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Responses of Female Undergraduates to Scenarios of Sexual Harassment by Male Professors and Teaching Assistants

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This study sought to identify some of the factors that lead to assertive responding to sexual harassment. Responses of 120 female undergraduates to hypothetical scenarios of sexual harassment by male professors or teaching assistants were investigated. Two situational variables (ambiguity of the behaviour and harasser status) and one individual difference variable (coping style) were examined. Participants completed a coping inventory and a questionnaire containing 1 of 4 harassment scenarios, with measures of affect, perceptions of the instructor, acknowledgment of the behaviour as sexual harassment, and behavioural responses at two stages. Less ambiguous harassment situations were associated with greater negative affect, acknowledgment of sexual harassment, and more assertive responding. Coping style, but not harasser status, was also related to response strategies.
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Response of female undergraduates to scenarios of sexual harassment by male p...
Denna S Weiss; Richard N Lalonde
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science; Jul 2001; 33, 3; CBCA Reference
pg. 148
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... Ambiguity in this case refers to disagreement among laypeople on whether an incident qualifies as sexual harassment. Since sexual harassment can take many forms, people may differ regarding their belief as to what counts as sexual harassment (Bursik, 1992;Bursik & Geffer, 2011;Rothgerber et al., 2021;Shupe, 2020;Weiss & Lalonde, 2001). Dodd et al. (2001) found that a woman who confronted a man who made a blatantly sexist remark was more respected compared to if she did not confront him, but confrontation had no effect on respect if the remark was ambiguous. ...
... Dodd et al. (2001) found that a woman who confronted a man who made a blatantly sexist remark was more respected compared to if she did not confront him, but confrontation had no effect on respect if the remark was ambiguous. Additionally, Weiss and Lalonde (2001) asked female undergraduates to imagine that they were the target of either ambiguous (casual touches that make the woman uncomfortable) or unambiguous (suggesting that being receptive to the touches will lead to a better grade) sexually harassing behavior from a male instructor. Participants were more likely to label the behavior as sexual harassment and had a more negative reaction to the instructor in the unambiguous condition compared to the ambiguous condition. ...
... When an offender faces retribution or punishment, this can restore one's sense of justice and lessen the likelihood an offender will transgress again (Carlsmith et al., 2002;Wang & Murnighan, 2017). In contrast, harassers not suffering consequences can potentially result in a greater likelihood of subsequent offending (Pyke, 1996;Weiss & Lalonde, 2001). In this sense, reporting a man for sexual harassment who is perceived as deserving of negative consequences would therefore be seen as a positive action, whereas not reporting would be seen as a negative action. ...
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Previous research suggests that individuals may not report sexual harassment for a variety of reasons. There is evidence that women who report and do not report sexual harassment both face negative evaluations. The current studies investigated a potential explanation for these contradictory findings—the perceived deservingness of consequences for the alleged harasser. Across three studies, we examined evaluations of a woman who reported (versus did not report) an uncomfortable situation as sexual harassment as well as examining whether the alleged harasser was perceived as deserving punishment or not. In Study 1, participants rated the woman less favorably when she reported behavior most participants considered not to be sexual harassment compared to when she did not report. In Studies 2 and 3, using a scenario perceived as more ambiguous, we found that participants who believed that the alleged harasser deserved punishment evaluated the woman more favorably when she reported. In Study 3, however, whether or not the alleged harasser was actually punished for his actions had little effect on evaluations of the harassment target. Ultimately, findings suggest that differences in evaluations on reporting sexual harassment may be rooted in whether the alleged harasser is perceived as deserving punishment or not.
... Experiences of faculty-student SH can cause emotional, psychological, physical, and other setbacks, including limitation of educational, professional, and career opportunities (Cortina & Wasti, 2005;Diekmann et al., 2013;Laird & Pronin, 2019; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine [NASEM], 2018; Pinchevsky et al., 2020). Female victims are further at risk of retaliation from faculty, staff, and administrators if they report, and there is the possibility of adverse reactions or silence by their peers who become aware of the SH (Cantalupo & Kidder, 2018;Hershcovis et al., 2021;Weiss & Lalonde, 2001). Indeed, Dixon (1997) described the risks of rejection by peers due to jealousy of targets of faculty sexual interest. ...
