The Relationships of Observer Characteristics to Beliefs in the Causal Responsibility of Victims of Sexual Assault

Thornton, Billy; Ryckman, Richard M.; Robbins, Michael A.

doi:10.1177/001872678203500404

Cited by 42 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Compared with women, men endorse less pro-woman attitudes (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973;Thorton, Ryckman, & Robbins, 1982). Anti-feminist, gender-stereotyped attitudes are related to rape acceptance (Anderson, Cooper, & Okamura, 1997) and to pro-defense evaluations in mock rape trials, among women and men (Ong & Ward, 1999).…”

Section: Attitudes Toward Womenmentioning

confidence: 97%

Explaining Gender Differences in Jurors' Reactions to Child Sexual Assault Cases

Bottoms

Peter-Hagene

Stevenson

et al. 2014

Behavioral Sci & The Law

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In three experiments, we investigated the influence of juror, victim, and case factors on mock jurors' decisions in several types of child sexual assault cases (incest, day care, stranger abduction, and teacher-perpetrated abuse). We also validated and tested the ability of several scales measuring empathy for child victims, children's believability, and opposition to adult/child sex, to mediate the effect of jurors' gender on case judgments. Supporting a theoretical model derived from research on the perceived credibility of adult rape victims, women compared to men were more empathic toward child victims, more opposed to adult/child sex, more pro-women, and more inclined to believe children generally. In turn, women (versus men) made more pro-victim judgments in hypothetical abuse cases; that is, attitudes and empathy generally mediated this juror gender effect that is pervasive in this literature. The experiments also revealed that strength of case evidence is a powerful factor in determining judgments, and that teen victims (14 years old) are blamed more for sexual abuse than are younger children (5 years old), but that perceptions of 5 and 10 year olds are largely similar. Our last experiment illustrated that our findings of mediation generalize to a community member sample.

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Section: Attitudes Toward Womenmentioning

confidence: 97%

Explaining Gender Differences in Jurors' Reactions to Child Sexual Assault Cases

Bottoms

Peter-Hagene

Stevenson

et al. 2014

Behavioral Sci & The Law

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In fact, one of the most ubiquitous variables examined in this literature is participant gender (Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994;Brems & Wagner, 1994;Foley, Evancic, Karnik, King, & Parks, 1995;Schult & Schneider, 1991;Szymanski, Devlin, Chrisler, & Vyse, 1993;Thornton, Ryckman, & Robbins, 1982;Whatley, 2005). In fact, one of the most ubiquitous variables examined in this literature is participant gender (Bell, Kuriloff, & Lottes, 1994;Brems & Wagner, 1994;Foley, Evancic, Karnik, King, & Parks, 1995;Schult & Schneider, 1991;Szymanski, Devlin, Chrisler, & Vyse, 1993;Thornton, Ryckman, & Robbins, 1982;Whatley, 2005).…”

Section: The Influence Of Observer Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Men’s Perceptions of an Acquaintance Rape

Angelone

Mitchell

Grossi

2014

J Interpers Violence

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Sexual aggression is a persistent and prevalent issue in the United States, which often results in a number of psychological, emotional, and physical consequences for victims. The current study examined whether the length of relationship between the victim and perpetrator, level of victim resistance, and observers' gender role attitudes play a role in observers' perceptions of an alleged sexual assault. Participants included 297 male college students from a public university in the Northeastern United States. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant effects for length of relationship on participants' attributions. Relative to no resistance, verbal and physical strategies by the victim predicted higher levels of victim credibility, perpetrator culpability, and perpetrator guilt, as well as lower levels of victim culpability and perceived victim pleasure. Endorsement of traditional adversarial sex role beliefs and hostile sexist attitudes, as opposed to egalitarian attitudes, were associated with the attribution of less credibility to the victim, perceived victim trauma, perpetrator culpability, perpetrator guilt, and shorter recommended prison sentences, as well as greater victim culpability and perceived victim pleasure. Laypersons' perceptions of sexual assault merit further study, as they are relevant to juror decision making and third party responses to sexual victimization (e.g., peer support for victim) and can contribute to the secondary victimization and recovery of survivors of sexual assault.

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“…On the other hand, female observers view the crime more seriously, have more empathy for the victim, support prosecuting the perpetrator, and recommend longer prison sentences than men (Bell et al, 1994;Brems & Wagner, 1994;Foley, Evancic, Karnik, King, & Parks, 1995;Schult & Schneider, 1991;Szymanski, Devlin, Chrisler, & Vyse, 1993;Thornton, Ryckman, & Robbins, 1982;Whatley, 2005). By far, the most ubiquitous observer variable examined is participant gender.…”

Section: Observer Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Perceptions of Date Rape

Angelone

Mitchell

Lucente

2012

J Interpers Violence

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The purpose of the current study is to examine the influence of multiple offender motivations (including no indication of a motivation), relationship length, and gender role beliefs on perceptions of a male-on-female date rape. A sample of 348 U.S. college students read a brief vignette depicting a date rape and completed a questionnaire regarding their attributions about the victim (culpability, credibility, trauma, pleasure) and perpetrator (culpability, guilt, sentencing recommendations). Results indicate that providing observers with information about the perpetrator's motivation was associated with lower victim blame. Relationship length is not predictive of rape attributions. Egalitarian gender role attitudes are associated with lower levels of victim blame. Overall, gender role attitudes exert a more significant influence on rape attributions than participant gender. The findings suggest that knowledge of an offender's motivation as well as observers' gender role attitudes can influence attributions about the culpability of victims and perpetrators of date rape.

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The Relationships of Observer Characteristics to Beliefs in the Causal Responsibility of Victims of Sexual Assault

Cited by 42 publications

References 28 publications

Explaining Gender Differences in Jurors' Reactions to Child Sexual Assault Cases

Explaining Gender Differences in Jurors' Reactions to Child Sexual Assault Cases

Men’s Perceptions of an Acquaintance Rape

Predicting Perceptions of Date Rape

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