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Sexual harassment proclivities in men and women
Abstract
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.
... What we know about the thoughts and behaviors of men who have a relatively high proclivity to sexually harass is suggestive. For example, a man's sexual harassment proclivity has been shown to correlate positively with several social-sexual constructs, such as sex-role stereotyping, acceptance of rape myths, and adversarial sexual beliefs (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Bingham & Burleson, 1996;Pryor, 1987). In addition, men high in the likelihood to harass tend to endorse more hostile attitudes toward women than those low in the likelihood to harass (Begany & Milburn, 2002). ...
... Additional support for this hypothesis comes from research showing that sexual harassment proclivity is negatively correlated with variables that require one to understand the behavior and motivations of others, such as perspective taking and empathetic concern (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). Being less able to see and experience things from the perspective of others, men high in the proclivity to harass are (by definition) more likely to engage in behaviors that constitute hostile environment harassment (e.g., repeated requests for dates, suggestive comments, inappropriate physical contact; Fitzgerald, Swan, & Magley, 1997), yet they may be quite unable to appreciate the offensiveness experienced by the target of these behaviors. ...
... Participants were recruited by posting flyers on bulletin boards around the psychology department and by announcements about the research in undergraduate psychology classes. Bartling and Eisenman's (1993) Sexual Harassment Proclivities (SHP) scale was chosen to assess participants' sexual harassment proclivity because it measures a tendency to engage in hostile environment harassment, a type of harassment that can be subtle and susceptible to differing interpretations (in contrast to quid pro quo harassment, which represents more overt exchanges of sexual favors and involves less interpretation; see Pina, Gannon, & Saunders, 2009). Hostile environment harassment is any behavior of a sexual or sexist nature that creates an uncomfortable working environment. ...
The present study investigated whether or not a man’s proclivity to engage in sexual harassment impacts how he blames sexual harassers and their victims. One hundred nineteen male participants read hypothetical harassment scenarios and responded to Bartling and Eisenman’s (1993, Sexual harassment proclivities in men and women. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 31, 189–192) Sexual Harassment Proclivities scale. Results revealed that men high in the proclivity to harass blamed harassers less and victims more than did low-proclivity men. Furthermore, ratings of similarity of the perpetrator and relevance of the situation suggest that this differential pattern of blaming reflected a self-protective motivation proposed by Shaver’s (1970, Defensive attribution: Effects of severity and relevance on the responsibility assigned for an accident. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 14, 101-113) defensive attribution theory.
... The study of person factors associated with perpetra- tors of common forms of peer sexual harassment is still in its infancy. However, if research on quid pro quo harass- ment and sexual assault is applicable to peer sexual ha- rassment, then strong adversarial sexual beliefs and weak perspective-taking ability may be linked with peer sexual ha- rassment (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). Other factors that have been linked to sexual harassment in the literature are sexist beliefs and low self-monitoring abil- ity (Dall'Ara & Maass, 1999;Pryor & Whalen, 1997). ...
... Perspective taking can be defined as the capacity to adopt another person's point of view and discriminate another per- son's emotional experience (Roys, 1997). This variable has been hypothesized to disinhibit sexually aggressive individ- uals, allowing them to aggress without consideration of the harm caused by their actions (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). This variable's relationship to sexual harass- ment has been supported by negative correlations between measures of perspective taking and measures that assess the proclivity to engage in sexual harassment (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). ...
... This variable has been hypothesized to disinhibit sexually aggressive individ- uals, allowing them to aggress without consideration of the harm caused by their actions (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). This variable's relationship to sexual harass- ment has been supported by negative correlations between measures of perspective taking and measures that assess the proclivity to engage in sexual harassment (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987). ...
The purpose of this study was to develop a laboratory analogue for the study of peer sexual harassment, and to examine person and situational factors associated with male on female peer sexual harassment. One hundred twenty-two male participants were given the opportunity to tell jokes to a female confederate from a joke list that included sexually offensive jokes, as well as other types of jokes. Participants were exposed to either a sexist laboratory environment or a neutral laboratory environment during the study. Eighty percent of participants told at least one sexually offensive joke to a female confederate. Higher scores on a measure of adversarial sexual beliefs were associated with telling a greater number of sexually offensive jokes. The results suggest that the joke-telling analogue may be a useful means for laboratory explorations of person and situational factors associated with peer sexual harassment.
... Boys' endorsement of male coercion. A 13-item measure of adolescent boys' endorsement of male coercion in heterosexual relationships was adapted from a measure of proclivity for sexual harassment originally developed by Bartling and Eisenman (1993). Items were adapted for adolescent boys and selected to operationalize the extent to which boys condone verbal pressure and physical force in dating and sexual situations, such that the scale reflected a set of beliefs about masculine heterosexual conventions. ...
... However, while our adapted measure of the AFIS for boys-a single scale comprising third-person items (AFIS-B)-proved viable in this study, the relatively restricted range of responses coupled with our finding that femininity, rather than masculinity, ideology was a stronger predictor for boys may represent an artifact; the need for further validation and refinement is indicated. Additionally, while the boys' endorsement of male coercion in heterosexual relationships measure was adapted from an existing scale (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993), the girls' endorsement of feminine heterosexual conventions outcome measure was developed for this study. Our finding that the ISR subscale of the AFIS failed to predict this gendered outcome for girls may suggest the need for a more robust outcome measure. ...
