill, University of New Brunswick
Luke MacNeill is a PhD student in Experimental Psychology at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. His current research is looking at how LGBTI portrayals in the media affect viewers’ attitudes and prejudice. Past research has shown that watching positive portrayals of gay male television characters can reduce viewers’ prejudice toward actual gay males. Luke’s current study extends this research by assessing changes in prejudice after viewers watch negative portrayals of such characters. Given the increasing number of LGBTI figures in the media, this study has important implications in terms of how people perceive actual LGBTI individuals.