Mónica Romero-Sánchez

Exposure to Sexist Humor and Rape Proclivity: The Moderator Effect of Aversiveness Ratings

The aim of this study is to explore the effect of exposure to sexist humor about women on men’s self-reported rape proclivity. Earlier studies have shown that exposure to this type of humor increases rape proclivity and that funniness responses to jokes are a key element to consider. However, the role of aversiveness responses has not been studied. In a between-group design, 109 male university students are randomly exposed to sexist or nonsexist jokes. Participants are asked to rate the jokes according to their degree of funniness and aversiveness. Participants’ levels of hostile and benevolent sexism were also measured. Results about the relationship between sexist attitudes and sexist humor and the relationship between sexist attitudes and rape proclivity are consistent with those of earlier studies. However, exposure to sexist humor affects rape proclivity only when aversiveness shown to this type of humor is low. The results are discussed in the light of the prejudiced norm theory.

The Role of Alcohol and Victim Sexual Interest in Spanish Students’ Perceptions of Sexual Assault

Two studies investigated the effects of information related to rape myths on Spanish college students’ perceptions of sexual assault. In Study 1, 92 participants read a vignette about a nonconsensual sexual encounter and rated whether it was a sexual assault and how much the woman was to blame. In the scenario, the man either used physical force or offered alcohol to the woman to overcome her resistance. Rape myth acceptance (RMA) was measured as an individual difference variable. Participants were more convinced that the incident was a sexual assault and blamed the woman less when the man had used force rather than offering her alcohol. In Study 2, 164 college students read a scenario in which the woman rejected a man’s sexual advances after having either accepted or turned down his offer of alcohol. In addition, the woman was either portrayed as being sexually attracted to him or there was no mention of her sexual interest. Participants’ RMA was again included. High RMA participants blamed the victim more than low RMA participants and were less certain that the incident was a sexual assault, especially when the victim had accepted alcohol and was described as being sexually attracted to the man. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the prevention and legal prosecution of sexual assault.

The role of identification with women as a determinant of amusement with sexist humor

Abstract We conducted two studies to investigate whether the degree to which people identify with women as a social category affects amusement with sexist humor (humor that disparages women) apart from their affective dispositions toward women. Both studies supported our hypothesis showing that male and female participants were more amused by sexist humor the less they identified with -- the more they felt psychologically distant from -- women as a social category. Study 2 further demonstrated that empathy with women as a social category was not related to amusement with sexist humor.

Agresiones sexuales en población universitaria: El papel del alcohol y de los mitos sobre la violación

In this paper we attempt to show the most significant aspects in the literature on sexual assaults in college students. Specifically, this review focuses on the role of alcohol and the myths or beliefs about rape, as some of these factors produce great negative impact on victims, decreasing their motivation to report incidents, and increasing self-blaming. The work is organized in three sections: a) reviewing the problem, b) the role of alcohol in the occurrence of sexual violence, and c) the influence of erroneous beliefs and myths built around the rape. Finally, some reflections are made on the efforts that must be done by research, to get a better understanding of the occurrence of sexual assaults on university population, in order to develop prevention and intervention programs more effective

Alcohol use as a strategy for obtaining nonconsensual sexual relations: incidence in Spanish university students and relation to rape myths acceptance.

This study analyzed the strategy of college men who give alcohol to girls to facilitate their acceptance when pursuing sexual relationships. It also studied the role of attitudes towards sexual assaults (rape myths) in the social perception of this practice; finally, this research examined how the fact that, in some cases, college women accept taking alcohol in their interactions with college men was perceived. Participants were 349 heterosexual students (154 men and 195 women) from the University of Granada. 28% of males reported having given alcohol to females in order to have sexual contacts with them, while 44% of females acknowledged having suffered this practice. Men, compared to women, were more favourable to this practice; however, this effect was moderated by their rape myths endorsements. It was also found that males and, in general, those participants who endorsed rape myths, tended to consider that girls who accept alcohol in their interactions with boys are promiscuous.

More Than a Magazine Exploring the Links Between Lads’ Mags, Rape Myth Acceptance, and Rape Proclivity

Exposure to some magazines aimed at young male readers—lads’ mags—has recently been associated with behaviors and attitudes that are derogatory toward women, including sexual violence. In the present study, a group of Spanish adult men was exposed to the covers of a lads’ mag while a second group was exposed to the covers of a neutral magazine. Results showed that, compared with participants in the second group, participants who were exposed to covers of lads’ mags who also showed high rape myth acceptance and legitimized the consumption of such magazines reported higher rape proclivity in a hypothetical situation. These findings suggest the need to further explore the possible detrimental effects of some sexualized media that are widely accepted in many Western countries.

Sexist Humor and Rape Proclivity: The Moderating Role of Joke Teller Gender and Severity of Sexual Assault

Three experiments examined the effect of sexist humor on men’s self-reported rape proclivity (RP). Pilot study demonstrated that people differentiate the five rape scenarios of Bohner et al.’s. RP Scale based on the degree of physical violence perpetrated against the victim. Experiment 1 demonstrated that men higher in hostile sexism report greater RP upon exposure to sexist jokes when a woman (vs. a man) delivers them, and that this effect is limited to rape scenarios depicting a moderate versus a high level of physical violence. Experiment 2 further demonstrated that the relationship between hostile sexism and rape proclivity in response to a moderately violent rape scenario after exposure to sexist humor generalizes beyond women in the immediate humor context to women as a whole.

Alcohol-Related Victim Behavior and Rape Myth Acceptance as Predictors of Victim Blame in Sexual Assault Cases:

Two studies analyzed the influence of victim behavior, drink type, and observer rape myth acceptance (RMA) on attributions of blame to victims of sexual assault. In Study 1, people higher in RMA blamed the victim more when she accepted rather than rejected the aggressor’s invitation to buy her a drink. In Study 2, we analyzed if the effects depended on who offered the invitation for a drink (a friend or aggressor). RMA was more closely related to victim blame when she accepted (vs. rejected) the offer of a drink from the aggressor. In both studies, drink type (alcoholic vs. nonalcoholic) did not interact with the other variables.