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Exploring sexual harassment and related attitudes in Beninese high schools: A field study
Psychology, Crime and Law
Abstract
Sexual harassment severely impacts the educational system in the West African country Benin and the progress of women in this society that is characterized by great gender inequality. Knowledge of the belief systems rooting in the sociocultural context is crucial to the understanding of sexual harassment. However, no study has yet investigated how sexual harassment is related to fundamental beliefs in Benin or West African countries. We conducted a field study on 265 female and male students from several high schools in Benin to investigate the link between sexual harassment and measures of ambivalent sexism, gender identity, and rape myth acceptance. Almost half of the sample reported having experienced sexual harassment personally or among peers. Levels of sexism and rape myth acceptance were very high compared to other studies. These attitudes appeared to converge in a sexist belief system that was linked to personal experiences, the perceived probability of experiencing and fear of sexual harassment. Results suggest that sexual harassment is a societal problem and that interventions need to address fundamental attitudes held in societies low in gender equality.
... Two studies suggest some forms of hostile or benevolent sexist attitudes may occur as young as early childhood (Gutierrez et al., 2020;Hammond and Cimpian, 2021); however, most research suggests ambivalent sexism becomes crystalized during adolescence with the onset of puberty and sexual interest among heterosexual youth (e.g., de Lemus et al., 2010;Glick and Hilt, 2000;Montañés et al., 2013). Researchers have documented the endorsement of hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes among adolescents across the world, including countries in Europe (e.g., de Lemus et al., 2010), North America (e.g., Dickman-Burnett et al., 2021), South America (e.g., DeSouza and Ribeiro, 2005), Africa (e.g., de Puiseau and Roessel, 2013), and Asia (e.g., Chu, 2014); notably, these sexist attitudes are apparent even in countries ranked high in gender equality such as Sweden (e.g., Zakrisson et al., 2012). In most reports, boys scored higher than girls in average levels of ambivalent sexism. ...
... Two studies suggest some forms of hostile or benevolent sexist attitudes may occur as young as early childhood (Gutierrez et al., 2020;Hammond and Cimpian, 2021); however, most research suggests ambivalent sexism becomes crystalized during adolescence with the onset of puberty and sexual interest among heterosexual youth (e.g., de Lemus et al., 2010;Glick and Hilt, 2000;Montañés et al., 2013). Researchers have documented the endorsement of hostile and benevolent sexist attitudes among adolescents across the world, including countries in Europe (e.g., de Lemus et al., 2010), North America (e.g., Dickman-Burnett et al., 2021), South America (e.g., DeSouza and Ribeiro, 2005), Africa (e.g., de Puiseau and Roessel, 2013), and Asia (e.g., Chu, 2014); notably, these sexist attitudes are apparent even in countries ranked high in gender equality such as Sweden (e.g., Zakrisson et al., 2012). In most reports, boys scored higher than girls in average levels of ambivalent sexism. ...
... Adolescents' endorsement of ambivalent sexist attitudes is related to multiple negative outcomes. In various studies with adolescents or emerging adults, hostile or benevolent sexist attitudes predicted acceptance or perpetration of sexual harassment and sexual violence (e.g., Bendixen and Ottesen Kennair, 2017;Cava et al., 2020;de Puiseau and Roessel, 2013;Dickman-Burnett et al., 2021;Dosil et al., 2019;Durán et al., 2010;Fasanelli et al., 2020;Lee et al., 2016;Morelli et al., 2016;Nava-Reyes et al., 2018), prejudicial attitudes toward gays and lesbians (Carrera- Fernández et al., 2013), sexual risk taking (Ramiro-Sánchez et al., 2018), support of heterosexual dating double standards or marriage traditions (Paynter and Leaper, 2016;Robnett and Leaper, 2013b), and endorsement of unrealistic romantic beliefs (Fernández et al., 2023). In addition, adolescent girls' benevolent sexist attitudes were correlated with restricted academic or career aspirations (Farkas and Leaper, 2016a;Montañés et al., 2012;Sáinz and Gallego, 2022) and greater involvement in housework (Malonda et al., 2017;Silvan-Ferrero and Lopez, 2007). ...
We review how sexist ideologies and practices perpetuate male dominance in society during adolescence. Their deleterious impacts on girls, gender- and sexual-minoritized youth, and gender-nonconforming boys are emphasized, although we also describe their negative effects for gender-conforming boys. Conceptual models of sexist attitudes and traditional gender ideologies are explained, and their correlates with adolescents’ behaviors are summarized. Next, we document the prevalence and effects of sexualization, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Also, we address how gender-biased experiences undermine youth in academic and athletic settings. Finally, we review factors related to adolescents’ awareness of sexism, coping, and potential strategies for preventing sexism.
... Extant literature on sexual harassment in universities have investigated the gender disparity in opinions about what constitutes sexual harassment (Ferrer-Pérez and Bosch-Fiol, 2014;Wamoyi et al., 2022); the impact of sexual harassment on victims (Sinko et al., 2021); universities' intervention programmes to address sexual harassment (Moore and Mennicke, 2020;Skewes et al., 2021); the relationship between socio-cultural beliefs and perceptions about sexual harassment (Yee et al., 2015;Puiseau and Roessel, 2013); the influence of physical attractiveness on perceptions about sexual harassment (Herrera et al., 2016); the portrayal of female victims of sexual harassment in internet memes (Andreasen, 2021); patterns of oppositional rhetorics in online conversations about sexual harassment and assault on university campuses (Phillips and Chagnon, 2021); etc. All of these studies have demonstrated the influence of gender stereotypes, rape myths, societal norms, etc. on perceptions about and attitude towards sexual harassment and victims of sexual harassment. ...
