Alcohol Consumption and Responsibility Judgment for Rape

• NCJ Number: 90199
• Author(s): J S Kreutzer; P K Thompson; R Mynatt; L M Markowitz
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 11 pages
• Sale Source: Eric Document Reproduction Service
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Detroit, MI, April 30 - May 2, 1981.

Annotation

One explanation for the positive relationship between alcohol consumption and violent crime considers alcohol consumption to be a socially accepted excuse for otherwise inappropriate behaviors.

Abstract

A policy capturing methodology was used to examine judgments of responsibility for rape. Male (N=30) and female (N=66) undergraduates received 40 profiles of alleged rapes with variations in 9 information categories. Subjects rated assailant and victim responsibility, degree of sanction appropriate for the assailant, and victim willingness to participate. No significant sex differences occurred between mean judgments of victim responsibility, assailant responsibility, or victim willingness. In terms of sanctions for the assailant, females assigned lengthier sentences than males. All subjects rated assailants as more responsible than victims; both the rapist and the victims were held more responsible if they had been drinking. No significant sex difference occurred in the patterns of cue utilization. Subjects showed a bias toward blaming the victim; the best predictor of judgments was the victim's alcohol consumption. Other salient predictors were the extent to which the victim had been threatened and the reputation of the assailant. Degree of victim resistance was the least effective predictor. Results suggest that drinkers are held more, rather than less, responsible for aggressive behaviors. (Resources in Education (ERIC) abstract)