In this mixed-methods study, we adopted a feminist theoretical lens in conceptualizing gender as hierarchical and complementary ideologies— femininity and masculinity—that are fundamental constituents of institutionalized heterosexuality as a way to understand the persistence of gender inequity in adolescents' heterosexual relationships. In Study 1, we conducted separate analyses for girls and boys to evaluate whether masculinity ideology for boys and femininity ideology for girls account for boys' endorsement of male coercion and for girls' endorsement of feminine conventions in heterosexual relationships with a sample of 250 tenth-grade students (n = 144 girls). Masculinity ideology proved to be as strong or stronger than femininity ideology in predicting these respective outcomes. In Study 2, we sought to understand this pattern through a thematically informed narrative analysis of interviews with 53 of the Study 1 participants (n = 35 girls) on their beliefs about and experiences with
... Hence, perpetrators will be able to rationalize and justify harassing behavior as moral if bystanders do not react to the behavior, or express disapproval, or if they show support to the perpetrator. These disinhibitory processes may contribute to reducing empathic concern being felt for the target (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987) which would further perpetuate sexual harassment. Disregard and distortion of the harmful consequences of sexual harassment has close correspondence with the Outrage Management technique of reinterpretation (McDonald et al., 2010;Scott & Martin, 2006). ...
... Key and Ridge (2011) instructed male college students to self-report their proclivity to engage in hostile environment sexual harassment (measured via the Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale; Bartling & Eisenman, 1993). Participants were later presented with a series of hypothetical scenarios depicting various harassing behaviors. ...
Sexual harassment is recognized as a widespread form of aggressive behavior with severe consequences for victims and organizations. Yet, contemporary research and theory focusing on the motives and cognition of sexual harassment perpetrators continues to be sparse and underdeveloped. This review examines the motivations that underlie sexual harassment and the self-exonerating cognitions and behavioral techniques employed by perpetrators of sexual harassment. In this paper, we emphasize the need to understand the cognitive processes that disinhibit motivated individuals to sexually harass. Utilizing social cognitive theory as a foundation, we propose that cognitive mechanisms of moral disengagement are likely to have an important etiological role in the facilitation and reinforcement of sexually harassing behavior. A preliminary conceptual framework is presented, suggesting novel ways in which each of the various moral disengagement mechanisms may contribute to sexual harassment perpetration.
... Among other aspects, these myths refer to the belief that women typically exaggerate or even fabricate sexual harassment claims (Lonsway et al., 2008). Sexual harassment proclivity, which involves sexual harassment myth acceptance (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993), has been found to be slightly related to narcissism (Zeigler-Hill et al., 2016). Age was another covariate because we examined our hypothesis in an age-diverse sample, and narcissistic traits are susceptible to change over one's life course (Cramer, 2011). ...
In this preregistered study, we tested the dark-ego-vehicle principle. This principle states that individuals with dark personalities, such as high narcissistic traits, are inclined to become involved in certain kinds of ideologies and political activism. We argue that narcissistic individuals can be attracted to anti-sexual assault activism because this form of activism may provide them with opportunities to obtain positive self-presentation (e.g., virtue signaling), gain status, dominate others, and engage in social conflicts to get their thrills. A diverse US sample (N = 313) completed online measures of narcissistic traits and involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. In addition, relevant covariates were assessed (i.e., age, gender, adult sexual assault history, sexual harassment myth acceptance, and altruism), and the interaction between narcissistic traits and gender was considered. The results of the multiple regression analysis showed that higher narcissistic traits predicted an individual’s higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism over and above the covariates. However, this relationship was evident only for the women in this sample. Notably, a higher level of altruism in an individual was also substantially associated with higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. We discuss how the narcissism-by-gender interaction may be in line with the dark-ego-vehicle principle.
... Among other aspects, these myths refer to the belief that women typically exaggerate or even fabricate sexual harassment claims (Lonsway et al., 2008). Sexual harassment proclivity, which involves sexual harassment myth acceptance (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993), has been found to be slightly related to narcissism (Zeigler-Hill et al., 2016). Age was another covariate because we examined our hypothesis in an age-diverse sample, and narcissistic traits are susceptible to change over one's life course (Cramer, 2011). ...
In this preregistered study, we tested the dark ego vehicle principle. This principle says that individuals with dark personalities, such as high narcissistic traits, are inclined to get involved in certain kinds of ideology and political activism. We argue that narcissistic individuals can be attracted to anti-sexual assault activism, because this form of activism may provide them with opportunities for positive self-presentation (e.g., virtue signaling), gaining status, dominating others, and engaging in social conflicts to get their thrills. A diverse US sample (N = 313) completed online measures of narcissistic traits and involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. In addition, relevant covariates were assessed (i.e., age, gender, adult sexual assault history, sexual harassment myth acceptance, and altruism), and the interaction between narcissistic traits and gender was considered. The results of multiple regression analysis show that higher narcissistic traits predicted an individual’s higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism over and above the covariates. However, this relationship was evident only for the women in this sample. Notably, higher level of altruism in an individual was also substantially associated with higher involvement in anti-sexual assault activism. We discuss how the narcissism-by-gender interaction may be in line with the dark ego vehicle principle.
... Existing self-report measures of sex-based harassment proclivities include the Likelihood to Sexually Harass scale (LSH; Pryor, 1987), the Sexual Harassment Proclivity Index (Bingham & Burleson, 1996), the Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993), and more recently the Workplace Crush Scenario (WCS; Williams et al., 2017). The LSH has produced the most prolific body of research on harassment tendencies, yet it is grounded in the least prevalent form of sex-based harassment-quid pro quo or sexual coercion. ...
