However, although those who had read on sexuality as a continuum reported being more open to same0sex experiences in future, the same was not true of those who read on sexuality’s fluidity. Unlike its predecessor, the second experiment didn’t find that political alignment had any bearing on participants’ answers at the end of the experiment. Just over 41 per cent of those who read about the continuous nature of sexuality also reported being uncertain about their heterosexuality, along with 34.8 per cent of participants who read about the fluid nature of sexuality, and 19.6 per cent of controls. Of the group who read about sexuality being a continuum, 36 per cent answered as such, as well as 20.7 per cent of those in the fluid sexuality group. This latter experiment involved showing participants either the article about sexuality being a continuum, a control article, or an article which reported on sexuality as ‘fluid’, with the capacity to change over a lifetime.Īfter reading their respective information sheets, under 10 per cent of controls claimed to be non-exclusively straight. This involved a larger pool of participants, with 460 people from varied walks of life. This trend was less noticeable among participants who identified as politically conservative.įollowing their findings, the group of researchers conducted a second experiment. They also reported being less sure of their heterosexuality and more likely to engage in same-sex encounters in future. Evidence was included from multiple studies, including one which measured genital blood flow and pupil dilation among people watching erotic videos of men and women.Ī separate control group of participants was presented with a different article on climate change.Īmong the group presented with evidence that sexuality is a spectrum and can change over time, fewer participants reported themselves as entirely heterosexual. Researchers showed participants an article which found that most people experience attraction to both men and women at some level. The study, published in Scientific Reports, was initially conducted on 180 university students, all of whom identified as straight. A study has found that straight people’s perceptions of their own sexualities can become more fluid when they are exposed to different theories of sexuality.