Kathleen McKinney

Sexual Harassment of University Faculty by Colleagues and Students.

The focus of this research was on faculty members as victims of sexual harassment by colleagues (peer harassment) and students (contrapower harassment). A self-administered, mailed questionnaire was sent to a probability sample of faculty at a large, public Midwestern university and to the whole population of faculty at a small, public institution in the Western Mountain region. Several hypotheses were made based on conflict theory, role theory, and previous research. Results indicated that women faculty generally have more negative attitudes toward and broader definitions of sexual harassment than do male faculty. Moderate levels of sexual harassment of faculty by both colleagues and students were reported; minor and anonymous (course evaluations and obscene phone calls) forms were the most common. Female faculty were more likely to report harassment by colleagues; male faculty were more likely to report some potentially harassing behaviors by students. Incidents of sexual harassment were usually not reported to formal agents of social control.

Sexuality in close relationships

Contents: K. McKinney, S. Sprecher, Introduction. T.L. Orbuch, J.H. Harvey, Methodological and Conceptual Issues in the Study of Sexuality in Close Relationships. A. Aron, E.N. Aron, Love and Sexuality. J.D. DeLamater, Emotions and Sexuality. J.A. Simpson, S.W. Gangestad, Personality and Sexuality: Empirical Relations and an Integrative Theoretical Model. W.R. Cupach, S. Metts, Sexuality and Communication in Close Relationships. F.S. Christopher, M.W. Roosa, Factors Affecting Sexual Decisions in the Premarital Relationships of Adolescents and Young Adults. R.G. Bringle, B. Buunk, Extradyadic Relationships and Sexual Jealousy. C. Muehlenhard, M.F. Goggins, J. Jones, A. Satterfield, Sexual Violence and Coercion in Close Relationships. L.A. Kurdek, Sexuality in Homosexual and Heterosexual Couples. S. Duck, Afterward: Couples and Coupling.

The Use of Collaborative Learning Groups in the Large Class: Is It Possible?.

The purpose of this note is to discuss the procedures, problems, solutions, and tentative outcomes of using collaborative learning groups (CLGs) in a large class. We hope to open a dialogue on this subject among our colleagues. Our experiences are based on the use of group assignments in large (225 students) sections of Introduction to Sociology, held in a traditional lecture hall (with no small discussion sections) over three semesters.

A Revision of the Reiss Premarital Sexual Permissiveness Scale.

A new version of the Reiss (1964) Premarital Sexual Permissiveness scale is introduced in this research. Changes are made in the sexual behaviors and relationship stages included in the scale and experimental randomization is used to examine how standards vary for different categories of targets. The sexual behaviors in the Reiss PSP scale--kissing petting and full sexual relationships--are replaced by heavy petting (defined as touching of genitals) sexual intercourse and oral-genital sex. The other major change in the scale is in the specific levels of intimacy. Reisss 4 stages--no affection strong affection in love and engaged--are not mutually exclusive and are replaced in this research with 1st date casually dating seriously dating pre-engaged (informal commitment to marriage) and engagement (formal commitment to marriage). These labels mark the progression of a relationship. The gender of the hypothetical person referred to in the scale items was found not to affect the responses to the scale items. However the persons age had a significant effect on responses to the revised scale. Standards for a teenager were less permissive than standards for a young adult. Another finding of the study is that males had more sexually permissive standards than females. Suggestions are made for how the revised scale may be used in further research.

Greedy Institutions: The Importance of Institutional Context for Teaching in Higher Education:

This article focuses on how the institutional contexts of colleges and universities shape these “greedy institutions.” We look at the current social, political, and economic trends affecting all postsecondary institutions, specifically the forces that encourage “greediness.” We examine the literature on structural arenas that influence teaching in higher education, including type of institution and departmental level characteristics, considering how the varied structural features of institutions and departments shape the conditions of academic life and demands placed on faculty. We identify the features of the institutional context that can help faculty manage demands on their time and enhance teaching and learning. The article closes with identification of areas for future inquiry and a challenge to sociologists to contribute to an examination of the contextual forces that shape the work lives of faculty and students.

