Perceptions Of Harassment Research Articles

She Said, He Said. The Influence of Remedial Accounts on Third-Party Judgments of Coworker Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment often consists of ambiguous behaviors subject to interpretation. Remedial accounts that clarify and explain such behaviors can play a major role in influencing organizational representatives’ perceptions of harassment. Data from 351 employees indicated that type of account, gender of participant, and type of harassing behavior influenced judgments of sexual harassment, perceived offensiveness, and perceived need for disciplinary action. Denials were the most mitigating type of account, followed by excuses, justifications, and concessions. Men and women differed in the extent to which their ratings were influenced by accounts; men’s ratings were more likely to be influenced by denials, whereas women’s ratings were more likely to be influenced by concessions. In addition, remedial accounts were found to be more effective for less severe types of harassing behavior (gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention) and less effective for more severe behavior (sexual coercion).

She said, he said. the influence of remedial accounts on third-party judgments of coworker sexual harassment

Sexual harassment often consists of ambiguous behaviors subject to interpretation. Remedial accounts that clarify and explain such behaviors can play a major role in influencing organizational representatives’ perceptions of harassment. Data from 351 employees indicated that type of account, gender of participant, and type of harassing behavior influenced judgments of sexual harassment, perceived offensiveness, and perceived need for disciplinary action. Denials were the most mitigating type of account, followed by excuses, justifications, and concessions. Men and women differed in the extent to which their ratings were influenced by accounts; men’s ratings were more likely to be influenced by denials, whereas women’s ratings were more likely to be influenced by concessions. In addition, remedial accounts were found to be more effective for less severe types of harassing behavior (gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention) and less effective for more severe behavior (sexual coercion).

The influence of a workshop on dental students' perceptions about sexual harassment

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a workshop on the sexual harassment perceptions of students at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. Responses to a twenty-six-item questionnaire were elicited from 147 first-through fourth-year students before and after they attended a two-hour sexual harassment workshop. Five questions explored students' personal experiences with sexual harassment; twenty-one questions addressed students' attitudes about sexual harassment. The repeated measures option of the SPSS General Linear Model statistical program was used to individually analyze the Likert-type scale response to the twenty-one attitude items for the following variables: gender, year in dental education, and whether respondents had been sexually harassed or had observed harassment of others. Workshop participation significantly changed some student attitudes about sexual harassment regardless of gender, year in dental education, or whether they had been harassed personally or had witnessed harassment of someone else (p < .05). There were also significant gender-related differences in the direction and magnitude of change in pre- versus post-workshop responses to several attitude items (p < .05). Workshop participants were better informed about and more sensitive to a wide range of sexual harassment issues. The workshop empowered students, especially females, to help create an environment that minimizes the probability of sexual harassment. This may be possible because, after the workshop, participants better understood institutional policies and procedures to handle complaints, including provisions for protection from retaliation if they do file a grievance. This knowledge and sensitivity may result in an environment that facilitates the education of beginning general practitioners who are competent, empathetic, and sensitive.

Organizational Status and Perceived Sexual Harassment: Detecting the Mediators of a Null Effect

Although power differentials are commonly believed to be central to sexual harassment experiences, prior empirical investigations have found no clear association between a perpetrator’s organizational status (as an index of his power) and perceptions by the victim that the perpetrator’s behavior constitutes sexual harassment. A model to explain this pattern as the result of two opposing mediators is forwarded and tested. Specifically, it was found that a harasser’s organizational status affects perceptions of his power, which increase a victim’s perceptions that the perpetrator’s behavior is harassing; however, it also was found that a harasser’s organizational status simultaneously affects perceptions of his social dominance, which decrease perceptions that his behavior is harassing. Thus, these mediators cancel each other, yielding a null finding when their effects are ignored. This finding supports both sociocultural and evolutionary models of sexual harassment perceptions and suggests that each can contribute to an understanding of sexual harassment experiences.

Management Responses to Equal Opportunities for Ethnic Minority Women Within an NHS Hospital Trust

Individual hospitals within the NHS are having to cope with a number of competing priorities and policies in the context of difficult financial circumstances. One such policy is Equal Opportunities (EO). It is within the devolved system of individual trusts that the implementation of (EO) policy takes place. This ‘localisation’ of EO issues also applies to the tackling of racial inequalities in the field of job recruitment, training and promotion. The present study is an examination of EO policies and their implementation at a single National Health Service (NHS) hospital in relation to the recruitment, career development, training and promotion of female ethnic minority employees. Interviews were conducted with fifty ethnic minority females drawn from administrative, domestic and nursing grades; and a further twenty-two with hospital managers with responsibility for recruitment, training and promotion. A number of important deficiencies in the hospital's EO policies were identified by the female ethnic minority interviewees, particularly in respect of the recruitment process, experiences of career development and perceptions of discrimination and harassment. The article details the managers' attitudes towards and knowledge of EO policies in general and their responses to these deficiencies in particular.

Research: Gender and Race Differences in the Perceptions of Sexual Harassment

This study examined the influence of gender and race on the perception of sexual harassment and on recommended punitive measures for the potential harasser by college judicial boards. Significant gender‐based differences were found in perception of an ambiguous sexual harassment situation. Significant differences by race of the harasser were not found in the perception of harassment or recommendation of punitive measures. Results suggest a possible shift in race relations among college students as well as differences in the way men and women perceive ambiguous sexual harassment situations. Implications for college counselors and administrators are discussed.

Social Science Research on Lay Definitions of Sexual Harassment

This article critically reviews social science research relevant to lay people defining sexual harassment, including research on what behaviors are considered harassing, the effects of harasser status on perceptions of harassment, and gender differences in definitions of sexual harassment. Included in this review are data from a previously unpublished study of definitions of sexual harassment among a sample of over 4000 students, faculty, and staff at the University of Minnesota. Our review suggests that there is now quite a bit of lay consensus regarding which categories of behaviors are generally considered harassing. Studies on both the effects of harasser status and gender differences in perceptions of harassing behaviors are less consistent. We conclude our review with several recommendations for increasing the external validity of this research.

Sources of variability in perceptions of and responses to sexual harassment

Social exchange theory was used to explain sexual harassment interactions in terms of perceived or actual inequities in incurred costs or rewards between targets and perpetrators. A factorial experiment was conducted in which the effects of severity of harassment, target response, target gender, and rater gender on perceptions of harassment, perpetrator appropriateness and target appropriateness and suggested responses to harassment were examined. Ninety-four male and 116 female students from two eastern universities served as subjects. The sample was approximately 90% Caucasian and was composed of traditional (18–22-year-old) undergraduates. Results indicated that all independent variables affected perceptions of and responses to sexual harassment situations.

Female Managers: Perspectives on Sexual Harassment and Career Development

Seventy-eight female managers in the tourism industry were administered a questionnaire containing selected scales of the Personality Research Form (PRF) as well as questions concerning their perceptions of sexual harassment on the job. Our purpose was to investigate the validity of the managerial stereotype while assessing perceptions of harassment in order to aid management in understanding the issue. Results suggest that the managerial stereotype of an achievement-oriented, aggressive, and dominant personality may be changing. Implications for management are discussed. In addition, respondents indicated that sexual harassment is a problem in the tourism industry. Implications for management policy are assessed with a framework for strategically addressing the harassment issue presented.