Abstract
We explore how attitudes, attributions of fault, and emotions are related to female and male college students’ intended responses to rape. Unlike past work which has examined these factors individually, we study them simultaneously to better understand how they co-occur in the real world. One hundred and five female and 74 male U.S. students from a university in New England read a short description of a female college student’s experience of rape and answered questions about their reactions. Results demonstrate that female participants reported higher attitudes towards feminism, lower rape myth acceptance attitudes, higher attributions of fault to society for the rape, and higher feelings of anger and fear in response to the rape than male participants. Further, gender, attitudes towards feminism, rape myth acceptance attitudes, attributions of fault to society, and fear emerged as predictors of desire to engage in anti-rape collective action. In contrast, gender, rape myth acceptance attitudes, attributions of fault to the male perpetrator, and anger emerged as predictors of reported likelihood of helping the survivor of rape. Results suggest that although female college students are more likely to intend to engage in anti-rape collective action and help survivors of rape, the processes whereby attitudes, attributions of fault, and emotions relate to intended responses to rape are largely similar for female and male college students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahrens, C. E., & Campbell, R. (2000). Assisting rape victims as they recover from rape: The impact on friends. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 959–986. doi:10.1177/088626000015009004.
Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to action: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11–39). New York: Springer.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1973). Attitudinal and normative variables as predictors of specific behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 41–57. doi:10.1037/h0034440.
Anderson, K. B., Cooper, H., & Okamura, L. (1997). Individual differences and attitudes toward rape: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 295–315. doi:10.1177/0146167297233008.
Barnett, M. A., Quackenbush, S. W., Sinisi, C. S., & Wegman, C. M. (1992). Factors affecting reactions to a rape victim. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 126, 609–620.
Brems, C., & Wagner, P. (1994). Blame of victim and perpetrator in rape versus theft. The Journal of Social Psychology, 134, 363–374.
Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our will: Men, women and rape. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Burt, M. R. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217–230. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.38.2.217.
Cobbina, J. E., Miller, J., & Brunson, R. K. (2008). Gender, neighborhood danger, and risk-avoidance strategies among urban African-American youths. Criminology, 46, 673–709. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2008.00122.x.
Cole, T. B. (2006). Rape at US colleges often fueled by alcohol. JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, 296, 504–505. doi:10.1001/jama.296.5.504.
Cottrell, C. A., & Neuberg, S. L. (2005). Different emotional reactions to different groups: A sociofunctional threat-based approach to ‘prejudice’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 770–789. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.5.770.
Cowan, G., & Quinton, W. J. (1997). Cognitive style and attitudinal correlates of the perceived causes of rape scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 227–245. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00110.x.
Duncan, L. E. (1999). Motivation for collective action: Group consciousness as mediator of personality, life experiences, and women’s rights activism. Political Psychology, 20, 611–635. doi:10.1111/0162-895X.00159.
Elklit, A., Due, L., & Christiansen, D. M. (2009). Predictors of acute stress symptoms in rape victims. Traumatology, 15(2), 38–45. doi:10.1177/1534765609338500.
Fassinger, R. E. (1994). Development and testing of the attitudes toward feminism and the women’s movement (FWM) scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 18, 389–402. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1994.tb00462.x.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Ford, T. M., Liwag-McLamb, M., & Foley, L. A. (1998). Perceptions of rape based on sex and sexual orientation of victim. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 13, 253–262.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women's lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206.
Gavey, N. (2005). Just sex? The cultural scaffolding of rape. New York: Routledge.
Gillen, K., & Muncer, S. J. (1995). Sex differences in the perceived causal structure of date rape: A preliminary report. Aggressive Behavior, 21, 101–112. doi:10.ejsp.24202/1098-2337(1995)21:2<101::AID-AB2480210203>3.0.CO;2-S.
Griffin, S. (1979). Rape: The power of consciousness. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Grubb, A., & Harrower, J. (2008). Attribution of blame in cases of rape: An analysis of participant gender, type of rape and perceived similarity to the victim. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 13, 396–405. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2008.06.006.
Hagger, M. S., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2009). Integrating the theory of planned behaviour and self-determination theory in health behaviour: A meta-analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 14, 275–302. doi:10.1348/135910708X373959.
Hercus, C. (1999). Identity, emotion, and feminist collective action. Gender & Society, 13, 34–55. doi:10.1177/089124399013001003.
Hughes, P. P., Marshall, D., & Sherrill, C. (2003). Multidimensional analysis of fear and confidence of university women relating to crimes and dangerous situations. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 33–49. doi:10.1177/0886260502238539.
Kanekar, S., & Seksaria, V. (1993). Acquaintance versus stranger rape: Testing the ambiguity reduction hypothesis. European Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 485–494. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420230506.