Preferred level of sexual experience in a date or mate: The merger of two methodologies

Using evolutionary and sociological models, we predicted how much sexual experience was desired by men and women for a casual dating relationship versus a marital relationship. We used a combined mate‐selection questionnaire and experimental paradigm to examine more systematically mens and womens (N = 436) desires for different levels of sexual experience in a potential partner. When rating either a casual dating or a marital partner, participants gave higher desirability ratings to chastity than to either moderate or extensive sexual experience; furthermore, moderate sexual experience was perceived as more desirable than extensive sexual experience. Contrary to our predictions, no gender differences in desirability ratings were found for the various levels of sexual experience. We also examined how sociosexual orientation (i.e., degree of sexual permissiveness; see Simpson & Gangestad, 1991a) might be related to desirability ratings for sexual (in)experience in a partner within each gender. Unrestricte...

Contrapower sexual harassment: The effects of student sex and type of behavior on faculty perceptions

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of sex of offender and type of behavior on faculty perceptions of contrapower sexual harassment. Probability samples of predominately white male and female faculty at two universities in the Midwest were asked to read and make judgments about an incident that might constitute sexual harassment of a faculty member by an opposite-sex student. The effects of offender/student sex, type of harassing behavior, and subject sex were assessed. Some of the results included, as hypothesized, that when the student offender was male, subjects were more likely to: (1) view the incident as harassment, (2) believe the faculty member would be upset, and (3) see the student as responsible, compared to when the student offender was female. Overall, obscene phone calls and explicit verbal-physical harassment were viewed more negatively than written sexual comments and implicit verbal-physical harassment. Female faculty subjects also viewed the incidents as more negative or problematic on several measures than did male faculty.

Graduate Students' Experiences with and Responses to Sexual Harassment A Research Note1

This brief note reports on selected results from an anonymous, mailed questionnaire survey of a probability sample of 281 graduate students about sexual harassment. The 132 male and 149 female masters and Ph.D. degree candidates at a large, public, south-central university responded to questions about their experiences with and responses to sexual harassment by faculty while in graduate school. Results indicated that 9% of the men and 35% of the women indicated they had been sexually harassed at this institution. The offender tended to be a professor (but not major adviser), rather than an instructor or lecturer. The most common responses by students to such harassment were to avoid professional activities with the faculty member and to report the harassment to a friend, adviser, or department chair. These results are discussed in terms of a power perspective.

Sexual harassment and college faculty members

This study involved open‐ended, face‐to‐face, exploratory interviews conducted with 10 male and 17 female college faculty members from three institutions. Interviews focused on the subjective experiences of those respondents as victims or as accused offenders of sexual harassment involving students or colleagues. Findings included the following: respondents’ definitions of sexual harassment frequently mirrored the legal categories of quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment; both cross‐ and same‐sex harassment occurred; most harassment incidents involved minor to moderate forms of harassment and were not reported to formal authorities; most faculty members tried to ignore the behavior or handle it informally; department chairpersons were seen as important in affecting the tolerance level of harassment in departments; and faculty reported many negative effects of their harassment experiences and engaged in some self‐blame.

The Sociology Research Experience Capstone Course at Three Institutions

This study describes the objectives, structures, and outcomes of a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course as taught at three institutions. Pre- and postquestionnaires from students, syllabi from instructors, and a random sample of final research papers were analyzed. Results indicate that the main foci of the course are to conduct research, produce a paper or thesis, develop writing and presentation skills, and integrate past learning. Instruction in this course includes numerous best practices from the literature on teaching and learning. There appears to be an underemphasis, however, on helping students to apply theory in their projects. The theses reveal a wide range of topics, methodological approaches, and quality, with the introduction/literature review and discussion/conclusion sections receiving the lowest quality scores.