... Literature on sex-related crimes in societies have explicated the stereotypical representation of males and females in news about the crime. (Lindqvist, 2018;Yee et al., 2015;Puiseau and Roessel (2013) ;Andreasen, 2021;Herrera et al., 2016;etc.). Sexual harassment exists in secondary and post-secondary institutions of learning, and gender is the major contributory factor to sexual harassment (Kabaya, 2016). ...
... Sexism and gender inequality are major factors that contribute to sexual harassment and increase rape myth acceptance and victim blaming (Andreasen, 2021;Herrera et al., 2016;Puiseau and Roessel, 2013). Bakari and Leach (2008) notes in their investigation of sexual harassment in a college of education in Northern Nigeria that sexual violence against female students is sustained through ideological underpinnings that regard female sexuality as flawed and debased -an extension male occupation of powerful and authoritative positions within the institution and discrimination against women. ...
This study argues that online discourse about female victims of sexual harassment contain stances and stereotypical assumptions that portray negative attitudes towards the victims. Using Martin and White’s Appraisal Theory aided by Lazar’s Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, it analyses the attitudes and opinions of Nigerian online participants about the victims, and discusses the ideological perceptions about them in order to explicate the nature of discursivity and stance-taking in online discussions on sexual harassment cases in Nigerian Universities. The data comprise 500 readers’ comments on online narrations about sexual harassment in five Nigerian universities downloaded from Nairaland.com . Findings reveal the use of negative affect and judgement expressed towards victims of sexual harassment present them as liars and willing accomplices in the harassment situation. Also, dimensions of ideological perceptions of females portray them as guilty victims whose behaviours and actions instigated the harassment.
... Studies (77.5%, n=38) were primarily focused on either a workplace or educational setting, with only 11 studies focused on public spaces, such as public transport, streets or the community. Among educational settings, most were higher educational institutions with four studies [33][34][35][36] focused on adolescents at secondary schools. All, but two studies were observational with crosssectional surveys; only two studies had a longitudinal design. ...
Objectives
We synthesise evidence on sexual harassment from studies in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate its prevalence and conduct a meta-analysis of the association between sexual harassment and depressive symptoms.
Methods
We searched eight databases. We included peer-reviewed studies published in English from 1990 until April 2020 if they measured sexual harassment prevalence in LMICs, included female or male participants aged 14 and over and conceptualised sexual harassment as an independent or dependant variable. We appraised the quality of evidence, used a narrative syntheses approach to synthesise data and conducted a random effects meta-analysis.
Results
From 49 included studies, 38 focused on workplaces and educational institutions and 11 on public places. Many studies used an unclear definition of sexual harassment and did not deploy a validated measurement tool. Studies either used a direct question or a series of behavioural questions to elicit information on acts considered offensive or defined as sexual harassment. Prevalence was higher in educational institutions than in workplaces although there was high heterogeneity in prevalence estimates across studies with no international comparability. This posed a challenge for calculating an overall estimate or measuring a range. Our meta-analysis showed some evidence of an association between sexual harassment and depressive symptoms (OR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.11 to 2.76; p=0.016) although there were only three studies with a high risk of bias.
Conclusion
To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to assess measurement approaches and estimate the prevalence of sexual harassment across settings in LMICs. We also contribute a pooled estimate of the association between sexual harassment and depressive symptoms in LMICs. There is limited definitional clarity, and rigorously designed prevalence studies that use validated measures for sexual harassment in LMICs. Improved measurement will enable us to obtain more accurate prevalence estimates across different settings to design effective interventions and policies.
... adversarial sexual beliefs, attitudes toward women and hostility toward women). A relationship between low support for GE and VAWSA is confirmed for attitudes representing each of the separate gendered patterns in Table 1 (Fabiano et al., 2003;Adana et al., 2011;de Puiseau & Roessel, 2013;Fulu et al., 2013;Giovannelli & Jackson, 2013;Haj-Yahia et al., 2015;Austin et al., 2016;Fox & Potocki, 2016;Papp et al., 2017;Hill & Marshall, 2018). However, research examining the relative contribution of different dimensions of GI to VAWSA is limited to comparing the relative influence of benevolent and hostile sexism. ...
Low support for gender equality (GE) predicts attitudes supporting violence against women (VAW). However, little is known about the influence of attitudes toward different manifestations of GE. This study extends knowledge by assessing the relative strength of attitudes to GE across seven theoretically derived dimensions, and their association with attitudes toward VAW. 17,542 Australians participated in the 2017 National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women Survey.
Population means were calculated for the following scales formed from survey questions: the Community Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women Scale (CASVAWS), the Gender Equality Attitudes Scale (GEAS) and measures within the GEAS representing the theoretical dimensions. There was variation in support for GE between the measures. The lower the support for GE, the higher the support for VAW. Although all GEAS measures included in regression modelling contributed to variance in the CASVAWS, two accounted for more than half. The study suggests benefits in using a multidimensional model of GE to mitigate cultural support for VAW, with emphasis on the private sphere and countering hostility toward women and rigid gender roles and identities.
... In relation to adolescents' attitudes, tolerance of rape myths (e.g. Aronowitz et al., 2012;Kershner, 1996;Tavrow, Withers, Obbuyi, Omollo, & Wu, 2013;Waubert de Puiseau & Roessel, 2013), rape (Telljohann et al., 1995), sexual assault (Daigneault et al., 2015;Davis & Lee, 1996), dating violence (Geiger, Fischer, & Esheet, 2004;Shen et al., 2012;Sherer, 2010) and conservative attitudes to gender roles (e.g. Epps, Haworth, & Swaffer, 1993;Foulis & McCabe, 1997;Kershner, 1996) have been identified in the literature. ...
