ABSTRACT

If not hindered by serious ethical considerations and severe budgetary restraints, how would a researcher study whether therapeutic interventions can change an individual’s sexual orientation? In one scenario, the researcher could set up an experiment by recruiting random samples of homosexual and heterosexual men and women, randomly assigning them to the experimental and control conditions, and extensively assessing them before and after the experiment as well as at several one-year follow-ups. This design would enable a researcher to draw the most valid conclusions about a therapeutic intervention’s potential for changing someone’s orientation.