... Similar to previous studies that have employed vignettes to study bystander intervention related to SH among students (e.g., Bennett & Banyard, 2016;Bennett et al., 2014;Bursik & Gefter, 2011;Heretick & Learn, 2020;Jacobson & Eaton, 2018;Weiss & Lalonde, 2001), we created four vignettes to present a situation where a classmate reported witnessing the CSH of another classmate by the professor of a course they both are taking. According to the vignette's description, the witness "said they were outside Professor Brooks' office while he was meeting with Karen" and "they could see everything that was going on, but nobody knew they were there." ...
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Coercive sexual harassment (CSH) by faculty is a risk factor for women in higher education. Bystander intervention and support for a victim are critical. Social networks can influence peers’ social reactions to victims of sexual violations. This is the first study to explore the responses of peers who learn about CSH of a peer indirectly, thus becoming indirect bystanders. In this scenario, a peer classmate learns of CSH of a classmate from another classmate who witnessed the CSH. The 181 participants (52.8% female) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where a written vignette described an interaction between the instructor faculty member and a student; the interchange involved either moderate or severe CSH (severity). The peer informant who witnessed the CSH and shared the information with the potential indirect bystander was described as either a close friend in the same class or only a classmate (friendship status). The vignette was followed by a series of items with Likert-type scales that measured cognitive appraisals (offensiveness of interaction, harm to victim, the believability of information, personal responsibility to act), emotional reactions (fears of negative consequences for taking action, emotional reactions to perpetrator and victim), and behavioral intentions (helping peer victim, social responses to victim, behaviors towards professor/perpetrator). Results indicated that the severity of CSH was a critical factor in cognitive appraisals and both positive emotional reactions to the victim and negative emotions towards the perpetrator. Yet, the main effects for the severity of CSH were moderated by friendship status of the informant: when the source was a close friend in the moderate CSH condition, participants were more likely to act to support the victim, less likely to avoid/exclude the victim, and more likely to avoid/exclude the professor than when the source of the information was simply a classmate. Results support training programs that focus on peer social networks as sources of deterrence and enhanced support regarding SH.
... In the tradition of using vignettes to study bystander intervention related to SH among students (e.g., Bennett et al., 2015;Bursik & Gefter, 2011;Jacobson & Eaton, 2018;Weiss & Lalonde, 2001), three vignettes were created to present descriptions of interactions between a male professor and a female college student that varied in severity of CSH. ...
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The risk for female students in academia of sexual harassment by male faculty and staff remains a national crisis. This study examined effects of severity of coercive sexual harassment (CSH) by a male professor of a female student on peer bystander intervention responses. A total of 180 undergraduate and graduate college students who volunteered for an online survey were randomly assigned to one of three vignette conditions that varied severity of CSH. Following Bowes-Sperry’s ethical model of bystander behaviors, it was predicted that severity of CSH would affect cognitive appraisals and emotional reactions, which would further predict intentions for intervention behaviors. Predictions generally were supported. Logistic regression analyses indicated that severity of CSH, fears of consequences, and negative emotions toward the professor were significant predictors of direct confrontation of the professor by the student observer, whereas only severity and negative emotions toward the professor were predictors of the indirect intervention (finding an excuse to remove the victim) or delegation (going to get help) while the incident was occurring. Fears of personal consequences suppressed direct intervention in the moderate condition. Findings suggest ongoing need within academia for clarification of behaviors that constitute CSH, as well as safety for bystanders who intervene.
... In contrast, faculty members are typically much older than undergraduates and may be more readily perceived as authority figures. Each source may be experienced as forms of betrayal, but perhaps more strongly regarding faculty than teaching assistants or graduate students (Weiss & Lalonde, 2001). ...
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... In the current studies, the majority of the preferred behaviors (asking friends and family for ideas; consulting social agencies; collecting evidence ) clearly represent part of an assessment strategy that can lead to further action or inaction . It is very difficult for vignettes to capture the dynamic nature of the discrimination experience (see Weiss & Lalonde, 2001). The analogue method entails another important limitation. ...
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