Using a vignette methodology, this study examined reactions to same-gender versus other-gender flirtation in a sample of 445 German young adults: 320 participants with a heterosexual orientation and 125 participants with a lesbian or gay (LG) orientation. Even in LG-friendly societies as Germany, receiving advances from someone of the same gender might still evoke heterosexuals’ homonegativity. Another factor that might influence heterosexuals’ reactions to same-gender flirtation is the fear of being misidentified as LG (social contagion concerns). Contrary to hypothesis, results provided little evidence to classify heterosexual participants’ reactions to same-gender flirters as homonegative. Firstly, heterosexual participants showed the same degree of negative affect and avoidance behavior in the same-gender flirtation condition as LG participants did in the other-gender flirtation condition. Only positive affect scores were somewhat lower for heterosexual participants in the same-gender flirtation condition compared to LG participants in the other-gender flirtation condition. Secondly, when anti-LG attitudes and social contagion concerns were considered together, only social contagion concerns contributed to explaining variance in heterosexual participants’ response to same-gender flirters. Specifically, the impact of social contagion concerns on heterosexual participants’ avoidance of same-gender flirters was mediated by (lacking) positive affect, but not negative affect.

这项研究采用小插图方法，调查了 445 名德国年轻人对同性与异性调情的反应：其中 320 名参与者具有异性恋取向，125 名参与者具有女同性恋或男同性恋 (LG) 取向。即使在像德国这样对 LG 友好的社会中，接受同性的示爱仍然可能会引起异性恋者的同性恋消极情绪。另一个可能影响异性恋者对同性调情反应的因素是担心被误认为 LG（社会传染问题）。与假设相反，结果几乎没有提供证据将异性恋参与者对同性调情的反应归类为同性恋。首先，异性恋参与者在同性调情条件下表现出与 LG 参与者在异性调情条件下相同程度的负面影响和回避行为。与处于异性调情条件下的 LG 参与者相比，处于同性调情条件下的异性恋参与者只有积极情感得分稍低。其次，当反LG态度和社会传染担忧一起考虑时，只有社会传染担忧有助于解释异性恋参与者对同性调情者反应的差异。具体来说，社会传染担忧对异性恋参与者避免同性调情的影响是由（缺乏）积​​极情绪调节的，而不是消极情绪。