Abstract
We examined whether the timing of the report and the victim's apparent motive for reporting influences women's and men's perceptions of sexual harassment. Undergraduates (153 women, 149 men) listened to 1 of 6 versions of audiotaped testimony of the victim and defendant. The report was filed either immediately or 18 months later, and motive either was presented as altruistic, retaliatory, or was not specified. Participants chose a verdict, rated the defendant's guilt, and rated the defendant and victim on several dimensions. Higher guilt ratings, more positive evaluations of the victim, and more negative evaluations of the defendant were associated with immediate reporting and an altruistic motive, although women weighed these factors more heavily than did men.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blumenthal, J. A. (1998). The reasonable woman standard: A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. Law and Human Behavior, 22(1), 33-57.
Borger, G., Walsh, K. T., Thornton, J., & Gest, T. (1991, October 21). Judging Thomas: A Supreme Court nominee—and the nominating system—on trial. U.S. News and World Report, pp. 32-36.
Bornstein, B. H. (1999). The ecological validity of jury simulations: Is the jury still out? Law and Human Behavior, 23(1), 75-91.
Brock, D. (1992, March). The real Anita Hill. American Spectator, pp. 18-30.
Bursik, K. (1992). Perceptions of sexual harassment in an academic context. Sex Roles, 27, 401-412.
Charney, D., & Russell, R. C. (1994). An overview of sexual harassment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 10-17.
Cortina, L. M., Swan, S., Fitzgerald, L. F., & Waldo, C. (1998). Sexual harassment and assault: Chilling the climate for women in academia. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 419-441.
Dougherty, T. W., Turban, D. B., Olson, D. E., Dwyer, P. D., & Lapreze, M. W. (1996). Factors affecting perceptions of workplace sexual harassment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17, 489-501.
Estrich, S. (1991). Sex at work. Stanford Law Review, 43, 813-861.
Fitzgerald, L. F., Shullman, S. L., Baily, N., Richards, M., Swecker, J., Gold, Y., et al. (1988). The incidence and dimensions of sexual harassment in academia and the workplace. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32, 152-175.
Fitzgerald, L. F., Swan, S., & Fischer, K. (1995). Why didn't she just report him? The psychological and legal implications of women's responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 117-138.
Gruber, J. E. (1990). Methodological problems and policy implications in sexual harassment research. Population Research and Policy Review, 9, 235-254.
Gutek, B. A. (1995). How subjective is sexual harassment? An examination of rater effects. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17, 447-467.
Gutek, B. A., & Koss, M. P. (1993). Changed women and changed organizations: Consequences of and coping with sexual harassment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42, 28-48.
Henry, J., & Meltzoff, J. (1998). Perceptions of sexual harassment as a function of target's response type and observer's sex. Sex Roles, 39, 253-271.
Hurt, J. L., Maver, J. A., & Hoffman, D. (1999). Situational and individual influences on judgments of hostile environment sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1395-1415.
Johnson, J. S. (1991, November 11). Letter to the editor. Newsweek, p. 12.
Jones, T. S., & Remland, M. S. (1992). Sources of variability in perceptions of and responses to sexual harassment. Sex Roles, 27, 121-142.
Jones, T. S., Remland, M. S., & Bruner, C. C. (1987). Effects of employment relationship, response of recipient and sex of rater on perceptions of sexual harassment. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 65, 55-63.
Katz, R. C., Hannon, R., & Whitten, L. (1996). Effects of gender and situation on the perception of sexual harassment. Sex Roles, 34, 35-42.
Kenig, S., & Ryan, J. (1986). Sex differences in levels of tolerance and attribution of blame for sexual harassment on a university campus. Sex Roles, 15, 535-549.
Kirk, R. E. (1982). Experimental design (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Marin, A. J., & Guadagno, R. E. (1999). Perceptions of sexual harassment victims as a function of labeling and reporting. Sex Roles, 41, 921-940.
Markunus, P. V., & Joyce-Brady, J. M. (1987). Underutilization of sexual harassment grievance procedures. Journal of the National Association of Women Deans, Administrators, and Counselors, 50, 27-32.
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986).
Morgan, P. A. (1999). Risking relationships: Understanding the litigation choices of sexually harassed women. Law and Society Review, 33(1), 67-92.
Nygren, T. A. (1997). The effects of consistency, previous relationship, and the woman's reaction on judgments of sexual harassment: A factorial survey approach. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 58, 4503.
Pryor, J. B., & McKinney, K. (1995). Research on sexual harassment: Lingering issues and future directions. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17, 605-611.
Reilly, T., Carpenter, S., Dull, V., & Bartlett, K. (1982). The factorial survey: An approach to defining sexual harassment on campus. Journal of Social Issues, 38, 99-109.
Reilly, M. E., Lott, B., Caldwell, D., & DeLuca, L. (1992). Tolerance for sexual harassment related to self-reported sexual victimization for sexual harassment related to self-reported sexual victimization. Gender and Society, 6, 122-138.
Rice, J. A. (2001). Defending sexual harassment in the 90s. Retrieved June 28, 2001, from www.jri-inc.com/sexharr.htm
Riger, S. (2000). Transforming psychology: Gender in theory and practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rotundo, M., Nguyen, D. H., & Sackett, P. R. (2001). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 914-922.
Salisbury, J., Ginorio, A. B., Remick, H., & Stringer, D. M. (1986). Counseling victims of sexual harassment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 23, 316-324.
Sheets, V. L., & Braver, S. L. (1999). Organizational status and perceived sexual harassment: Detecting the mediators of a null effect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1159-1171.
Shepela, S. T., & Levesque, L. L. (1998). Poisoned waters: Sexual harassment and the college climate. Sex Roles, 38, 589-611.
Shrier, D. K. (1996). Introduction and brief overview. In D. K. Shrier (Ed.), Sexual harassment in the workplace and academia:Psychiatric issues (pp. 1-19). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Stockdale, M. S. (1998). The direct and moderating influences of sexual-harassment pervasiveness, coping strategies, and gender on work-related outcomes. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 521-535.
Summers, R. J., & Myklebust, K. (1992). The influence of a history of romance on judgments and responses to a complaint of sexual harassment. Sex Roles, 27, 345-357.
Thomman, D. A., & Wiener, R. L. (1987). Physical and psychological causality as determinants of culpability in sexual harassment cases. Sex Roles, 17, 573-591.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1981). Sexual harassment of federal workers: Is it a problem? Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1988). Sexual harassment of federal workers: An update. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1994). Sexual harassment in the federal workplace: Trends, progress, and continuing challenges. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Valentine-French, S., & Radtke, H. L. (1989). Attributions of responsibility for an incident of sexual harassment in a university setting. Sex Roles, 21, 545-555.
Williams, C. W., Brown, R. S., Lees-Haley, P. R., & Price, J. R. (1995). An attributional (causal dimensional) analysis of perceptions of sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 1169-1183.
Williams, K. B., & Cyr, R. R. (1992). Escalating commitment to a relationship: The sexual harassment trap. Sex Roles, 27, 47-72.
Winer, D. L., Bonner, T. O., Blaney, P. H., & Murray, E. J. (1981). Depression and social attraction. Motivation and Emotion, 5, 153-166.
Wyatt, G. E., & Riederle, M. (1994). Sexual harassment and prior sexual trauma among African-American and White American women. Violence and Victims, 9, 233-247.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Balogh, D.W., Kite, M.E., Pickel, K.L. et al. The Effects of Delayed Report and Motive for Reporting on Perceptions of Sexual Harassment. Sex Roles 48, 337–348 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022990530657
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022990530657