We introduce a new inventory measuring sex-based harassment intentions and threat perceptions grounded in gender status threat theories (Berdahl, 2007; Stephan et al., 2016). In Study 1 (N = 568 men), an initial Sex-Based Harassment Inventory (SBHI) was developed with 12 scenarios depicting gender status threats to which respondents rated the likelihood to engage in gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, supportive conduct, and their perceptions of threat. The final version of the SBHI contained six scenarios with four items each. Gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention intentions loaded on a single, reliable factor, labeled harassment intentions. Two other factors measured threat perceptions and supportive behavior intentions. harassment intentions correlated significantly with threat perceptions, likelihood to sexually harass (Pryor, 1987), hostile and benevolent sexism (Glick & Fiske, 1996), and masculine identification (Glick et al., 2015). In Study 2 (N = 391 men), a non-threat version of the SBHI was compared to the threat version. Threat perceptions mediated the effect of scenario version on harassment intentions, which was stronger at moderate to high levels of hostile sexism and social dominance orientation. Consistent with Berdahl’s theory, these studies present promising initial evidence for the validity of the final version of the SBHI and the links between gender status threat and sex-based harassment intentions to gender status threat.
... Research has established that lack of empathy, an emotional mechanism of moral disengagement (Bandura 1999), is one of the most defining personality traits of sexual assailant and sexual harasser profiles (see Awasthi 2017;Pina et al. 2009, for reviews). Moreover, lack of empathic resonance is associated with sexual offense and sexual harassment proclivity (Bartling and Eisenman 1993;Geer et al. 2000;Pryor 1987). Empathy has also been linked with helping behaviors (Eisenberg and Fabes 1990) and defending victims of bullying and sexual violence (Banyard 2011;Caravita et al. 2009). ...
Media that sexually objectify women by portraying them in ways that emphasize physical beauty and sexual readiness as well as reduce them to decorative and sexual objects have been traditionally identified by scholars as a powerful cultural risk factor encouraging sexual harassment and sexual violence. In the present article we review the existing empirical evidence linking sexually objectifying media and sexual harassment of women to the overarching and integrative Media-Induced Sexual Harassment framework. This framework offers a coherent scheme for explaining the effects of sexually objectifying media on three target groups directly involved in sexual harassment-perpetrators, victims, and bystanders-and it postulates three cognitive and emotional mechanisms through which sexually objectifying media lead to sexual harassment: dehumanization, disruption of emphatic resonance, and a shift in gender norms. The evidence reviewed on the basis of the Media-Induced Sexual Harassment framework shows that sexually objectifying media converge in normalizing harassing behaviors and can be a causal risk factor for increasing engagement in sexual harassment, heightening victims' acceptance of sexual harassment and discouraging bystander intervention. We discuss implications of these arguments for effectively preventing negative effects of exposure to sexually objectifying media and for education programs aimed at critical media-consumption.
... Men who demonstrate harassment proclivity hold adversarial sexual beliefs, endorse myths that legitimise sexual aggression (Begany & Milburn, 2002;Diehl et al., 2014;Gerger, Kley, Bohner, & Siebler, 2007;Pryor, 1987;Vanselow, Bohner, Becher, & Siebler, 2010), exhibit empathy deficits (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Diehl et al., 2014), dehumanise women ( Galdi et al., 2013;Rudman & Mescher, 2012), and blame harassment targets (Key & Ridge, 2011). ...
Three online studies investigated the association between moral disengagement and men’s self-reported harassment proclivity. Participants (total N = 336) were required to read a vignette depicting either quid pro quo harassment (studies 1 and 2) or hostile work environment harassment (study 3). A salience manipulation was used in each study to explore the causal directionality of this association. The mediating effects of moral judgment, negative affect (guilt and shame) and positive affect (happiness) about the harassment were also assessed as participants were asked to imagine themselves as the harassment perpetrator. Across the three studies, it was shown that moral disengagement had an indirect effect in predicting men’s proclivity to harass by lowering their moral judgment and negative affect about the harassment, conversely amplifying positive affect. Overall, the findings support social cognitive theory, indicating that moral disengagement may enable people to self-regulate their own behavioural inclinations to harass.
... Bem (1974) suggested that typical masculine traits include rationality, risk-taking, and aggression, while feminine traits include nurturance, emotional expressiveness, and self-subordination. Often these characteristics are associated with stereotypical beliefs that women are inferior to men (particularly in the paid workplace), and that men have the prerogative to initiate sexual behavior and to use pressure to achieve it when necessary (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Walker, Rowe, & Quinsey, 1993). Thus, an environment can be sexist, although the behaviors creating that situation may not constitute legally defined sexual harassment. ...
Purpose
Sexual harassment remains a persistent problem in the U.S. military despite extensive research and policy initiatives. Theoretical explanations identify individual circumstances (e.g., power differentials) and organizational factors (e.g., climate, culture). However, data constraints limit the capacity to link individual contexts with independent measures of environments.
Data/Methods
A unique Defense Equality Opportunity Climate Survey allows assessment of organizational climates and individual experiences with multilevel analyses.
Results
Sexist environmental context increases the likelihood of personal harassment experiences after controlling for individual-level variables. However, unit-level climate, group cohesion, and job satisfaction are not significant.
Conclusion
Both individual and organizational factors are important. However, the organizational context has less to do with culture or unit cohesion and more to do with tolerance of sexism. Focusing on problem units may be effective for reducing the prevalence and persistence of sexual harassment.
... In this respect, Pryor, Giedd, and Williams (1995) have proposed a Person X Situation model, predicting that only a small proportion of men will harass and they will do so only in settings that permit such behaviors. Men's proclivity to harass is generally assessed through the Likelihood of Sexual Harassment Scale (LSH, Pryor, 1987; see Bartling & Eisenman, 1993, for a similar scale applicable to men and women), consisting of a series of hypothetical scenarios, in which the protagonist may or may not sexually exploit a female subordinate. The LSH scale allows for reliable identification of those men who are at high risk of becoming quid-pro-quo harassers, but LSH is also predictive of other forms of sexual harassment (e.g., Maass, Cadinu, Guarnieri, & Grasselli, 2003;Rudman & Borgida, 1995;Siebler, Sabelus, & Bohner, 2008). ...