The aim of the present study was twofold. First, we wanted to quantify the level of knowledge of Swedish young people regarding sexual crime and to evaluate their supportive attitudes, while at the same time we aimed at identifying, through self-report, the sources that most contribute to such knowledge and attitudes. A sample of 245 upper secondary school students was selected from five schools in four Swedish counties. The results indicate that adolescents in Sweden have a high level of knowledge of rape, sexual molestation/harassment, and sexual exploitation of a dependent person. Furthermore, they show non-supportive attitudes to rape, sexual harassment, and sexual crime in general. However, some issues related to these types of crime proved to be confusing to the participants and, therefore, require targeting in education policies, specifically among juvenile males and those born abroad. The results are discussed in the context of the needs for sexual crime prevention.
The Ambivalent Sexism Theory suggests that there are two complementary types of sexism: hostile (subjectively negative attitude towards gender groups) and benevolent (subjectively positive attitude towards gender groups). In this meta‐analysis we analyzed the relationship between ambivalent sexism and attitudes toward male‐to‐female violence or violent behavior. Violence type, the context of violence, respondents’ gender, the countries’ level of gender inequality, and sample type were tested as moderators. The results showed that both hostile and benevolent sexism independently impact on attitudes toward violence and violent behavior albeit to a different degree. Specifically, the relationship between hostile sexism and attitudes and behavior is stronger than for the benevolent sexism. The type and context of violence moderate the relationship between hostile sexism and attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Only the country's gender inequality levels showed a moderation effect for benevolent sexism. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
This article evaluates theories of the origins of sex differences in human behavior. It reviews the cross-cultural evidence on the behavior of women and men in nonindustrial societies, especially the activities that contribute to the sex-typed division of labor and patriarchy. To explain the cross-cultural findings, the authors consider social constructionism, evolutionary psychology, and their own biosocial theory. Supporting the biosocial analysis, sex differences derive from the interaction between the physical specialization of the sexes, especially female reproductive capacity, and the economic and social structural aspects of societies. This biosocial approach treats the psychological attributes of women and men as emergent given the evolved characteristics of the sexes, their developmental experiences, and their situated activity in society.
This article describes a program of research designed to yield a conceptually grounded, psychometrically sound instrument for assessing the incidence and prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace. Following the specification of a theoretical framework that is consistent with both legal guidelines and psychological research, we review the development and evaluation of a three-dimensional model of sexual harassment (gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion). Based on this model, we describe the development of a revised version of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ; Fitzgerald et al., 1988). Following extensive pilot work, the instrument was field tested in a large regulated utility. Data from 448 employed women (professional, technical, clerical and blue collar workers) support the reliability of the scales, and confirmatory factor analysis in this new sample confirms the stability and generalizability of the theoretical model. Following a brief review of validity data recently reported in the literature, implications for further measurement improvements are discussed.
Data are presented concerning the ethics of exposing undergraduate students to pornographic rape portrayals followed by a debriefing designed to dispel a number of rape myths. One hundred fifty males and females were randomly assigned to read pornographic stories. Some of these depicted a rape, whereas others depicted mutually consenting intercourse. Afterwards, those exposed to the rape version were given a debriefing which included statements concerning the true horror of rape and the existence of rape myths. About 10 days later, a “Public Survey” ostensibly conducted by a local committee of citizens was given to subjects in their classes. A postexperimental questionnaire confirmed that participants were not aware that this survey was related to the earlier phase of the research. As part of the survey, subjects were presented with actual newspaper articles about which their opinions were solicited. One of these articles, the dependent measure of the study, concerned rape. Subjects indicated their reactions to this article and their opinions about the general causes of rape. The results indicated that those exposed to the rape depictions followed by a “rape debriefing” were less accepting of certain rape myths than subjects exposed to mutually consenting intercourse depictions. Implications of the data for future research in this area are discussed both in terms of work focusing on the potential antisocial impact of violent pornography and of research specifically designed to identify the conditions most likely to change acceptance of rape myths.
Gender schema theory proposes that the phenomenon of sex typing derives, in part, from gender-based schematic processing— a generalized readiness to process information on the basis of the sex-linked associations that constitute the gender schema. In particular, the theory proposes that sex typing results from the fact that the self-concept itself is assimilated in the gender schema. Several studies are described, including 2 experiments with 96 male and 96 female undergraduates, that demonstrate that sex-typed individuals do, in fact, have a greater readiness to process information—including information about the self—in terms of the gender schema. It is speculated that such gender-based schematic processing derives, in part, from the society's ubiquitous insistence on the functional importance of the gender dichotomy. The political implications of gender schema theory and its relationship to the concept of androgyny are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The authors present a theory of sexism formulated as ambivalence toward women and validate a corresponding measure, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). The ASI taps 2 positively correlated components of sexism that nevertheless represent opposite evaluative orientations toward women: sexist antipathy or
Hostile Sexism (HS) and a subjectively positive (for sexist men) orientation toward women,
