AN ATTRIBUTIONAL (CAUSAL DIMENSIONAL) ANALYSIS OF PERCEPTIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Female and male subjects read one of three scenarios depicting a socia l-sexual interaction between a man and a woman. The scenarios varied i n severity of the stimulus male's behavior according to whether sexual harassment had occurred. Subjects then rated the offensiveness of his behavior and whether it constituted sexual harassment. Subjects also rated the stimulus male's behavior on Weiner's (1986) three basic dime nsions of causality: locus of causality, or the perceived cause of the behavior as internal or external; stability, or the likelihood of its recurrence; and controllability, or the amount of volitional influenc e he exercised during the interaction. Additionally, subjects reported their anger at the target male and sympathy for the target female. Fi ndings generally indicated that for both women and men, as the scenari os increased in severity, these ratings were elevated. Gender comparis ons also showed elevations in these ratings for female but not for mal e subjects, and only in the scenarios of lesser severity. Regression a nalyses revealed attribution variables-control, stability, and anger-a s reliable predictors of perceived offensiveness and harassment in the most severe scenario, whereas affects were the most reliable predicto rs in scenarios of lesser severity. The implications of these findings for perception of sexual harassment are discussed.