... Individual differences in feminist identity, support for gender egalitarian roles, or endorsement of strongly traditional gender roles have also been correlated with perceptions and judgments of SH, although not as extensively as participant gender (Foulis & McCabe, 1997;Mazer & Percival, 1989;O'Connor et al., 2004;Saperstein, Triolo, & Heinzen, 1995;Stockdale, Gandolfo, Schneider, & Cao, 2004. Bartling and Eisenman (1993) found that explicit profeminist attitudes were associated with lowered proclivity to sexually harass; but Mohipp and Senn (2008) found no significant association between attitudes toward feminism and SH perceptions. Therefore, although there is abundant evidence that women tend to be more sensitive than men to SH perceptions and that individuals endorsing traditional masculine gender role orientations or sexist attitudes tend to be less sensitive to SH perceptions, there is no clear evidence that explicit endorsement of or identification with feminism is related to SH perceptions and judgments. ...
This study examined the critique in public discourse that sexual harassment (SH) victim advocates, particularly women and feminists, ignore the quality of evidence in a SH claim and are reluctant to find evidence of a false accusation. To balance the inquiry, the study also examined whether right wing authoritarians (RWAs) also ignore evidence quality and presume such claims are false accusations. Participants were 961 U.S. adults (51% female) who completed an online experiment in which they read either a gender harassment (GH) or unwanted sexual attention (USA) scenario of hostile work environment SH and rated the scenario on severity, perceived guilt of the accused, belief that the accused should receive negative job consequences, and likelihood that the claimant was making a false accusation. Scenarios varied by the strength of the evidence in support of the SH claim. Participants completed measures of identification with and support for feminism, RWA, and demographic variables. Results found that contrary to expectations, evidence had a stronger effect on women's, feminists', and feminism supporters' perceptions and to a lesser extent RWAs' perceptions of the scenarios. When evidence was weak, women and feminists, compared to others, were less supportive of the prosecution, but when evidence was strong they were more supportive of the prosecution than were others. These findings address criticisms that advocates for gender equity and victim's rights, particularly women and feminists, are unable to reach fair judgments of SH complaints. (PsycINFO Database Record
... In this respect, Pryor, Giedd, and Williams (1995) have proposed a Person X Situation model, predicting that only a small proportion of men will harass and they will do so only in settings that permit such behaviors. Men's proclivity to harass is generally assessed through the Likelihood of Sexual Harassment Scale (LSH, Pryor, 1987; see Bartling & Eisenman, 1993, for a similar scale applicable to men and women), consisting of a series of hypothetical scenarios, in which the protagonist may or may not sexually exploit a female subordinate. The LSH scale allows for reliable identification of those men who are at high risk of becoming quid-pro-quo harassers, but LSH is also predictive of other forms of sexual harassment (e.g., Maass, Cadinu, Guarnieri, & Grasselli, 2003;Rudman & Borgida, 1995;Siebler, Sabelus, & Bohner, 2008). ...
... The proclivity to engage in sexual harassment was assessed using the Sexual Harassment Proclivities scale (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993). The Sexual Harassment Proclivities scale consists of 10 items (e.g., "Women often are flattered by sexual advances by their coworkers") and was developed to measure the tendency to engage in behaviors that may contribute to hostile environment harassment such as repeated sexual advances. ...
Recent research concerning sexual harassment has highlighted important individual differences in the tendency to engage in these behaviors. The present studies extend these findings by examining the connections between the Dark Triad of personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) and sexual harassment proclivity. Study 1 (N=642 Israeli community members) revealed that the Dark Triad traits had unique positive associations with sexual harassment tendencies. Similar results emerged for Study 2 (N =1909 Israeli community members) such that each of the Dark Triad traits had a unique positive association with the proclivity to engage
in sexual harassment. In addition, Study 2 revealed differences in the connections that the Dark Triad traits had with perceived likelihood estimates concerning whether targets would be victims or perpetrators of sexual harassment. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the links between Dark Triad personality traits and sexual harassment.
... Common examples of this form of harassment are the use of derogatory terms of address, unprofessional sexist comments, sexist jokes, and displaying sexual materials. Although research on sexual harassment has mainly focused on unwanted sexual attention/coercion that occurs within unbalanced power relationships (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Pryor, 1987), there is strong evidence showing that gender harassment between peers constitutes the most common form of harassment (Barak, 2005;Langhout et al., 2005;Shepela & Levesque, 1998). For example, recent survey data (American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 2011) show that about half of 12to 17-year-old American students report to have experienced some form of sexual harassment at school during the 2010-2011 school year. ...
Across two studies we investigated the hypothesis that exposure to objectifying television in which women are shown as sexual objects increases the likelihood of harassing conduct. In both studies (Ns = 141; 120), male participants were exposed to one of three TV clips in which women were portrayed (a) as sexual objects (objectifying TV), (b) in professional roles, or (c) excluded (a nature documentary). Study 1 showed that men exposed to objectifying TV reported greater proclivity to engage in sexual coercion and manifested more gender-harassing behavior than participants in the other conditions. Study 2 further demonstrated that exposure to objectifying TV increased participants’ conformity to masculine gender role norms, which, in turn, mediated the relation between experimental condition and gender harassment. Together, the two studies suggest that media content plays a central role in activating harassment-related social norms, which in turn encourage or inhibit harassing conduct.
