title: Victim blame and the disinhibition of sexual arousal to rape vignettes.
abstract: The present study examined the effects of differing levels of victim blame on the sexual arousal of males to rape vignettes. In the first experiment, a between-subjects experimental design was used to compare four groups of eight university males for their erectile responses to vignettes rated as low, medium, and high along a victim blame continuum. All groups found a consenting vignette more arousing than a nonconsenting vignette, however, this difference was significantly smaller for subjects in the high blame condition compared to the low and medium blame conditions. A second experiment supported the disinhibiting effect of the high victim blame manipulation using 12 university males in a within-subjects experimental design. The disinhibiting influence of victim blame on male sexual arousal to rape cues was discussed in relation to our broader understanding of sexual assault.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sundberg
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Barbaree
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003463:Cues; D005201:Fantasy; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008257:Machiavellianism; D008297:Male; D010410:Penile Erection / Q000523:psychology*; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology*; D012659:Semantic Differential; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013637:Tape Recording; D014754:Violence; D014933:Women's Rights