Benevolent Sexism (BS). HS and BS are hypothesized to encompass 3 sources of male ambivalence: Paternalism, Gender Differentiation, and Heterosexuality. Six ASI studies on 2,250 respondents established convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Overall ASI scores predict ambivalent attitudes toward women, the HS scale correlates with negative attitudes toward and stereotypes about women, and the BS scale (for nonstudent men only) correlates with positive attitudes and stereotypes about women. A copy of the ASI is provided, with scoring instructions, as a tool for further explorations of sexist ambivalence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Sexual harassment has been found to be common in the workplace. Forty-two percent to 88% of working women report having been sexually harassed. Recent research on sexual harassment has taken a cognitive approach, arguing that male sexual harassment of women results from 2 types of sexism in combination with stereotypes: hostile sexism and benevolent sexism. This study considers a model that a deeper personality characteristic, authoritarianism, contributes to the likelihood of sexual harassment, in combination with variables identified as influencing sexual aggression. Results consistent with a model of emotional displacement indicated that authoritarianism predicts men's self-reported likelihood of engaging in sexual harassment, mediated by belief in rape myths and S. Fiske and P. Glick's (1995) Hostile Sexism. Benevolent sexism did not predict the likelihood of sexual harassment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
According to stereotypic beliefs about the sexes, women are more communal (selfless and concerned with others) and less agentic (self-assertive and motivated to master) than men. These beliefs were hypothesized to stem from perceivers' observations of women and men in differing social roles: (a) Women are more likely than men to hold positions of lower status and authority, and (b) women are more likely than men to be homemakers and are less likely to be employed in the paid work force. In 5 experiments, 3,839 women and 850 men, most of whom were university students, each read a description of 1 man or woman and then rated that stimulus person on certain attributes. Exps I and II failed to support the hypothesis that observed sex differences in status underlie belief in female communal qualities and male agentic qualities. Exp III supported the hypothesis that observed sex differences in distribution into homemaker and employee occupational roles account for these beliefs. In this experiment, Ss perceived the average woman and man stereotypically. Female and male homemakers were perceived as high in communion and low in agency. Female and male employees were perceived as low in communion and high in agency, although female employees were perceived as even more agentic than their male counterparts. Exps IV and V examined perceptions that might account for the belief that employed women are especially agentic; freedom of choice about being employed accounted for it reasonably well. (58 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
It is proposed that gender stereotypes arise to rationalize the distribution of the sexes into social roles. Ss read descriptions of members of two fictional categories, one having 80% "city workers" and 20% "child raisers," the other with the percentages reversed. They later made personality ratings of each category and of the category subgroups occupying each role. Ss formed role-based category stereotypes that affected their ratings even when targets' roles were specified. Stronger stereotypes arose when the categories were biologically defined or when Ss attempted to explain the category–role correlation. The basic effect was replicated using roles that are not differentially linked to familiar human groups. The findings are interpreted as showing that stereotypes can arise solely in response to a sexual division of labor and serve to rationalize this division by attributing to the sexes intrinsic personality differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The role of benevolent sexism (BS) in accounting for victim blame in an acquaintance rape case was investigated. Participants were presented with vignettes that described an acquaintance rape. Control condition participants were given no descriptive information about the victim, whereas in the "cheating" condition the victim was described as a "married woman." As predicted, participants who scored high in BS attributed more blame to the acquaintance rape victim who was assaulted during an act of infidelity than to a victim in similar circumstances whose marital status was unknown. These findings complement those of other research (Abrams, Viki, Masser, & Bohner, in press), which indicate that individuals high in BS are more likely to react negatively to rape victims who can be viewed as violating social norms concerning appropriate conduct for women.
In this study we examined the effects of gender, gender roles (masculinity and femininity), ambivalent sexism, and social dominance orientation with regard to tolerance of sexual harassment. It was predicted that women would be less tolerant than men of sexual harassment, however, men and women who were tolerant of sexual harassment would share ambivalence and hostility toward women, and they would exhibit higher levels of social dominance and masculinity. Results partially supported the hypotheses. Women were significantly less tolerant of harassment than men were, however, regression analyses showed that ambivalent sexism and hostility toward women accounted for the majority of total variance (35%), followed by gender (5%), social dominance (1%), femininity (0.7%), and nonsexism (0.6%). Masculinity and benevolent sexism were not significant predictors. Results suggest that ambivalence and hostility toward women are much greater predictors of tolerance of sexual harassment than is gender alone.
Rape myth acceptance has been extensively studied. Little research is available, however, on the relationship of this variable
to other oppressive belief systems. A sample of 492 male and 506 female college students completed the Illinois Rape Myth
Acceptance Scale, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (short form), the Neosexism Scale, the Modern and Old Fashioned Racism
Scale, the Modern Homophobia Scale, a modified version of the Economic Belief Scale, the Fraboni Scale of Ageism, and the
Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale (short form). Because there were no existing measures of intolerance toward multiple
religions, the Religious Intolerance Scale was developed for this study (using relevant items from the Godfrey Richman Isms
Scale). Findings here suggested that greater racism (both modern and old fashioned), sexism (both modern and old fashioned),
homophobia (toward both gay men and lesbians), ageism, classism, and religious intolerance were each associated with greater
rape myth acceptance. Moreover, each belief system collectively added to the prediction of rape myth acceptance, although
sexism has the highest overlap with rape myth acceptance. Although gender did not moderate the relationship between oppressive
belief systems and rape myth acceptance, results, across analyses, did indicate that men reported greater rape myth acceptance
than women did. Results point to the interrelatedness of rape myth acceptance, racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, ageism,
and religious intolerance.
To test the validity of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and its application in Chinese culture, the instrument was administered to 302 American (101 males and 201 females) and 273 Chinese (120 males and 153 females) college students. Factor analyses and analysis by gender yielded different patterns across cultures. Subsequent results yielded a short form of eight male-oriented items and eight female-oriented items that were equivalent across cultures. The short form constructed in this study is expected to apply to future cross-cultural research on gender orientation. The study supports previous findings that masculine and feminine do not load on the major factors, and therefore it is misleading to name the two shortened scales as such. Further, a comparison of the BSRI scores across samples revealed that Chinese scores are generally lower than those of Americans, and explanations are made in light of Chinese culture.