... Feminine traits include nurturance, emotional expressiveness, and self-subordination. These attitudes result in the stereotypical beliefs that women are inferior to men (particularly in the paid workplace), and that men have the prerogative to initiate sexual behavior of any kind and to use pressure to achieve it when necessary (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993;Walker, Rowe, & Quinsey, 1993).For example, McElroy, Morrow, and Mullen (1996;see Saal & Moore, 1993;MeEnrue, 1989) found that blacks and women are more likely than white males to perceive that a promotion decision is based on unfair criteria (e.g., -she slept her way to the top,‖ or if a black is promoted it constitutes -reverse discrimination). Such perceived inequities are associated with reduced job satisfaction, increased work attendance and organizational commitment (McElroy, Morrow, & Mullen, (1996). ...
... Feminine traits include nurturance, emotional expressiveness, and selfsubordination. These attitudes result in the stereotypical beliefs that women are inferior to men, particularly in the paid workplace, and that men have the prerogative to initiate sexual behavior of any kind and to use pressure to achieve it when necessary (Bartling and Eisenman, 1993;Walker, Rowe, and Quinsey, 1993). Thus, an environment can be sexist, although the behaviors creating that situation may not constitute the legal definition of sexual harassment. ...
This research focuses on creating conceptual distinctions among sexual harassment, sexist behaviors and sexual assault and creating a first attempt at delineating the empirical relationships among them. Data are from the 2004 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Reserve Components (WGRR), which was designed both to estimate the level of sexual harassment and provide information on a variety of consequences of harassment. Results suggest that a sexist environment is one that facilitates both environmental and individualized sexually harassing behaviors, and in such climates assault is far more likely to occur. Active policy efforts to reduce sexist and harassing behaviors can make a major difference in the likelihood of such events. This analysis suggests that a focus on environmental harassment might be very effective because such public, visible actions are identifiable and subject to policy intervention.
... Additional scales. An additional scale measuring Misperception about Sexual Advances Toward Women, comprising three items taken from the Sexual Harassment Proclivities Scale (Bartling & Eisenman, 1993) was also added. As reaction times to visual images might vary as a function of anxiety level, 20 anxiety items measuring traitanxiety were incorporated from the Spielberger Anxiety Scale (Spielberger & Sarason, 1977) to investigate whether people high in anxiety were generally slower to respond to visual images (see Eysenck, 1992, for a discussion). ...
The perceptual bias for sexual material has been explored mainly in normal men, and to date little attention has been paid to sexually aggressive men. The current study compared performance of sexually aggressive and nonaggressive men on experimental tasks involving sexual stimuli. Participants viewed the visual images (neutral or sexual), and, depending on the cue they were presented, they either responded to shape and color questions or just skipped to the next trial. In contrast with noncoercive men, men who admitted sexually coercive behavior showed increased response latencies only in the condition in which they were required to withdraw their attention from sexual stimuli to perform the cognitive task. Correlations with attentional performance suggested that sexually coercive men high on impulsivity and aggressiveness might experience cognitive interference when processing sexual material. These results are interpreted using disinhibition and response modulation models.
Disszertációm a nemi erőszakról és szexuális zaklatásról szóló nyilvános diskurzusokat vizsgálja. A szexuális jellegű erőszak és zaklatás sokáig tabutémának számított, a közelmúltban azonban folyamatosan bukkantak fel a téma körül formálódó nyilvános leleplezések és médiabotrányok, melyek során a média által gerjesztett morális ítélkezés, úgynevezett médiabíráskodás zajlik le. A vélelmezett elkövetőt ilyenkor a „közvélemény bírósága” ítéli el és bünteti meg.
A médiabíráskodás sok szempontból problematikus jelenség, ugyanakkor emancipatorikus potenciállal is bír, az alternatív igazságszolgáltatás eszköze is lehet. Másfelől viszont a médiabíráskodás diskurzusai is olyan társadalmi-kulturális kontextusba ágyazódnak, amelyet alapvetően meghatároz a férfiak és nők, illetve férfiasságok és nőiességek között kialakult sajátos hierarchia az adott társadalmon belül.
Disszertációm fő kérdése, hogy mennyire lehetséges, és mitől függ a szexuális erőszakkal és zaklatással foglalkozó médiabíráskodás-ügyekben az emancipatorikus potenciál beteljesítése? Mikor tud a médiabíráskodás diadalmaskodni, aminek része az is, hogy az áldozat „megkérdőjelezhetetlen áldozatként” pozícionálódjon. Másrészt a diskurzusok mennyiben termelik újra, vagy mennyiben igyekeznek lebontani a szexuális erőszakot és zaklatást övező sztereotípiákat és a társadalmi nemek hierarchikus rendjét?
A fenti kérdéseket két esettanulmány összehasonlító elemzésével igyekszem megválaszolni két kiválasztott esetre: a Kiss László-ügyre és a Marton László-ügyre vonatkozóan. A Kiss László-ügy abból a szempontból mindenképpen kiemelkedő, hogy itt került először sor egy nemierőszak-áldozat előlépésére, arccal és névvel vállalt megszólalására, majd ezt követően az elkövető bocsánatkérésére. A Marton László-ügy pedig a magyarországi #metoo zászlóshajó-ügyeként tarthat számot az érdeklődésünkre. Bár a két ügy súlyosságában igencsak eltér, mind a kettő a szexualitás terrénumán lejátszódó hatalmi visszaélésnek minősül, így hasonló, a nemek közti egyenlőtlen viszonyokba ágyazott diszkurzív mintázatokat hoz működésbe. Emellett a kifutásukat, lezárásukat tekintve is eltérnek egymástól, ami lehetőséget ad arra, hogy egy sikeres és egy kevésbé sikeres médiabíráskodás példáján kutassuk a lehetséges okokat.
