Negative behaviors targeting gay men and lesbians range from violent physical assault to casting a vote against gay marriage, with very different implications for those targeted. Existing accounts of such actions, however, are unable to differentially predict specific anti-gay behaviors, leaving a large theoretical hole in the literature and hindering the design of effective interventions. We propose (a) that many sexually prejudiced laypersons conceptualize homosexuality and pro-gay ideology as "contaminants" analogous to infectious pathogens and (b) that anti-gay behaviors can thus be viewed as strategic attempts to prevent, contain, treat, or eradicate the "pathogens" of homosexuality and pro-gay ideology. By considering analogues to disease-spread processes (e.g., susceptibility of specific subpopulations, inoculation procedures, prevalence in the local environment, interconnections among community members), we derive novel predictions regarding the incidence and nature of anti-gay behaviors and provide leverage for creating more tailored interventions to reduce such discrimination.

中文翻译：

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同性恋和亲同性恋思想是病原体？疾病传播奠定模型对理解反同性恋行为的意义。

针对男同性恋者和女同性恋者的消极行为，从暴力殴打到对同性恋婚姻投反对票，对那些针对同性恋者的影响截然不同。但是，有关此类行为的现有说明无法差异地预测特定的反同性恋行为，从而在文献中留下了较大的理论空缺，并阻碍了有效干预措施的设计。我们建议（a）许多有性偏见的外行人将同性恋和赞成同性恋的观念概念化为类似于传染性病原体的“污染物”，并且（b）因此，可以将反同性恋行为视为预防，遏制，治疗或根除的战略性尝试。同性恋和同性恋倾向的“病原体”。通过考虑疾病传播过程的类似物（例如，特定亚群的易感性，