Anna Pinelle

Project 1
For Project One I was assigned to examine how people would respond when given information
for candidates who are running for senate. Both men are named Patrick Sorenson and have the same
work experience, education, and issue positions. They have very few differences, one being that one is
married and the other is life partnered. Another difference is in their community service. The married
man volunteers as a soccer coach for Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation while the life partnered
man volunteers to organize the Salt Lake City Gay Pride Parade.
With the previous information given, I was required to hand out surveys to people and analyze
the responses I received. My group chose to hand out surveys in front of stores either at Jordan Landing
and the district so that we could get a variety of people based on religious affiliation, age, and morals.
The survey asked if the person taking the survey believed that the candidate has a sufficient education,
sufficient work experience, strong leadership, life experiences of an average Utahan, and if he or she
supported more of his policy positions than he or she opposed. The survey was designed to see if people
would answer the questions the same for both men or differently. If they answered differently for man
then it could be assumed that the backgrounds of the men made people more biased.
Before I gave the surveys I thought that Christians would choose the married man because of
religious reasons. I didnt necessarily think that it would be because of prejudice but more because they
might be worried about some policies that he may come out with later. Most Christians in Utah are not
in favor of gay marriage so I hypothesized that they would be afraid that he would fight for gay marriage
to be legalized in Utah. Christians in Utah are usually more conservative so they would be concerned
about more liberal policies he might impose.
I believed that that Non-Christians or Non-religious people in Utah would choose the life
partnered man because often times these people are liberal and would prefer to vote for the politician
who would be more likely to have views that reflect the opinions of liberals in our state. There are also
some people who are so set on being more tolerant and giving equal rights that they would instantly
choose the man who is life partnered because it would show that they are accepting of everyone.
I also considered that maybe some Christians would choose the life partnered man because
either they do not practice their religion or they dont agree with what their church says about
homosexuality. They also may feel that as a Christian they should love and accept everyone so by
choosing this man they would be displaying that they are good Christians and they are not prejudiced in
any way.
I figured that most people would notice that both of the politicians are the same man with the
same policies. Both men were name Patrick Sorenson which should be fairly obvious. The men also have
the same education, work experience, and issue positions which is a pretty big identifier too. Because
the delegates have different backgrounds and volunteer in different types of community service, I
guessed that those taking the survey would notice that and it would impact answers in some way.
As expected, most of the people surveyed were Christian. 75% of the people who took the
survey were Christian, 10% were Non-Christian, and 15% didnt put a religion which made it harder to
determine why they chose what they chose. The people who didnt put a religion had mixed ideas on
the issue. All of the Christians showed favoritism for the married man and the Non-Christians chose the
life partnered man. I was not surprised by these results because I know how Christians view
homosexuality and I am aware of how Non-Christians typically view homosexuality.
After some of the Christians took surveys they explained to me why they answered the way they did. For
the most part, the Christians had the same reasons. The reasoning of the Christians were not necessarily
prejudiced against homosexuality. They explained that they felt that the life partnered mans lifestyle
doesnt reflect the lifestyle of most Utahans. There arent very many people in Utah who live the same
way as this man so he wouldnt be able to make decisions that are best for most Utahans. He hasnt
lived a life that will help him to understand the people that he is representing because most are
Christians with families.
I think that this is how most of the Christians felt about the issue. They may not be in favor of
homosexuality but that doesnt mean that they cant tolerate it. They just want what is best for Utah
and they might be afraid that this man wouldnt know what is best for Utah. Some Christians may have
chosen the married man because they are prejudiced. They know what they are taught about
Homosexuality so they went with what they felt they are supposed to choose.Some people are
disgusted by Homosexuality and wouldnt think twice about choosing the married man. Not everyone is
so black and white about the issue. They can think logically about the options and choose reasonably.
That doesnt mean that they are blinded by prejudice.
I was not surprised at all by the results I received from the Non-Christians. I dont believe that the
Buddhist I surveyed really read the information on the candidates. The answers given for both
candidates were completely different. It doesnt appear that she even realized that they are technically
the same man. I think that she saw that one man was homosexual and immediately chose him. She
probably didnt want to be bothered with the survey and made a quick decision based on her beliefs. I
dont think that she chose him to prove that she isnt prejudice but because she is very in favor of gay
rights.
From this project I found that people arent as prejudiced as we have come to believe. I think that the
media has tainted our view on the issue of homosexuality. People dont care about sexual orientation of
other people, they just want what is best for society. They try to live their lives how they want and mind
their own business. I could probably make better conclusions if the survey was set up better. It would
probably work better if the candidates had different names. People noticed that the men had the same
names so that affected their choices. If they had different names people might think that they were just
somewhat similar and it would make it easier to draw a conclusion about prejudice that way.