Research suggests that objectifying TV programs in which women are shown as sexual objects may convey social norms that condone harassing conduct. However, no study has investigated whether other TV portrayals of women may promote the accessibility of masculine norms that condone harassing conduct, as well as encourage proclivity to engage in sexual harassment. Therefore, male participants (N = 88) were exposed to one of three TV clips characterized by the presence of women (i) as sexual objects, (ii) portrayed in genderstereotyped roles, or (iii) who do not conform to gender stereotypes. Results showed that participants exposed to objectifying TV reported greater harassment proclivity and manifested higher conformity to masculine norms regarding non-relational attitudes toward sex as compared to the other two conditions. In turn, participants' conformity to non-relational attitudes towards sex mediated the relation between experimental condition and harassment proclivity.
In the televised United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Clarence Thomas as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, law professor Anita Hill claimed that she had suffered sexual harassment from Judge Thomas 10 years earlier. Right after the hearing, students in two undergraduate classes at a Southern university were asked who they believed the most, Professor Hill or Judge Thomas. Although about 25% of the population of the United States reported believing Professor Hill, her support in these two classes was almost nonexistent. Only one student in each class believed Professor Hill. The results are consistent with the expectation that Southern university students, both male and female, would be less likely than the national average to believe her sexual harassment charges. However, the strength of the findings was surprising.
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.
Sexual harassment is among the most serious forms of gender violence, and what all violent acts have in
common are the many myths associated with them. Three studies were conducted to adapt a Spanish version of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance (ISHMA) scale, which assesses myths about sexual harassment. The first study aimed to, for the first time, present psychometric data on the Spanish version of the ISHMA. The participants were 339 college students. After adapting the items and measuring their content validity, we examined the test’s dimensional structure, statistically analyzed the items, and determined the instrument’s reliability (α = .91 for the total scale and between .77 and .84 for the different dimensions). Study 2 involved 326 adult participants from the general population and its objective was to evaluate the scale’s dimensional structure through confirmatory factor analysis (χ2 143 = 244.860, p < .001; GFI = .952; CFI = .958; RMSEA = .034 [.026 – .041]). The third study was conducted in order to measure convergent validity in both students and adults from the general population. Differences by gender were found in all dimensions being the females’ means higher than males (Cohen´s d between .38 and .62). Our findings suggest the Spanish version of the ISHMA is a useful instrument to study myths about sexual harassment.
We examined the effects of participant (P) gender, experimenter (E) gender, presence or absence of P's dating partner, marital status, and age upon scores from college students using the Dunn (1960) Marital Role Expectations Inventory in a series of two experiments. In Experiment 1 with P couples, there were two significant interactions: (1) presence or absence of partner × E gender, and (2) P gender × E gender. Mean scores for women were higher (more egalitarian attitudes toward marital roles) than those for the men. Responses by the men were significantly influenced by the testing context, i.e. in line with how men probably perceived the position(s) held by those around them while the men provided their responses. In Experiment 2 with individual Ps tested in groups, married Ps gave responses which were more traditional than those by single Ps. Single women were the most egalitarian; while married women, married men, and single men were significantly more traditional. Age, restricted to a narrow range from the early to late 20s for most Ps, did not significantly correlate with scores on the Dunn inventory (r = -.07). We discuss the significance and implications of our findings concerning the influence of testing-context variables (e.g., gender of experimenter, presence or absence of partner), subject variables (e.g., age and gender of participant), and marital status upon men's and women's attitudes concerning marital roles, and upon measurement of these attitudes.
This research explored the propensity ofpredominantly white male and female college students toengage in severe forms of sexual harassment. Inaddition, this research assessed the extent to whichmales' and females' intentions to harass are based onsimilar aspects of harassment situations. Resultsindicated that males had significantly higherpropensities to harass members of the opposite sex thanfemales. Additionally, the distributions of male andfemale scores on an instrument measuring propensity toharass were significantly different. Finally, analysessuggested that males and females attended to different aspects of harassment situations. Femalesappeared to attend to the nature of the powerrelationship between the potential harasser and target,which they defined more broadly than males, whereasmales attended to the sexual aspects of thesituation, which they defined more broadly than females.These results are discussed and their implicationsconsidered.
Using videotaped scenarios, this study tested factors believed to predict the identification of verbal remarks and nonverbal behaviors associated with workplace flirting and sexual harassment. Hypotheses representing four applied communication perspectives—experimental, work experience, victim, and sexualized work environment— addressed alternative positions from which sexual harassment can arguably be examined. An additional hypothesis tested the assumption that empathy is a suitable foundation for sexual harassment training. Results (1) contradict earlier findings that women are better at identifying social‐sexual behavior. Further, results demonstrate that (2) employees view social‐sexual behavior differently than students, (3) victims of sexual harassment do not identify more social‐sexual cues, (4) employees in a sexually charged environment are not better at identifying social‐sexual cues, and (5) empathic ability does not increase participants’ abilities to identify social‐sexual cues. The article concludes with a description of how the results guided the selection of training strategies.
This study examined how sexually harassing messages harm. Based on theories of sexual harassment and message effects, message contents and perceptions of message features were related to indices of distress. Sixty-six messages were collected and then sorted to acquire similarity data, which was then cluster analyzed to derive content themes. A separate set of participants were exposed to randomized sequences of the messages in written form to provide their perceptions of each and predict the extent to which each would activate affects and elicit psychosomatic symptoms. One-way ANOVA results across the content themes showed that the hostile/aggressive category produced the highest levels of distress. In addition, regression results showed that message perceptions accounted for significant amounts of variance in the affects and psychosomatic symptoms measures. Results are discussed in terms of advancing work on message effects through inclusion of sets of message perceptions.