Keith, T. Z. (2006). Multiple regression and beyond. Boston: Pearson.
Klaw, E. L., Lonsway, K. A., Berg, D. R., Waldo, C. R., Kothari, C., Mazurek, C. J., et al. (2005). Challenging rape culture: Awareness, emotion and action through campus acquaintance rape education. Women & Therapy, 28(2), 47–63. doi:10.1300/J015v28n02_04.
Koss, M. P., Figueredo, A. J., & Prince, R. J. (2002). Cognitive mediation of rape’s mental, physical and social health impact: Tests of four models in cross-sectional data. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 926–941. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.70.4.926.
Krulewitz, J. E., & Nash, J. E. (1979). Effects of rape victim resistance, assault outcome, and sex of observer on attributions of rape. Journal of Personality, 47, 557–574. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1979.tb00209.x.
Liss, M., Crawford, M., & Popp, D. (2004). Predictors and correlates of collective action. Sex Roles, 50, 771–779. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000029096.90835.3f.
Locke, B. D., & Mahalik, J. R. (2005). Examining masculinity norms, problem drinking, and athletic involvement as predictors of sexual aggression in college men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 279–283. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.3.279.
MacKinnon, C. A. (1986). Pornography: Not a moral issue. Women’s Studies International Forum, 9, 63–78. doi:10.1016/0277-5395(86)90078-6.
McMullin, D., & White, J. W. (2006). Long-term effects of labeling a rape experience. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 96–105. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00266.x.
Mohler-Kuo, M., Dowdall, G. W., Koss, M. P., & Wechsler, H. (2004). Correlates of rape while intoxicated in a national sample of college women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 65, 37–45.
Morrison, K. (2005). Motivating women and men to take protective action against rape: Examining direct and indirect persuasive fear appeals. Health Communication, 18, 237–256. doi:10.1207/s15327027hc1803_3.
Nelson, J. A., Liss, M., Erchull, M. J., Hurt, M. M., Ramsey, L. R., Turner, D. L., et al. (2008). Identity in action: Predictors of feminist self-identification and collective action. Sex Roles, 58, 721–728. doi:10.1007/s11199-007-9384-0.
Otten, C. A., Penner, L. A., & Waugh, G. (1988). That’s what friends are for: The determinants of psychological helping. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 7, 34–41.
Payne, D. L., Lonsway, K. A., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (1999). Rape myth acceptance: Exploration of its structure and its measurement using the Illinois rape myth acceptance scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 27–68. doi:10.1006/jrpe.1998.2238.
Peterson, Z. D., & Muehlenhard, C. L. (2004). Was it rape? The function of women’s rape myth acceptance and definitions of sex in labeling their own experiences. Sex Roles, 51, 129–144. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000037758.95376.00.
Pollard, P. (1992). Judgements about victims and attackers in depicted rapes: A review. The British Journal of Social Psychology, 31, 307–326.
Schifter, D. E., & Ajzen, I. (1985). Intention, perceived control, and weight loss: An application of the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 843–851. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.49.3.843.
Smith, H. J., Cronin, T., & Kessler, T. (2008). Anger, fear, or sadness: Faculty members’ emotional reactions to collective pay disadvantage. Political Psychology, 29, 221–246. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9221.2008.00624.x.
Twenge, J. M. (1997). Attitudes toward women, 1970–1995: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 35–51. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00099.x.
van Zomeren, M., & Lodewijkx, H. F. M. (2005). Motivated responses to ‘senseless’ violence: Explaining emotional and behavioural responses through person and position identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 755–766. doi:10.1002/ejsp.274.
van Zomeren, M., Spears, R., Fischer, A. H., & Leach, C. W. (2004). Put your money where your mouth is! Explaining collective action tendencies through group-based anger and group efficacy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 649–664. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.87.5.649.
Wasco, S. M., & Campbell, R. (2002). Emotional reactions of rape victim advocates: A multiple case study of anger and fear. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 120–130. doi:10.1111/1471-6402.00050.
Yodanis, C. L. (2004). Gender inequality, violence against women, and fear: A cross-national test of the feminist theory of violence against women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 19, 655–675. doi:10.1177/0886260504263868.
Acknowledgement
Preparation of this manuscript was supported by a training fellowship (T32MH074387) awarded to the first author from the National Institute of Mental Health. We thank Felicia Pratto, Jack Dovidio, Colin Leach, and the UConn Intergroup Lab for their helpful comments on this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Earnshaw, V.A., Pitpitan, E.V. & Chaudoir, S.R. Intended Responses to Rape as Functions of Attitudes, Attributions of Fault, and Emotions. Sex Roles 64, 382–393 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9920-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9920-1