Examined the validity and reliability of a French short version of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (S. Bem, 1974, BSRI) for adolescents, and the organization of gender-related self-schemata. Four studies involving 1,204 adolescents (average ages 14.91, 15.60, and 15.38 yrs) residing in France were carried out to translate BSRI items and evaluate their clarity; assess concurrent validity, construct validity, and reliability; and analyze the psychological construct correlates and produce statistical norms. Results show a positive linkage between masculinity and sports practice on the 1 hand, and self-esteem on the other. Femininity was negatively linked to self-esteem and sports practice. Factor analysis confirmed correlations between gathered data and theoretical constructs. There was a general lack of connection between the subscales. The questionnaire demonstrated sufficient internal consistency and test-retest reliability.
Describes the development of a new sex-role inventory that treats masculinity and femininity as 2 independent dimensions, thereby making it possible to characterize a person as masculine, feminine, or "androgynous" as a function of the difference between his or her endorsement of masculine and feminine personality characteristics. Normative data, provided by 561 male and 356 female college and junior college students, are presented, as well as the results of various psychometric analyses. Findings indicate that: (a) The dimensions of masculinity and femininity are empirically and logically independent. (b) The concept of psychological androgyny is a reliable one. (c) Highly sex-typed scores do not reflect a general tendency to respond in a socially desirable direction, but rather a specific tendency to describe oneself in accordance with sex-typed standards of desirable behavior for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article describes the "rape myth" and tests hypotheses derived from social psychological and feminist theory that acceptance of rape myths can be predicted from attitudes such as sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. Personality characteristics, background characteristics, and personal exposure to rape, rape victims, and rapists are other factors used in predictions. Results from regression analysis of interview data indicate that the higher the sex role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence, the greater a respondent's acceptance of rape myths. In addition, younger and better educated people reveal less stereotypic, adversarial, and proviolence attitudes and less rape myth acceptance. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding and changing this cultural orientation toward sexual assault.
The authors argue that complementary hostile and benevolent components of sexism exist across cultures. Male dominance creates hostile sexism (HS), but men's dependence on women fosters benevolent sexism (BS)--subjectively positive attitudes that put women on a pedestal but reinforce their subordination. Research with 15,000 men and women in 19 nations showed that (a) HS and BS are coherent constructs that correlate positively across nations, but (b) HS predicts the ascription of negative and BS the ascription of positive traits to women, (c) relative to men, women are more likely to reject HS than BS, especially when overall levels of sexism in a culture are high, and (d) national averages on BS and HS predict gender inequality across nations. These results challenge prevailing notions of prejudice as an antipathy in that BS (an affectionate, patronizing ideology) reflects inequality and is a cross-culturally pervasive complement to HS.
In Studies 1 and 2, after reading an acquaintance-rape but not a stranger-rape scenario, higher benevolent sexist but not hostile sexist participants blamed the victim significantly more. In Study 2, higher hostile sexist but not benevolent sexist male participants showed significantly greater proclivity to commit acquaintance (but not stranger) rape. Studies 3 and 4 supported the hypothesis that the effects of benevolent sexism and hostile sexism are mediated by different perceptions of the victim, as behaving inappropriately and as really wanting sex with the rapist. These findings show that benevolent sexism and hostile sexism underpin different assumptions about women that generate sexist reactions toward rape victims.
A new social desirability scale was constructed and correlated with MMPI scales. Comparison was made with correlations of the Edwards Social Desirability scale. The new scale correlated highly with MMPI scales and supported the definition of social desirability. Ss need to respond in "culturally sanctioned ways."
Research showing that rape myth acceptance (RMA) causally affects rape proclivity (RP) was extended by examining the impact of RMA-related norms on RP. Male students (total N = 264) received feedback about the alleged responses of other students to RMA items either before (Experiment 1) or after (Experiment 2) they reported their own RMA, and then their RP was assessed using acquaintance-rape scenarios. The level of RMA feedback was varied. Results showed that higher norms led to higher RP. In Experiment 1, this effect was mediated via self-reported RMA. Experiment 2 yielded main effects of both RMA feedback and self-reported RMA and an interaction effect showing that RMA feedback was particularly influential at higher levels of own RMA. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
In 3 studies, the author tested 2 competing views of sexual harassment: (a) It is motivated primarily by sexual desire and, therefore, is directed at women who meet feminine ideals, and (b) it is motivated primarily by a desire to punish gender-role deviants and, therefore, is directed at women who violate feminine ideals. Study 1 included male and female college students (N = 175) and showed that women with relatively masculine personalities (e.g., assertive, dominant, and independent) experienced the most sexual harassment. Study 2 (N = 134) showed that this effect was not because women with relatively masculine personalities were more likely than others to negatively evaluate potentially harassing scenarios. Study 3 included male and female employees at 5 organizations (N = 238) and showed that women in male-dominated organizations were harassed more than women in female-dominated organizations, and that women in male-dominated organizations who had relatively masculine personalities were sexually harassed the most.
Analysis of the causes of male violence against women requires consideration of the interaction among three types of factors—cultural factors that affect members of the society in general, the psychological makeup of individuals who are more likely to commit such acts of violence, and situational factors that may suppress or trigger the actual expression of aggressive responses. This chapter presents the data from a research program that is designed particularly to investigate cultural and individual causes of aggression against women, although some attention has also been given to situational factors. The primary focus of the research has been on violent inclinations in the general population rather than on individuals who were arrested for crimes such as rape. It is anticipated, however, that the findings also shed some light on the roots of aggressive acts that come to the attention of legal and mental health agencies.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
1Biosocial Causes of Men's and Women's Behavior2Distal and Proximal Causes of Sex Differences and Similarities3Gender Roles4Roles Guide Behavior5Influence of Gender Identities6Influence of Social Expectations7Empirical Evidence for Sex Differences and Similarities8Male and Female Social Roles are Rooted in a Biosocial Reality9Temporal and Cultural Change in Sex Differences10Summary
Sexual harassment proclivities in both men and women were studied in 222 college students. They were administered the newly developed Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale and their scores were compared with a large number of measures, including sex-role stereotyping, adversarial sexual beliefs, sexual conservatism, acceptance of interpersonal violence, rape myth acceptance, likelihood of rape, acceptance of feminism, empathetic concern, sexual activity, and sexual exploitation. Most of the results were statistically significant for both males and females, although correlations tended to be higher for males. A factor analysis of the Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale yielded a one-factor solution for both men and women, supporting the view that the scale measures likelihood of sexual harassment.