Abstract Sexual misconduct has emerged as a widespread problem throughout the
criminal justice system as indicated by law enforcement officer sexual assault
incidents in various cities and the findings of the recent National Prison Rape
Elimination Act Research Commission. Through multivariate statistical analysis of
data from two Department of Defense-wide surveys (2002 and 2006), this paper
examines the indicators and cofounders of sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual
assault with attention to change during the study period. Findings inform a suggested
anticipatory model for prevention and intervention in military settings that, based on
shared characteristics such as male dominance and authoritarian culture, provide an
approximate reference context for criminal justice sexual misconduct best practices
consideration.
This article reports on a study of perceptions of sexual harassment when a victim offers verbal resistance, and introduces the theoretical application of the notion that women sometimes use token resistance to sexual attention. Perceptions of sexual harassment were examined based on a vignette in which physical or verbal harassment and victim's facial expression were varied. Participants were 337 undergraduates (91% European American, 5% African American, 1% Hispanic American, 1% Asian American). Perceptions of sexual harassment were stronger for physical harassment than verbal harassment, except when the target smiled. Overall, women had stronger perceptions of harassment than did men. Also, a stronger belief in women's use of token resistance to sex was associated with weaker perceptions of sexual harassment. These findings suggest that a number of factors influence perceptions of harassment, even when a victim verbally resists.
This study was conducted to examine factors associated with blaming the target of sexual harassment. Participants' experiences of sexual harassment, sexist attitudes, gender, gender role identity, age, worker or student status, and belief in a just world were included as independent variables. Level of blame was evaluated using a series of 12 vignettes that manipulated the gender of the target and harasser as well as the seriousness of the harassing behavior. The sample comprised 30 female and 32 male workers from two workplaces, whose ages ranged from 18 to 65 (M = 35) years, and 102 female and 18 male university students whose ages ranged from 17 to 40 (M = 21) years. Approximately 70% of the sample were from Anglo Australian background, and 30% from European, Middle Eastern or Asian background. Females experienced more sexual harassment than males did, although the male rate was higher than expected. Although the majority of subjects attributed little blame to the target, males blamed the target of sexual harassment more than females did, and workers blamed the target of harassment more than university students did. Worker status, sexist attitudes, and gender significantly predicted blame for the total sample. Gender-typing increased the blame of the target by males but not by females. Attribution of blame was significantly influenced by worker versus student status, which supports the social psychological perspective that gender-related behavior is context dependent. The findings from this study suggest that organisational culture and environment influence respondents' attitudes to sexually harassing behavior.
Using rape myth research as a template, we developed a conceptual definition and measurement instrument for the mythology
regarding male sexual harassment of women, resulting in the 20-item Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance (ISHMA) Scale. Surveys from 337 students in the Midwestern region of the United States revealed that this measure consists of four factors,
which share predicted relationships with rape mythology, sexism, hostility toward women, traditional attitudes toward women,
and ideological support for the feminist movement. We also found that women and individuals with prior training on sexual
harassment reject these myths more than men and untrained individuals. It is hoped that this new definition, conceptualization,
and measure will advance knowledge on attitudes that support and perpetuate violence against women.
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.
The current study examines changes over time in a commonly used measure of dispositional empathy. A cross-temporal meta-analysis was conducted on 72 samples of American college students who completed at least one of the four subscales (Empathic Concern, Perspective Taking, Fantasy, and Personal Distress) of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) between 1979 and 2009 (total N = 13,737). Overall, the authors found changes in the most prototypically empathic subscales of the IRI: Empathic Concern was most sharply dropping, followed by Perspective Taking. The IRI Fantasy and Personal Distress subscales exhibited no changes over time. Additional analyses found that the declines in Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern are relatively recent phenomena and are most pronounced in samples from after 2000.
Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1995. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-172).
This study examined perceptions of sexual harassment based on belief in women's use of token resistance and a victim's physical or verbal resistance to unwanted sexual attention, described in experimentally manipulated vignettes. Findings from 541 undergraduates revealed that a stronger belief in token resistance was associated with weaker perceptions of sexual harassment. Results showed that any type of resistance led to stronger perceptions of sexual harassment than no resistance at all, except for those with a stronger belief in women's use of token resistance. Perceptions among those with a stronger belief strengthened only when there were two forms of resistance offered simultaneously. These findings extend the literature by investigating the influence of physical resistance on sexual harassment perceptions.
Describes the development of the FEM Scale, a 20-item scale measuring attitudes toward feminism. The scale is reproduced in its entirety. The items are in Likert format, with 5 response alternatives, and deal with acceptance or rejection of central beliefs of feminism rather than attitudes toward avowed feminists. The scale, which was tested with 2 samples of a total of 139 college students, is a short, reliable (r20 = .91) measure that contains a single strong factor explaining 37% of the variance. Its correlates include activism in, and subjective identification with, the women's movement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article integrates the findings of a series of studies that empirically address contentions that many “normal” men possess a proclivity to rape. In these studies, an attempt was made to identify individuals with such a proclivity by asking male college students how likely they personally would be to rape if they could be assured of not being caught. On the average, about 35% indicated some likelihood of raping. To assess the validity of such reports as indicators of a proclivity to rape, the following three steps were taken: First, the literature was reviewed to identify responses that distinguished convicted rapists from the general population. The responses found to characterize rapists were greater acceptance of rape myths and relatively high sexual arousal to rape depictions. Second, the relationships between reported likelihood of raping and the responses found to characterize rapists were analyzed. The data clearly showed that in comparison with men who reported lower likelihood of raping, men who indicated higher likelihood were more similar to convicted rapists both in beliefs in rape myths and in sexual arousal to rape depictions. Third, the relationship between likelihood of raping reports and aggressive behavior was examined. It was found that higher reported likelihood of raping was associated with greater aggression against women within a laboratory setting. The overall pattern of the data is interpreted as supporting the validity of likelihood of raping ratings and consistent with contentions that many men have a proclivity to rape. Possible causes of such a propensity and directions for future research are discussed.
