The current study was an investigation of extralegal factors in the perception of sexual harassment. Undergraduate students who were enrolled in introductory psychology classes watched a videotape of an interaction in a work setting. A male "harasser" made a comment to a female regarding her appearance and figure. The physical attractiveness of the harasser, the status of the harasser, and the gender of the subject served as the independent variables. Following the videotape, the subjects completed a questionnaire designed to measure their interpretation of the incident in both an indirect and direct manner. The dependent variables included the subjects' ratings regarding the emotional reactions of the victim to the harasser's comments, the actions that the victim should take in response to his comments, whether the incident was defined as serious, and whether the interaction was defined as sexual harassment. Subjects also completed an empathy measure, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and a scale that measured their tolerance for sexual harassment, the Sexual Harassment Attitude Scale (SHAS). / Contrary to predictions based on the "beauty is good" stereotype, the physical attractiveness of the harasser did not influence subjects' perceptions of the interaction. Regarding status, subjects were more likely to view comments from a supervisor (vs. coworker) as causing negative emotional reactions from the victim. Female subjects were more likely to suggest that stronger actions be taken in response to the incident. An interaction occurred such that male subjects were influenced by the status of the harasser on two dependent variables; males in the coworker condition were less likely to view the interaction as serious or as sexual harassment. However, females were just as likely to see the comments as serious and harassing, regardless of whether they were made by a supervisor or a coworker. Empathy scores on two subscales were positively correlated with the subjects' likelihood of perceiving the incident as sexual harassment. Subjects with a low tolerance for sexual harassment were more likely to define the incident as sexual harassment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-05, Section: B, page: 2869. / Major Professor: Joyce L. Carbonell. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77464 |
| Contributors | Keegan, Hilary Ann., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 153 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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