It Could Be Worse: Selective Evaluation as a Response to Victimization

Abstract

A theory of victims' responses to their victimization, termed Selective Evaluation, is proposed. It is maintained that the perception that one is a victim and the belief that others perceive one as a victim are aversive. Victims react to this aversive state by selectively evaluating themselves and their situation in ways that are self‐enhancing. Five mechanisms of selective evaluation that minimize victimization are proposed and discussed: making social comparisons with less fortunate others (i.e., downward comparison); selectively focusing on attributes that make one appear advantaged; creating hypothetical, worse worlds; construing benefit from the victimizing event; and manufacturing normative standards of adjustment that make one's own adjustment appear exceptional. The theory is integrated with the existing literature on victimization, and possible functions of selective evaluation are discussed.

Violência sexual: estudo descritivo sobre as vítimas e o atendimento em um serviço universitário de referência no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

“…Ruback et al 33 verificaram que 67% das mulheres agredidas por parceiro íntimo e que procuraram um centro de atendimento à crise já haviam dividido com familiares ou amigos sobre a agressão anteriormente. As respostas e reações da família, amigos e sistema de justiça podem ser incapazes de gerar apoio e até mesmo causar maiores se-quelas nas vítimas, levando-as a internalizar as respostas e percepções daqueles com quem dividiram sua vivência 34,35 . Lempert 36 sugere que a busca por auxílio de amigos e família exigiria da vítima uma definição e uma resposta na sua possível percepção sobre responsabilização pela agressão, verificando se a percepção daquele que oferece cuidado estaria de acordo com o que é informado.…”

Inpatients’ and outpatients’ satisfaction: The mediating role of perceived quality of physical and social environment

“…Thus, inpatients -more than outpatients -might use an emotion-focused coping (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984) directed at changing (not the physical conditions, but) the meaning of the physical conditions. According to the Taylor's theory of Cognitive Adaptation (e.g., Taylor, 1983;Taylor et al, 1983;Taylor and Brown, 1988), it is plausible that inpatients may develop unrealistic positive perceptions of the physical environment, which could lower their emotional distress, and help them to cope better with other stressful aspects of the hospital experience. For example, inpatients may use cognitive strategies that enable them to tolerate, accept, and minimize the non ideal hospital' physical environment by making comparisons to hypothetically worse situations, by highlighting its benefits, or by maintaining that they are coping very well with the actual conditions.…”

FEAR OF CRIME AND CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION: Testing a Theory of Psychological Incapacitation of the 'Stressor' Based on Downward Comparison Processes

“…However, there is no evidence regarding the temporal stability of this effect. As to NI, Winkel and Blaauw (1997), and Winkel and Renssen (1998) review evidence suggesting that most 'victims' of critical life incidents engage in some form of selective evaluation (Taylor et al 1983), which is assumed to result in more optimistic (post-victimization) appraisals of NI. However, here too, evidence regarding its temporal stability is lacking.…”

“…'compared with peers I'm doing relatively well') than victims reporting reduced post-victimization well-being relative to their pre-victimization level (indicative of a deficit in adaptive coping potential). Winkel and Steinmetz (1990) consider downward comparison processes, or selective evaluations, using die terminology of Taylor et al (1983), to be Nl-focused processes. They argue that downward comparisons tend to result in more optimistic appraisals of NI: less serious consequences are associated with an actual victimization.…”