Describes the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and its relationships with measures of social functioning, self-esteem, emotionality, and sensitivity to others. 677 male and 667 female undergraduates served as Ss. Each of the 4 IRI subscales displayed a distinctive and predictable pattern of relationships with these measures, as well as with previous unidimensional empathy measures. Findings provide evidence for a multidimensional approach to empathy. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Thesis--University of Texas at Austin. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-219).
To facilitate a multidimensional approach to empathy the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) includes 4 subscales: Perspective-Taking (PT) Fantasy (FS) Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD). The aim of the present study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of these 4 subscales. Hypothesized relationships among the IRI subscales between the subscales and measures of other psychological constructs (social functioning self-esteem emotionality and sensitivity to others) and between the subscales and extant empathy measures were examined. Study subjects included 677 male and 667 female students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Texas. The IRI scales not only exhibited the predicted relationships among themselves but also were related in the expected manner to other measures. Higher PT scores were consistently associated with better social functioning and higher self-esteem; in contrast Fantasy scores were unrelated to these 2 characteristics. High EC scores were positively associated with shyness and anxiety but negatively linked to egotism. The most substantial relationships in the study involved the PD scale. PD scores were strongly linked with low self-esteem and poor interpersonal functioning as well as a constellation of vulnerability uncertainty and fearfulness. These findings support a multidimensional approach to empathy by providing evidence that the 4 qualities tapped by the IRI are indeed separate constructs each related in specific ways to other psychological measures.
In the televised United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Clarence Thomas as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, law professor Anita Hill claimed that she had suffered sexual harassment from Judge Thomas 10 years earlier. Right after the hearing, students in two undergraduate classes at a Southern university were asked who they believed the most, Professor Hill or Judge Thomas. Although about 25% of the population of the United States reported believing Professor Hill, her support in these two classes was almost nonexistent. Only one student in each class believed Professor Hill. The results are consistent with the expectation that Southern university students, both male and female, would be less likely than the national average to believe her sexual harassment charges. However, the strength of the findings was surprising.
We propose that sexual harassment of women at work is often a product of sex-role spillover, which is defined as the carryover into the workplace of gender-based expectations for behavior that are irrelevant or inappropriate to work. We argue that, when the sex-ratio at work is skewed—in either direction—sex-role spillover occurs. Thus, women in male-dominated work experience one kind of sex-role spillover. They are “role deviates” who are treated differently from other (male) work-role occupants; they are aware of this differential treatment, and they think it is directed at them as individual women rather than as work-role occupants. On the other hand, women in female-dominated work also experience sex-role spillover but of a different kind. Sex-role and work-role are practically identical. These women are treated similarly to other (female) work-role occupants, so are unaware that their treatment is based on sex-role. Because of this, they think the treatment they receive is a function of their job; the job itself is sexualized. Data from a representative sample survey, about sexual harassment of working women in Los Angeles County, provide some support for these ideas.
This is a book about deviance.
Deviance is usually used in a negative sense, describing something undesirable. I believe that it is crucial to say deviance refers to positive as well as negative things. Thus, creativity is as deviant as crime. Also, I think it is important to realize that society often creates deviance, especially when the social rules are too rigid. My chapters on drugs and sex show this, although I am not advocating, therefore, that people go out and use drugs or behave in a sexually irresponsible way. The police may engage in misconduct and therefore be deviant even though they are the forces of society to attempt control of deviance. As my chapter on the police indicates, the police may not think of themselves as deviant, but see themselves as being legitimate even when engaging in misconduct.
My book can be used in the following classes: introduction to psychology, and in undergraduate or graduate classes in abnormal psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, personality, introduction to sociology, social problems, [and] deviance, and in any courses where the instructor wishes a supplementary text covering my subject matter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Three studies were conducted to develop and validate a measure of sexual harassment proclivities in males. Previous studies of sexual harassment were reviewed and a gap in the current knowledge of the psychological characteristics of sexual harassers was revealed. A possible technique for studying sexual harassment proclivities was suggested by recent research on rape proclivities. Two initial studies using this technique found (1) that the likelihood of sexually harassing can be reliably measured and 2) that this measure correlated with related attitude and belief measures. The third study demonstrated that the likelihood of sexual harassment measure can predict sexual behaviors in a laboratory setting.
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.
Interpreta-tive guidelines on sexual harassment A psychological examination of sexual harass-ment
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. (1980). Interpreta-tive guidelines on sexual harassment. Federal Register, 45, 74677. GUTEK, B. A. (1982). A psychological examination of sexual harass-ment. Institute of Industrial Relations, 32, 131-163.
A psychological examination of sexual harassment
- B A Gutek
GUTEK, B. A. (1982). A psychological examination of sexual harassment. Institute of Industrial Relations, 32, 131-163.
Gender roles and sexuality in the world of work
- B A Gutek
- C Y Nakamura
GUTEK, B. A., & NAKAMURA, C. Y. (1983). Gender roles and sexuality in the world of work. In E. R. Allgeier & N. B. McCormick (Eds.),
Changing boundaries: Gender roles and sexual behavior (pp. 182-201). Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield.
Interpretative guidelines on sexual harassment
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION. (1980). Interpretative guidelines on sexual harassment. Federal Register, 45, 74677.