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Notable Findings: Upwards of 90 percent of the population is attracted to both sexes at some point; the terms "gay," "straight," and "bisexual" are misleading for most people, except as affiliations.  People who call themselves gay or bisexual experience little or no distress when their actual sexual inclinations don't match their sexual orientation labels, but people who call themselves straight often experience great distress when there is a mismatch, presumably because of the enormous pressure in most societies to be straight.

Tests

http://MySexualOrientation.com (English)

http://MiOrientacionSexual.com (Spanish)

http://MeineSexuelleIdentitat.com (German)

http://MonOrientationSexuelle.com (French)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/jp (Japanese)

http://SeksueleGeaardheid.com (Dutch)

http://SzexualisOrientaciom.com (Hungarian)

http://MioOrientamentoSessuale.com (Italian)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/chinese/simplified (Simplified Chinese)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/chinese/traditional (Traditional Chinese)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/Arabic (Arabic)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/malay (Malay)

http://MySexualOrientation.com/Korean (Korean)

Other translations are in progress.

Recent Publications|

Epstein, R., Wang, H., & Zankich, V. R. (2023).  Is everyone a mix of straight and gay? A social pressure theory of sexual orientation, with supporting data from a large global sample. Frontiers in Psychology.  (forwarding link: https://SocialPressureTheory.com)

Epstein, R. (2019, September 14). Sexual orientation is somewhere on a continuum [Letter to the editor]. New Scientist.

Robertson, R.E., Tran, F.W., Lewark, L.N., & Epstein, R. (2017). Estimates of non-heterosexual prevalence: The roles of anonymity and privacy in survey methodology. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Epstein, R. (2016, Spring).  Do gays have a choice? Scientific American Mind, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 56-63. (Updated version of 2006 article)

Epstein, R. (2015, March 27). Preventing another "Sodomite Suppression Act" [Letter]. Los Angeles Times, p. A16.

Epstein, R., & Robertson, R. E. (2014). How to measure sexual orientation range, and why it’s worth measuringJournal of Bisexuality, 14, 392-404.

Epstein, R, McKinney, P., Fox, S., & Garcia, C. (2012). Support for a fluid-continuum model of sexual orientation: A large-scale Internet study. Journal of Homosexuality, 59, 1356-1381.


Epstein, R. (2012, October). Sex and the societyDiscover, pp. 56-58.


Epstein, R. (2012, November 28). Homophobia, homomisia, and the Associated Press.  CommPro.

 

Epstein, R. (2007, October/November). Smooth thinking about sexuality: “Gay” and “straight” are misleading termsScientific American Mind,  p. 14.

Epstein, R. (2006, February/March).  Do gays have a choice? Scientific American Mind, pp. 32-39. (Reprinted in Scientific American Special Issue, 20(3), 2009, pp. 62-69)

 

Recent Presentations

Epstein, R., & Rajgarhia, A. (2024, April). Expanding an investigation of sexual orientation to non-English-speaking countries: How predictive is Social Pressure Theory? Paper to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA. 

Epstein, R., & Wang, H. (2023, April). Social Pressure Theory (SPT): A new and predictive theory of sexual orientation, with mathematical and computational models. Paper presented at the 103rd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Riverside, CA.

Epstein, R., Wang, H., & Zankich, V. R. (2022, April). Support for Freud’s assertion that bisexuality is the natural human norm: A formal theory of sexual orientation, with supporting data from more than a million people worldwide. Paper presented at the 102nd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, OR. 

Epstein, R., Gao, W., Hou, Y., & Sun, C. (2018, April). Bisexuality might be the natural human norm: A large-scale internet study. Paper presented at the 98th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, OR.

Epstein, R., Robertson, R.E., & Hyun, S. (2016, April). Calling oneself “straight” can be stressful: Insights from a large multinational study of sexual orientation. Paper presented at the 96th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Long Beach, CA.

Robertson, R.E., & Epstein, R. (2014, April). Are we underestimating non-heterosexual prevalence?  The critical role of survey methodology.  Paper presented at the 94th annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon.

Epstein, R., & Robertson, R.E. (2013, November).  A quantitative analysis of the mismatch between sexual orientation labels and various measures of sexual expression.  Presented at the 56th annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, San Diego, California.

Epstein, R., & Robertson, R.E. (2013, November). How to measure sexual orientation range, and why it’s worth measuring.  Presented at the 56th annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, San Diego, California.         

Epstein, R., & Robertson, R. E. (2013, November). How to measure sexual orientation prevalence without underestimating the prevalence of non-heterosexuals.  Presented at the 56th annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, San Diego, California.


Epstein, R., & Robertson, R.E. (2013, April). The inadequacy of sexual orientation labels: Lessons from a large-scale study. Presented at the 93rd annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Reno, Nevada.

Epstein, R. (2009, May). Sexual orientation lies smoothly on a continuum: New data and evolutionary implications. Presented at the 21st annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Fullerton, CA.

Epstein, R.  (2007, November).  Sexual orientation lies smoothly on a continuum: Verification and extension of Kinsey’s hypothesis in a large-scale study. Presented at the 50th annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, co-sponsored by The Kinsey Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana.

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