Influence of Rape Myth Acceptance, Sexual Attitudes, and Belief in a Just World on Attributions of Responsibility in a Date Rape Scenario

• NCJ Number: 236134
• Journal: Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume: 35 Issue: 7 Dated: September 2011 Pages: 242-252
• Author(s): Elizabeth M. Hammond; Melissa A. Berry; Dario N. Rodriguez
• Date Published: September 2011
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined the influence of rape myth acceptance, belief in a just world, and sexual attitudes on mock jurors' attributions of responsibility in a date rape scenario.

Abstract

The study found that pre-existing beliefs regarding the nature of rape and the circumstances surrounding it may bias attributions of responsibility in date rape cases. Regarding rape myths, some people have particularly prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists. Among these myths is the belief that women often provoke rape through their appearance or behavior, which would lead a person to focus on the accuser and her behaviors and possible enticements rather than on the behavior of the accused. In addition, those who hold more conservative sexual attitudes tend to view women as subservient to men and to be more accepting of rape myths than those with more liberal attitudes. These attitudes may be particularly influential in people's attributions of responsibility in date rape situations. Another variable examined in the study was belief that we live in a just world where good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Research has shown that people who endorse this view tend to justify the misfortunes of others by attributing responsibility to victims. In the current study, rape-myth acceptance mediated the relationship between gender and judgments of responsibility for what happened in a date rape scenario. Men were more likely to endorse rape myths and, consequently, assign less responsibility to the accused and more responsibility to the accuser than women. Study participants were 172 undergraduates from a medium-sized Catholic university in the United States. They read a hypothetical date rape scenario and completed the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, the Just World Scale, the Sexual Attitudes Scale, and a Judgment Questionnaire constructed for the current study. 3 tables, 32 references, and appended data rape scenario