title: "She deserved it": Effects of sexism norms, type of violence, and victim's pre-assault behavior on blame attributions toward female victims and approval of the aggressor's behavior.
abstract: Effects of ambivalent sexism, sexism norms, victim behavior, and type of violence on male students' reactions to male violence against women in intimate relationships were examined. Participants judged a scenario depicting an act of sexual or non-sexual violence against a female partner who had either shown overtly sexual or non-sexual behavior toward another man. Generally, high (vs. low) hostile sexism, high (vs. low) hostile sexism norm feedback, and victim's overtly sexual (vs. non-sexual) behavior led to stronger victim blame and perceived approval of the aggressor's behavior. The victim of non-sexual violence was blamed more than the rape victim, particularly if she had behaved in an overtly sexual manner.
authors.affiliation: University of Bielefeld, CITEC Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koepke
authors.forename: Friederike
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eyssel
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bohner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D019548:Crime Victims; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D011902:Rape; D063507:Sexism; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D013240:Stereotyping; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ambivalent sexism; feminine gender-role stereotypes; sexual and non-sexual violence; social norms; victim behavior