Year

2020

Season

Fall

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Christopher Leone

Second Advisor

Dr. Curtis Phills

Department Chair

Dr. Lori Lange

Abstract

The present study looks at reporting rates of sexual harassment in regard to affect, involvement, gender, protectiveness, and priming. Four hundred and forty-six participants were randomly assigned to read either an event described as occurring to themselves or to a friend before answering questions about friendship and what they read. Participants were more likely to label an event as sexual harassment if they used negative words to describe that event. They were also more likely to label an event as sexual harassment after being primed with the words “sexual harassment,” if they were female, and if they were high in protectiveness. Participants were also more likely to identify the harasser as male and target as female. Limitations of the investigation (e.g., lack of reverse scoring, social desirability, and acquiescence) and future directions (e.g., IAT, age, and different scales) are also discussed.

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