Assessment of Sexual and Gender Bias in Psychology Students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22483/2177-5796.2026v28id5534

Keywords:

prejudice, LGBTQIAPN+, university students.

Abstract

Sexual and gender prejudice (SGP) consists of a set of discriminatory social practices against LGBTQIAPN+ individuals. Explicit and implicit forms of measuring prejudice have been documented in the literature, primarily evaluating university students. However, there is a gap in specifying the assessment of Psychology students, as this is a science and profession that works incisively with such issues. This study assessed sexual and gender prejudice against gays and lesbians in Psychology students at a university in the interior of the state of São Paulo. A total of 115 students participated (72 female, 39 male, and 3 non-binary; average age 23 years) who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Multidimensional Scale of Sexual Prejudice (EMPS). This scale assesses five factors related to SGP. The results indicated that heterosexual individuals and those with religious beliefs presented scores indicative of SGP. One of the EMPS factors, "positive beliefs about homosexuality," is questioned and revised as a form of subtle/modern prejudice. The relevance of future research is discussed to monitor Psychology training following the National Curricular Guidelines (DCNs) and the Resolutions of the Federal Council of Psychology (CFP) regarding combating prejudice.

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Author Biographies

  • Felipe Cravo, UNISO

    PhD and Master's in Developmental and Learning Psychology. Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Graduated in Psychology with an emphasis on educational processes, he was the general director and founding member of the Academic League for Studies and Research in Behavior Analysis (LAEPAC) in Poços de Caldas - MG. He worked on extension projects with psychopedagogical and psychosocial interventions for children aged 8 to 12 in social vulnerability. He develops studies on social cognition, heteronormativity, and gender-race-class intersectionality from the perspective of Behavior Analysis. He studied verbal behavior and symbolic functioning, conducting research on the interdependence between listening and speaking in hearing-impaired individuals using cochlear implants, a project related to the INCT-ECCE; National Institute of Science and Technology - Studies in Behavior, Cognition, and Teaching. Currently, he is dedicated to two research areas: 1) the study of sexual and gender prejudice from the perspective of Behavior Analysis, focusing on the assessment and modification of implicit prejudice, and 2) psychosocial assessments and interventions with students from different contexts (elementary, high school, and higher education). He is a member of the Vale da Análise do Comportamento Collective. He works as a clinical psychologist in the city of Sorocaba - SP.

  • Ana Verdu, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho"

    Ana Claudia Moreira Almeida Verdu holds a degree in Psychology from UNESP (1997), a Master's (2000) and PhD (2004) in Special Education from the Federal University of São Carlos. She earned her Habilitation in Applied Behavior Analysis (2023). She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at São Paulo State University. She served as Deputy Coordinator (2013-2016) and Coordinator (2017-2020) of the Graduate Program in Developmental and Learning Psychology at UNESP, Bauru. She is a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior, Cognition, and Teaching (INCT-ECCE). She was the General Editor for the Portuguese Language of the journal Acta Comportamentalia (2009-2011) and continues to serve as an Associate Editor. She is also an Associate Editor of the journals Revista Brasileira de Análise do Comportamento - REBAC (2009 ----) and was an Associate Editor of the journal Temas em Psicologia/Trends in Psychology (2015 - 2023). She works in Applied Behavior Analysis and research on verbal and symbolic behavior in people with disabilities.

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Published

2026-03-26

Issue

Vol. 28 (2026): Publicação Contínua

Section

Artigos de Demanda

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Felipe Augusto Monteiro Cravo, Ana Claudia Moreira Almeida-Verdu

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How to Cite

CRAVO, Felipe; MOREIRA ALMEIDA-VERDU, Ana Claudia. Assessment of Sexual and Gender Bias in Psychology Students. Quaestio - Revista de Estudos em Educação, Sorocaba, SP, v. 28, p. e026016, 2026. DOI: 10.22483/2177-5796.2026v28id5534. Disponível em: https://periodicos.uniso.br/quaestio/article/view/5534. Acesso em: 18 aug. 2026.