Authors

A. Tsakalidou and P. Weiss.

Purpose

The assessment of an individual’s sexual orientation can be conducted in various ways, but it is emphasized that it must always be carried out with respect for the individual’s privacy and autonomy. The methods used for diagnosing sexual orientation vary and may include:
Interviews: Conversations with specialized psychologists or psychiatrists experienced in issues of sexuality.
Questionnaires: Use of questionnaires that assess an individual’s sexual preferences and experiences.
Physiological methods: Some methods may include measuring physiological reactions, such as erection or heart rate responses, as individuals react to different homosexual or heterosexual content.
Self-report questionnaires: These concern the individual’s own account of preferences and sexual orientation.
It is noted that the evaluation of sexual orientation must be conducted with vigilance and respect for human rights and individual privacy. Moreover, sensitivity regarding issues of sexuality is essential in order to avoid discrimination or violations of the individual’s rights.

Brief Description

The test is carried out with a special device called a tachistoscopic binocularoscope. This instrument allows the simultaneous projection of two different slides for very short time intervals (76 msec), presenting 30 different combinations. During this time span, the subject cannot consciously perceive the exact content.
The slides display images of naked women and neutral landscapes, with a total of 30 combinations. Subjects usually report that they see the gender they are sexually interested in. It is noteworthy that homosexual men tend to perceive men more frequently, whereas heterosexual men tend to notice women more often.

Sample

Statistical information, means, and standard deviations of the tested groups have been provided. It is noted that these results are currently intended exclusively for personal use. Research on the method will continue until official norms are established.

Scoring Method

If the subject reports having seen a woman, they receive 2 points. The trend is that the higher the total score of the subject, the more frequently they report perceiving women, suggesting a possible heterosexual orientation. Conversely, with lower scores, the tendency is to report perceiving men, suggesting a possible homosexual orientation.

Validity

The statement “Agreement with clinical diagnosis: r = 0.23, p = 0.05, N = 76” likely refers to a statistical analysis commonly used in medical research or experimental studies.
Here is the interpretive explanation:
r = 0.23: This refers to the correlation coefficient between two variables. In this case, the correlation is positive, and the value of 0.23 indicates a small relationship between the two variables.
p = 0.05: This is the significance level of the statistical test. Here, the p-value is 0.05, which is often used as the threshold for rejecting or accepting a hypothesis. If the p-value is less than 0.05, it is typically considered statistically significant.
N = 76: This refers to the total number of observations or data points. In this case, data from 76 observations were used.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, is 0.74. Additionally, test–retest reliability, expressed by Pearson’s r coefficient, is 0.66 with a significance level of p = 0.01.

Main Reference

Tsakalidou, A. (2001). Diagnostic method of sexual orientation based on the subjective character of individual visual perceptions. Psychology, 8, 89–102.