Many myths have been identified surrounding rape, rapists, and rape victims. This study reexamines the acceptance of rape myths across gender role ideologies and selected demographic characteristics to identify core myths. Three myth categories were established and investigated: blaming the woman, excusing the man, and justifications for acquaintance rape. Findings indicate that rape myths remain prevalent and adherence to myths is related to demographic factors and gender role attitudes. Overall, respondents tend to excuse the man more than blame the woman. Males accept rape myths more than females. Racial differences emerged most strongly on the justifications for acquaintance rape dimension. Individuals with a conservative gender role ideology believe rape myths more than those with more liberal ideologies. While core myths did not emerge from the data, the most revealing finding is that summative scaling techniques used in previous studies may mask important differences, between and within the three dimensions, in rape myth acceptance among the groups studied.
A sample of college women and men responded to a survey assessing attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and behaviors relevant to sexual harassment and assault. Men were more tolerant of sexual harassment, more likely to believe that heterosexual relationships were adversarial, more likely to subscribe to rape myths, and more likely to admit that they might sexually assault someone under some circumstances. Data from the present study support the proposition that relevant affective, cognitive, and behavioral indices of hostile sexuality directed against women are linked, supporting the assumption of a continuum of misogyny. Significant positive correlations were predicted and found among men's self-reported tolerance for sexual harassment, adversarial sexual beliefs, rape-myth acceptance, likelihood to rape, and experience as a sexual victimizer. Among women, belief and attitude measures were positively correlated but, as predicted, experience of sexual victimization was not reliably related to any other measure, supporting the conclusion that personal characteristics are not relevant to college women's sexual victimization.
The purpose of this study was to assess the cross-cultural validity of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale short form C, in a large sample of French-speaking participants from eight African countries and Switzerland. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses suggested retaining a two-factor structure. Item bias detection according to country was conducted for all 13 items and effect was calculated with R2. For the two-factor solution, 9 items were associated with a negligible effect size, 3 items with a moderate one, and 1 item with a large one. A series of analyses of covariance considering the acquiescence variable as a covariate showed that the acquiescence tendency does not contribute to the bias at item level. This research indicates that the psychometric properties of this instrument do not reach a scalar equivalence but that a culturally reliable measurement of social desirability could be developed.
Reviews the books, Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 1: Theory and Method by Gardner Lindzey and Elliot Aronson (Eds.) (1985); and Handbook of Social Psychology, Vol. 2: Special Fields and Applications (3rd ed.) by Gardner Lindzey and Elliot Aronson (Eds.) (1985). Readers of the new Handbook can come to appreciate the scope and development of social psychology by perusing Jones's historical review of the field's past 50 years. The Handbook features not general theories of attitudes and social behavior, but theories that function as guiding ideas and that yield useful insights and specific predictions for a limited range of phenomena. Such approaches typically provide partial models of a limited range of phenomena. Volume 2 contains reviews of special fields and applications. The topics that the editors have chosen to represent in Handbook chapters have gravitated to some extent as the field of social psychology has evolved. Noteworthy in the new edition is the addition of chapters on sex roles, interpersonal attraction, environmental psychology, social deviance, altruism and aggression, and the application of social psychology. Overall, the Handbook is extremely impressive and should give readers a sense of pride about the progress that has been made in social psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Glick and Fiske’s (1996) Ambivalent Sexism Inventory is a measure of hostile sexism (sexist antipathy) and benevolent sexism (a subjectively positive attitude toward women). This paper proposes a French version of this scale, the Echelle de Sexisme Ambivalent (ESA). Three studies on more than 1 000 participants established the validity of this new scale. The first one is the application of Rasch’s extended model that confirmed the psychometrical qualities of the ESA, for both male and female participants. The second study established the structural and predictive validity in a covariance analysis. This study again showed that both male and female participants displayed the same structural pattern. Next, both discriminant and convergent validity were assessed, by comparison to the Neosexism Scale (Tougas, Brown, Beaton and Joly, 1995) and the Social Dominance Scale (Sidanius and Pratto, 1999). Finally, practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Men's efforts to force women to engage in unwanted sexual activity can be explained by a combination of reactance theory and narcissism. Reactance theory suggests that deprivation of specific sexual options will cause men to desire them more, to try to reclaim them by forcing sex and by aggressing against the woman who has refused them, and assorted findings support this analysis. Narcissism is proposed to moderate the link, especially because coercion is relatively rare in response to sexual refusals. Evidence about sexually coercive men supports the narcissism hypothesis, such as by showing self-serving cognitive distortions, an excessive concern with being admired, an inflated sense of entitlement, selectively low empathy, and a broadly exploitative approach to heterosexual relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter is reprinted from
Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, by Susan Brownmiller (1975). Krafft-Ebing, Freud, Adler, Jung, Deutsch, Horney, Marx, and Engels were mostly silent on the topic of rape as a social reality. So it remained for the latter-day feminists, free at last from the strictures that forbade us to look at male sexuality, to discover the truth and meaning in our own victimization. Critical to our study is the recognition that rape has a history, and that through the tools of historical analysis we may learn what we need to know about our current condition. The subject of rape has not been, for zoologists, an important scientific question. No zoologist has ever observed that animals rape in their natural habitat, the wild. But we do know that human beings are different. Man's structural capacity to rape and woman's corresponding structural vulnerability are as basic to the physiology of both our sexes as the primal act of sex itself. Man's discovery that his genitalia could serve as a weapon to generate fear must rank as one of the most important discoveries of prehistoric times, along with the use of fire and the first crude stone axe. Rape's critical function is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear. A reflective comment, by Claire M. Renzetti, on this chapter appears at the end of the chapter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Presents a theory of sexism as ambivalence, not just hostility, toward women. Ambivalent Sexism Theory distinguishes between hostile and "benevolent" sexism (each addresses issues of power, gender differentiation, and sexuality). Benevolent