Gaydar: a social-cognitive analysis

Gaydar is a popular culture term that refers to the ability for one individual to correctly identify the sexual orientation of another. Recent studies have documented a phenomenon that mirrors gaydar. The purpose of this paper is to provide a cognitive analysis of the "gaydar" phenomenon. Gaydar is best regarded as a high skill. As such, work in the areas of expert-novice research and cognitive apprenticeship is relevant. Determining someone's sexual orientation is a problem to be solved. Gay and lesbian individuals are more likely to have participated in informal social training or apprenticeship to become "expert" at it, especially in comparison with heterosexual individuals. Cultural forces prompt the necessity for a skill like gaydar.