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Are You the Problem, or the Solution? Changing Male Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Sexual Assault
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by Alexandra Cassel - Colgate University
Sexual assault (SA) prevention efforts on college campuses usually
target women (the victims); yet men are far more likely to be the
perpetrators of sexual violence. The present study evaluated how male
attitudes, measured by rape myth acceptance, and behaviors, measured by
willingness to seek information, could be changed prosocially. A false
feedback paradigm was used to manipulate male personal responsibility
by presenting men with sham rape myth acceptance scores. Results indicate
that men who received the “high score” (signifying high rape myth
acceptance) had greater personal responsibility for the issue, and thus
increased concern, as determined by lower rape myth acceptance at posttest
and willingness to seek out further information on SA minimization. In
order to incite change, men need to feel personally responsible for the
issue of SA.
Summer 2012 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 14, No. 1, p. 35), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2012, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.