sexism encompasses subjectively positive attitudes toward women in traditional roles: protective paternalism, idealization of women, and desire for intimate relations. Hostile sexism encompasses the negative equivalents on each dimension: dominative paternalism, derogatory beliefs, and heterosexual hostility. It is argued that both forms of sexism serve to justify and maintain patriarchy and traditional gender roles. The validity of a measure of these constructs, the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), is reviewed. Comparisons are offered between the ASI and other frequently used scales of attitudes toward women, with suggestions for the proper domains of different scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A series of six studies were conducted to explore the structure underlying rape myths and to develop the 45-item Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (''IRMA''). In the first study, 604 participants (mean age 18.8 years, 53% women) rated their level of agreement with 95 pretested rape myth statements. Exploratory and confir-matory multivariate analyses revealed a structure consisting of both a general myth component and seven subcomponents. This structure was replicated in a second study using a new sample and paired comparisons methodology. Study 3 details the development procedures for the IRMA and presents statistics demonstrating its good psychometric properties. Finally, Studies 4–6 support the construct validity of the IRMA. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory, mea-surement, future research, and intervention. © 1999 Academic Press
Theories of sexual aggression and victimization have increasingly emphasized the role of rape myths in the perpetuation of sexual assault. Rape myths are attitudes and generally false beliefs about rape that are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women. Acceptance of such myths has been assessed with a number of measures, and investigators have examined its relationship with numerous variables and interventions. Although there has been extensive research in this area, definitions, terminology, and measures of rape myth acceptance (RMA) continue to lack adequate theoretical and psychometric precision. Despite such criticisms, we emphasize that the significance of this type of research cannot be overstated because it has immense potential for the understanding of sexual assault. The present article offers a theory-based definition of rape myths, reviews and critiques the literature on rape myth acceptance, and suggests directions for future research. In particular we argue that such work must include the development and application of improved measures, with more concern for the theoretical and methodological issues unique to this field.
We theorize that sexual harassment in the workplace results from the complex interplay of ambivalent motives and gender stereotyping of women and jobs. Ambivalence combines hostile and “benevolent” sexist motives based on paternalism, gender differentiation, and heterosexuality. Stereotyped images of women and jobs also reflect these three dimensions. Together, these ambivalent motives and stereotyped cognitions promote sexual harassment of different types. Organizational context can encourage or discourage the cognitive-motivational dimensions that underlie sexual harassment.
Grounded in the theory of ambivalent sexism, this study tested the speculation that women's benevolent sexist attitudes may be, in part, a self-protective response to environments they perceive as hostile to women. Data that have indirectly supported this conjecture thus far have been correlational. The current study involved a more powerful, experimental test of the hypothesis. Women (N= 105) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, which differed only in what participants were told about research findings on men's attitudes toward women (negative or positive attitudes, or no information). As predicted, benevolent sexist attitudes—but not hostile sexist attitudes—were strongest for women told that men hold negative attitudes toward women. This effect is consistent with a benevolent sexism-as-protest explanation and was statistically significant even while controlling for attitudes toward feminism. The differential effect of beliefs about men's attitudes on these two types of sexism lends further support to the idea that, although hostile and benevolent sexism are related, they may serve different functions.
Most research looking at psychological similarities and differences between women and men has been carried out in North America and Western Europe. In this paper, I review a body of cross-cultural evidence showing that it is precisely in these Western countries that women and men differ the most in terms of personality, self-construal, values, or emotions. Much less-pronounced gender differences are observed, if at all, in Asian and African countries. These findings are unexpected from the perspectives of the two most influential frameworks applied to sex differences coming from evolutionary psychology and social role theory. However, recent research related to social comparison and self-categorization theories suggests a promising approach to explain why more egalitarian societies can paradoxically create greater psychological differences between women and men.
This chapter is intended to introduce researchers to the study of gender in a cross-cultural context. It describes the unique advantages of cross-cultural research and reviews the major theoretical and pragmatic issues associated with research in other cultures. The focus of the chapter is on the methodology and promise of cross-cultural research. It is not a review of the results of cross-cultural research on gender. The term cross-cultural research probably produces mental images of distant locations and people whose language, dress, and worldview are much different than one’s own. Exotic cultures have long fascinated adventurers, but historically adventurers’ descriptions of exotic cultures were notoriously ethnocentric, judgmental, and racist (Hogan & Sussner, 2001). Modern studies of culture began in the early part of the 20th century as both anthropology and psychology were struggling to establish the scientific basis of their disciplines. The study of gender united these fields in a manner that was to change both of them. In addition to being a major development in ethnographic research, Malinowski’s pioneering 1915‐1918 studies in the Trobriand Islands refuted the universality of the Oedipus complex, the single most important concept in psychoanalytic theory (Kilborn, 1982; Malinowski, 1985). However, the psychological importance of Malinoski’s work went far beyond psychoanalysis. Among other things it (1) illuminated some of the hidden ethnocentric biases in psychological theory, (2) demonstrated that the universality of psychological theory cannot be assumed, and (3) illustrated some of the many insights that can only be obtained through studies of other cultures. Without question the anthropologist with the greatest influence on psychology, particularly the study of gender, was Margaret Mead. Her Coming of Age in Samoa (1928) and Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies(1935) captured the interest of the general public and challenged many of our assumptions about the nature of psychosocial development, sexuality, and gender roles. Although the accuracy of her work has been harshly criticized, most notably by Derek Freeman (1983), her Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies produced a paradigmatic shift in how social scientists understood sex and gender. More than any other single individual Mead is responsible for the scholarly and popular recognition that definitions and expressions of masculinity and femininity are culture specific, a perspective that now informs almost all scholarly discussions of gender (Schlegel, 1989).
The overall findings suggest that while attitudes and perceptions of sexual harassment are related, they also differ, in that
attitudes require value judgments to be made of behavior. This explains the high relationship between attitudes to sexual
harassment and attitudes regarding gender role stereotypes. Sexist attitudes are associated with acceptance of sexual harassment.
The impact of age and occupation on attitudes suggest that high school students adhere to gender role stereotypes and have
a high tolerance of sexual harassment. However, this group’s lack of experience in the world and, consequently, their limited
exposure to attitudes that may challenge their current scripts and schemas, may be responsible for these findings.
Behavioral scientists routinely publish broad claims about human psychology and behavior in the world's top journals based on samples drawn entirely from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. Researchers - often implicitly - assume that either there is little variation across human populations, or that these "standard subjects" are as representative of the species as any other population. Are these assumptions justified? Here, our review of the comparative database from across the behavioral sciences suggests both that there is substantial variability in experimental results across populations and that WEIRD subjects are particularly unusual compared with the rest of the species - frequent outliers. The domains reviewed include visual perception, fairness, cooperation, spatial reasoning, categorization and inferential induction, moral reasoning, reasoning styles, self-concepts and related motivations, and the heritability of IQ. The findings suggest that members of WEIRD societies, including young children, are among the least representative populations one could find for generalizing about humans. Many of these findings involve domains that are associated with fundamental aspects of psychology, motivation, and behavior - hence, there are no obvious a priori grounds for claiming that a particular behavioral phenomenon is universal based on sampling from a single subpopulation. Overall, these empirical patterns suggests that we need to be less cavalier in addressing questions of human nature on the basis of data drawn from this particularly thin, and rather unusual, slice of humanity. We close by proposing ways to structurally re-organize the behavioral sciences to best tackle these challenges.
This study explores the usefulness of the feminist theory in explaining attitudes toward rape and victims of rape in Ghana. The feminist theory of rape posits, inter alia, that patriarchy and gender inequality are major factors in the aetiology of rape and attitudes toward rape and that underlying patriarchy and gender inequality are gender stereotypes and false beliefs (myths) about rape, rapists, and victims of rape. Thus, the theory suggests a relationship between rape myths and less favorable attitudes toward rape and victims of rape. Results from a survey conducted in Ghana show some support for the feminist theory of rape: There is evidence of rape myth acceptance in Ghana; gender is significant in predicting levels of rape myth acceptance; and finally, education or profession and age, but not religion, are associated with levels of rape myth acceptance in a predictable way.
A new model of the etiology of sexual harassment, the four-factor model, is presented and compared with several models of sexual harassment including the biological model, the organizational model, the sociocultural model, and the sex role spillover model. A number of risk factors associated with sexually harassing behavior are examined within the framework of the four-factor model of sexual harassment. These include characteristics of the work environment (e.g., sexist attitudes among co-workers, unprofessional work environment, skewed sex ratios in the workplace, knowledge of grievance procedures for sexual harassment incidents) as well as personal characteristics of the subject (e.g., physical attractiveness, job status, sex-role). Subjects were 266 university female faculty, staff, and students who completed the Sexual Experience Questionnaire to assess the experience of sexual harassment and a questionnaire designed to assess the risk factors stated above. Results indicated that the four-factor model is a better predictor of sexual harassment than the alternative models. The risk factors most strongly associated with sexual harassment were an unprofessional environment in the workplace, sexist atmosphere, and lack of knowledge about the organization's formal grievance procedures.
Individuals who are high in rape myth acceptance (RMA) have been found to report a high proclivity to rape. In a series of three studies, the authors examined whether the relationship between RMA and self-reported rape proclivity was mediated by anticipated sexual arousal or anticipated enjoyment of sexually dominating the rape victim. Results of all three studies suggest that the anticipated enjoyment of sexual dominance mediates the relationship between RMA and rape proclivity, whereas anticipated sexual arousal does not. These findings are consistent with the feminist argument that rape and sexual violence may be motivated by men's desire to exert power over women. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.
The role of hostile sexism in accounting for rape proclivity among men was investigated using a sample of Zimbabwean students. Participants were presented with either an acquaintance rape or a stranger rape scenario and asked to respond to five questions about the scenario designed to assess rape proclivity. As expected, a significant relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity was obtained in the acquaintance rape but not the stranger rape condition. These results replicate previous research and suggest that hostile sexists are more likely to express their hostility toward women in situations where such behavior might be perceived as acceptable.
Sexual harassment proclivities in men and women Conquest by force: A narcissistic reactance theory of rape and sexual coercion
- C A Bartling
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- á
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- K R Catanese
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Psychological predictors of sexual harassment: Authoritarianism, hostile sexism, and rape myths The measurement of psychological androgyny Gender schema theory: A cognitive account of sex typing
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