INNUMERACY OF THE LESBIAN AND GAY POPULATIONS.

Majority groups often overestimate minority group size. In this paper, we look at the impact newspaper accounts can have on individuals when it comes to estimating the number of lesbians and gays living in the United States. We use newspaper scenarios before asking respondents their estimation the lesbian and gay population in the United States. We find that individuals who read a percentage change of the lesbian and gay populations and those who read about Kinsey's 10% statistic had slightly elevated estimates of lesbians and gays living in the U.S. Those who read a numeric change or read nothing at all, underestimated the number of lesbians and gays. Among demographic characteristics, we find that having a higher level of education suppresses an individual's estimate of the lesbian and gay populations, while identifying as a member of the Protestant faith increases an individual's estimate of the lesbian and gay populations. We conclude by discussing the limitation of the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]