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Men’s Empathic Bias, Empathic Inaccuracy, and Sexual Harassment

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Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between men’s sexual harassment of women and men accuracy and bias when inferring women’s critical or rejecting thoughts and feelings. Eighty married men from the Arlington, Texas, USA community participated. Results indicated that men’s sexual harassment behavior is negatively related to men’s accuracy in determining when women have critical or rejecting thoughts or feelings. Further, men’s sexual harassment behavior is positively related to men’s bias to overattribute criticism and rejection. This pattern of findings suggests that male sexual harassers tend to over-infer women’s criticism and rejection and make these inferences at the wrong times. These findings also support recent speculation that men’s sexual harassment of women is related to aggression rather than seduction.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University of South Dakota, 414 E Clark Street, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA

    William E. Schweinle

  2. School of Social Work, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

    Carol Cofer

  3. Department of Psychology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA

    Sandra Schatz

Authors
  1. William E. Schweinle
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  2. Carol Cofer
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  3. Sandra Schatz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to William E. Schweinle.

Additional information

This research described in this article was supported by a grant from the Timberlawn Psychiatric Research Foundation. We thank Tracey Blotkey, Tracee Cole, Beatrice Davis, Gina Querner, Deborah Russey, Jason Schoenthal, Andria Schwegler, Wayland Scott, Marissa Vasquez, Kimberley Wear, Brea Yell, and Connie Yu for their assistance in collecting and coding the data. We also thank Bill Ickes and Amy Schweinle for immeasurable help throughout this project.

Appendix A: The sexual harassment behaviors inventory (SHBI)

Appendix A: The sexual harassment behaviors inventory (SHBI)

INSTRUCTIONS: Please think about the last year, starting from today’s date, and for each of the following statements indicate how frequently you did each of the following at work or outside of your marital relationship during the last year by circling the appropriate number. Your responses will be strictly confidential and your anonymity is guaranteed.

(Note: Responses are made on a 6-point scale: 0 = “Never”, 1 = “Once or Twice”, 2 = “Sometimes”, 3 = “Often”, 4 = “Very Often”, 5 = “Always”)

  1. 1.

    Told sexual stories or jokes in mixed company at work.

  2. 2.

    Made sexual remarks in the presence of women other than your wife.

  3. 3.

    Displayed sexy or nude pictures of women at work.

  4. 4.

    Made negative comments about women, condescended to women, or told jokes about women in general.

  5. 5.

    Attempted to discuss sex with a female coworker.

  6. 6.

    Tried to establish a sexual relationship with a woman other than your wife.

  7. 7.

    Asked a woman other than your wife out for drinks, dinner, etc. after she said no at least once before.

  8. 8.

    Touched a female coworker in a friendly manner.

  9. 9.

    Told a woman (other than your wife) something very personal about yourself, hoping that she would tell you something personal about herself.

  10. 10.

    Stared or ogled at an attractive woman other than your wife.

  11. 11.

    Asked a woman other than your wife about her sexual fantasies or desires.

  12. 12.

    Commented on how a woman other than your wife looks, sexually.

  13. 13.

    Brushed up against a woman other than your wife on purpose.

  14. 14.

    Gave a woman other than your wife a gift by dropping it down the front of her blouse or in her pants.

  15. 15.

    Spread sexual rumors about a woman other than your wife.

  16. 16.

    Touched a woman’s breast (other than your wife’s) in public.

  17. 17.

    Touched a woman other than your wife in a sexual way that she did not want.

  18. 18.

    Asked a subordinate female coworker to perform sex acts with you.

  19. 19.

    Whistled, called, or hooted sexually at a woman other than your wife.

  20. 20.

    Threatened a woman other than your wife if she did not have sex with you.

  21. 21.

    Treated a female coworker "differently" than male coworkers because she was female.

  22. 22.

    Exposed yourself to (for example "mooned" or "flashed") a woman other than your wife.

  23. 23.

    Made gestures or body language of a sexual nature toward a female coworker or a woman other than your wife.

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Schweinle, W.E., Cofer, C. & Schatz, S. Men’s Empathic Bias, Empathic Inaccuracy, and Sexual Harassment. Sex Roles 60, 142–150 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9507-2

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