Abstract
An experimental study examined whether judgments about a rape victim can be influenced by the social reactions of others, and whether this effect would be moderated by the type of rape (stranger or date rape) or by the gender of the participants. One hundred and ten U.S. college students (90% white; 59% female) responded to rape vignettes in which the type of rape and the social reactions received by the victim (negative, positive, or neutral) were manipulated. People exposed to negative social reactions made less positive judgments. Men and people who read about a date rape also made less positive judgments, but neither variable interacted with type of reactions to impact judgments.
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Acknowledgments
This research was conducted while Amy Brown was a graduate student at Miami University in Oxford, OH. This research was presented at the 8th annual conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology in Memphis, TN. We would like to thank Terri Messman-Moore and members of her research lab at Miami University for assistance conducting this research.
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Appendices
Appendix 1
Full Text of Interviews Providing Positive Social Reactions
Katie:
“One of my good friends was raped. It’s been pretty hard for her. She was really upset for a long time, but I’ve made a point to be there for her. I know she needs support to deal with what’s happened to her.
“She told me how it happened, and I agree that it is totally the fault of that jerk. It makes me sick that there are people like him at our school. I helped her find a counselor, and I thought that she should have pressed charges and gone through with a trial and make sure he was punished, but I guess I understand that she didn’t want to deal with it. I support her decisions, whatever it is.”
Emily:
“My sister was raped not too long ago and I feel so bad for her! It’s so scary to think that something like that can happen to someone so close to me—I mean, we’re sisters and we go to the same school and everything.
“My mom and dad are so mad at that guy who raped her, but they’ve been really great to Jessica. I think they’ve done a good job of being there for her and at the same time trying not to make a huge deal about what happened. I mean, they don’t pretend that nothing happened, but they try and keep things normal. When we were all home at Christmas we were all really supportive of her, and our parents worked to make things really comfortable—but without being patronizing. At one point, Jessica broke down crying and Mom and Dad just sat with her for a while and listened while she said what was bothering her. It stemmed from the rape, and they were careful not to judge her, but just—they were just there for her.
“I’ve talked to Jessica about the rape a few times. I don’t usually bring it up, but I listen when she needs to talk. I let her know that she’s still my sister and I love her no matter what.”
Negative Social Reactions
Katie:
“One of my good friends was raped. It’s been pretty hard for her. She was really upset for a long time, and I have a really hard time dealing with her. I don’t know what to do to help her, and I’m not sure anything I could say or do would do any good, so I think she’s better off dealing with what happened to her on her own.
“She told me how it happened, and I’m sure it was really awful, but I just can’t believe that everything was that guy’s fault. I think she must have done something to bring it on. It sounds kind of bad to say, but she must have done something. No way would he just attack her out of nowhere. I thought she was right when she decided not to press charges. I don’t think it would have done any good, and would probably have just made things worse.”
Emily:
“My sister was raped not too long ago and I feel so bad for her! It’s so scary to think that something like that can happen to someone so close to me—I mean, we’re sisters and we go to the same school and everything.
“My mom and dad are so mad about this whole rape business. I think they kind of blame her for getting raped, but mostly I think they’re ashamed of her and think she’s embarrassed them by making such a big deal about what happened. I hate to say it, but I think they’re kind of right—it would probably be better to just pretend it never happened. Sometimes I think she’s really just looking for attention—like she wants people to feel sorry for her.
“When we were all home at Christmas, everything was so tense and awful. Everyone was either ignoring Jessica or being kind of patronizing towards her—you know, acting like she wasn’t capable of making her own decisions anymore. At one point, Jessica broke down crying and Mom and Dad just kind of stared at her. They finally asked what was wrong, and when she mentioned the rape, they just got up and left the room. I think Christmas would have actually been much better if Jessica hadn’t even been there. I know she’s upset, but sometimes I think she’s just looking for attention.
“I’ve talked to Jessica a few times, but hardly ever about the rape. It’s just not something I think you should talk about. Actually, I don’t spend that much time with her at all since then. She’s my sister and I love her, but I guess I sort of feel like she’s tainted, and I don’t want it to rub off on me.”
Neutral Reactions
Katie:
“One of my good friends was raped. It’s been pretty hard for her. She was really upset for a long time, but I guess she just needs time to deal with what’s happened to her.
“She told me how it happened, and I’m just really glad I wasn’t in her position. I don’t know what I would have done.”
Emily:
“My sister was raped not too long ago and I feel so bad for her! It’s so scary to think that something like that can happen to someone so close to me—I mean, we’re sisters and we go to the same school and everything.
“My mom and dad aren’t sure what to make of everything. When we were all home for Christmas, things were a little weird, but not too bad. At one point, Jessica broke down crying and Mom and Dad just sat with her for a while. She mentioned the rape, and no one said too much, they just sat there with her.
“I still hang out with Jessica from time to time. I mean, she’s my sister and I love her.”
Appendix 2
Text of Questionnaire Items Used to Create Dependent Variables
When presented to participants, each question was followed by a 1–9 response scale, with the endpoints labeled according the wording of the question (e.g., “Not at all/To a great extent”). Questions were not presented in the following order, and were interspersed among questions not pertinent to the current study.
Questions Specific to Stimulus Materials
Manipulation check, α = .90
How supportive is Katie?
How supportive is Emily?
How supportive are Jessica’s parents?
Victim blame, α = .92
How responsible do you think that Jessica was for what happened?
To what extent is Jessica to blame for what happened?
How much did Jessica’s behavior cause the rape to happen?
Perpetrator blame, α = .90
How responsible do you think that Kevin was for what happened?
To what extent is Kevin to blame for what happened?
How much did Kevin’s behavior cause the rape to happen?
To what extent do you feel that Kevin deserves to be punished for the rape?
Emotional support, α = .86
How much sympathy do you feel for Jessica?
How willing would you be to provide emotional support for Jessica?
How willing would you be to be friends with Jessica?
How positively do you feel toward Jessica?
Instrumental support, α = .84
If you were taking a class with Jessica, how willing would you be to help her with her homework?
If you were taking a class with Jessica, how willing would you be to work on a group project with her?
Questions About Rape Victims in General
General victim blame, α = .73
To what extent do you believe that most women who are raped are at least somewhat responsible for what happened?
To what extent do you believe that most rape victims could have avoided being raped?
General sympathy and support, α = .87
How willing would you be to help, or provide support for rape victims in general?
How much compassion do you feel towards rape victims in general?
How important is it to be supportive of rape victims?
How important is it that our society acts to help rape victims?
In general, how positively do you feel toward rape victims in general?
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Brown, A.L., Testa, M. Social Influences on Judgments of Rape Victims: The Role of the Negative and Positive Social Reactions of Others. Sex Roles 58, 490–500 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9353-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9353-7