Abstract
Gender and skin color are recognized factors that influence social judgments. We approach this problem by proposing that the color of the victim’s skin and the sex of the observers will influence the blaming of a woman for violence she has suffered, just as the belief in a just world (BJW) will be responsible for predicting greater blaming of the victim. In Study 1 (N = 152), after manipulating the victim’s skin color, we identified that black victims were more blamed than whites and that men were blaming more than women. Study 2 (N = 234) investigated the hypothesis that BJW acts as a moderator of the relationship between the victim’s skin color, the participant’s gender, and the victim’s blame. Although the hypothetical triple interaction was not significant, the paired comparisons showed that among participants with high adherence to BJW, male participants placed more blame than female participants, and this blame was even greater in the condition in which the victim was black. These results are discussed in light of the importance of the studies on blaming women victims of sexual violence, taking into consideration a set of characteristics of the victim as well as more ideological aspects, such as the BJW.
Resumo
O gênero e a cor da pele são reconhecidamente fatores que influenciam nos julgamentos sociais. Abordamos este problema propondo que a cor da pele da vítima e o sexo dos observadores irão influenciar na culpabilização da mulher pela violência por ela sofrida, assim como, a crença no mundo justo (CMJ) será responsável por predizer uma maior culpabilização da vítima. No Estudo 1 (N = 152), manipulando a cor da pele das vítimas, identificamos que as mulheres negras foram mais culpabilizadas do que as brancas e que os homens culpabilizaram mais do que as mulheres. O Estudo 2 (N = 234) investigou se a CMJ atua como moderadora da relação entre a cor da pele da vítima, sexo dos participantes e a culpabilização da vítima. Embora a interação tripla hipotetizada não tenha sido significativa, notou-se que entre os participantes com alta adesão à CMJ, os homens atribuíram mais culpa do que as mulheres, e essa culpa foi ainda maior na condição em que a vítima era negra. Esses resultados são discutidos à luz da importância de os estudos sobre a culpabilização da mulher vítima de violência sexual levar em consideração um conjunto de características tanto da vítima como de aspectos mais ideológicos, como a CMJ.
Resumen
El género y el color de la piel son factores reconocidos que influyen en los juicios sociales. Abordamos este problema proponiendo que el color de la piel de la víctima y el género de los observadores influirán en la culpa atribuida a la mujer por la violencia que sufrió, así como la creencia en el mundo justo (CMJ) será responsable de predecir una mayor culpabilización de la víctima. En el Estudio 1 (N = 152), al manipular el color de la piel de las víctimas, identificamos que las víctimas negras tenían más culpa que las blancas y que los hombres culpaban más que las mujeres. El estudio 2 (N = 234) investigo si la CMJ actúa como moderador de la relación entre el color de la piel de la víctima, el sexo de los participantes y la culpabilización de la víctima. Aunque la hipotética triple interacción no fue significativa, se observó que entre los participantes con alta adherencia a la CMJ, los hombres atribuyeron más culpa que las mujeres, y esta culpa fue aún mayor en la condición en que la víctima era negra. Estos resultados se discuten a la luz de la importancia de los estudios sobre culpar a las mujeres víctimas de violencia sexual por tener en cuenta un conjunto de características de la víctima y aspectos más ideológicos, como la CMJ.
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Linhares, L.V., Torres, A.R.R., de Lucena, A.K.V. et al. Blaming the Black Victim: the Victim’s Skin Color and Belief in a Just World. Trends in Psychol. 31, 1–15 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00134-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-021-00134-7
Keywords
- Blaming the victim
- Belief in a just world
- Violence against women
- Culpabilización de la Víctima
- Creencia en un mundo justo
- Violencia contra la mujer.