Would victims blame victims? Effects of ostracism, sexual objectification, and empathy on victim blaming.

ABSTRACT: In the current research, we examined whether ostracism and sexual objectification affect the tendency to blame the victim of sexual harassment. Previous research concerning victim blame examined the attribution of blame considering the characteristics of the victim, the perpetrator, and the relation between them. However, no research to date examined whether situational factors of the perceiver can affect their perception and judgment of blame. We propose that sexual objectification and ostracism may elicit empathy toward the victim, and in turn, reduce victim blame. In two experimental studies, women were instructed to imagine interacting with a videotaped man who either gazed at their body (objectification), away from them (ostracism), or at their face (treated well). Then, they were ask

SUBMITTER: Dvir M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9376598 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature