Physical Attractiveness and Sexual Harassment: Does Every Picture Tell a Story or Every Story Draw a Picture?¹

Abstract

The role of physical attractiveness in perceptions of sexual harassment (SH) was investigated in two studies. In the first study, 164 undergraduates were given a complainant's description of either a verbal or physical incident of SH. Photographs varying physical attractiveness of the alleged harasser and victim were provided. Results showed gender differences in perceptions of incident characteristics and an attractiveness bias for both harasser and victim. There was evidence that characteristics of the setting affected ratings of physical attractiveness. A second study with 211 undergraduates, utilized a formal grievance paradigm with attractiveness varied through verbal labels in the complaint. Results showed gender differences in perceptions, as well as a tendency for subjects to identify more with same gender stimulus persons.

Schematic Responses to Sexual Harassment Complainants: The Influence of Gender and Physical Attractiveness

“…Specifically, perpetrator attractiveness did not influence believability or punishment. These findings are not consistent with the conclusions of Golden et al (2001) and Popovich et al (1996), who found that physically attractive perpetrators were viewed more positively than unattractive perpetrators. However, our results do support the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972;Hatfield & Sprecher, 1986), which reveals that the attractiveness effect is stronger in social domains (e.g., likeability) than in other domains (e.g., believability; Eagly et al, 1991).…”

“…Behaviors of attractive perpetrators tend to be perceived more positively than those of unattractive perpetrators. For example, a study by Popovich et al (1996) showed that physically attractive perpetrators were viewed more positively than unattractive perpetrators in that scenarios were rated as more innocuous when perpetrators were physically attractive than when they were unattractive. Similarly, LaRocca and Kromrey (1999) examined the effects of attractiveness on the perceptions of sexual harassment under ambiguous conditions and found that the ambiguous behavior was rated as less harassing when the perpetrator was attractive.…”

“…Previous research has shown that physical attractiveness influences judgments of mock jurors in sexual harassment cases (Popovich et al, 1996). For example, Golden, Johnson and Lopez (2001) found that physically attractive victims (all of whom were women) were more likely to be labeled as harassed than were unattractive victims.…”

Racial Bias in Decisions Made by Mock Jurors Evaluating a Case of Sexual Harassment

“…In simulated rape cases, researchers have found that the accused rapist of an attractive victim was more likely to be seen as guilty than was an accused rapist of an unattractive victim (Jacobson, 1981;Jacobson & Popovich, 1983). In a study that simulated a sexual harassment case in a business setting, both female and male participants, playing the role of a personnel director evaluating an allegation of sexual harassment, were more likely to believe that the incident was sexually motivated when the female victim was physically attractive than when she was not (Popovich et al, 1996). Those authors speculated that this effect may have resulted from "pre-established beliefs about SH-that a woman must be attractive to elicit the attentions of a man (even in a harassment situation)" (p. 532).…”

Visual Agenda-Setting & Proximity after Hurricane Katrina: A Study of Those Closest to the Event

“…Some research in psychology indicates that the same visual images can be recognized and interpreted differently by men and women (Greene & Fraser, 2002;Katsikitis, Pilowsky, & Innes, 1997;Kirouac & Dore, 1985;Popovich et al, 1996). For example, Barrett and Barrington (2005) found that women are influenced more by a positive picture and men triggered by a negative one.…”