Clothing and Attributions Concerning Sexual Harassment

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of provocativeness of clothing and sex of subject on attributions concerning provoking sexual harassment and likelihood of being sexually harassed. A convenience sample of 200 students (98 males, 102 females) was used in the study's 2 (Provocative vs. Nonprovocative clothing) × 2 (Sex of Subject) between‐subjects design. The clothing variable was manipulated through the use of photographs. Subjects' attributions concerning the likelihood that the model would provoke sexual harassment were measured by an 8‐item scale; the likelihood that the model would be the target of sexual harassment was measured by a single item: How likely is this person to be sexually harassed? Multivariate analysis of variance, analyses of variance, and the Student‐Newman‐Keuls test were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that subjects rated the model in provocative clothing as more likely to provoke sexual harassment and to be sexually harassed than the model wearing nonprovocative clothing.