SEXUAL HARASSMENT - AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST OF SEX-ROLE SPILLOVER THEORY

This experimental study examined the ways in which knowledge of a woma n's occupation type influenced how different types of sexual harassmen t were perceived. A total of 53 male and 58 female undergraduates were asked to evaluate six scenarios describing three types of harassment (unwanted sexual attention, gender harassment, and sexual coercion) at two levels of severity (nonphysical and physical) toward women in two different types of occupations (traditional and nontraditional). The results indicated that participants were less likely to perceive incid ents of sexual coercion as harassing when a woman is in a nontradition al occupation. The results also provided evidence of a perceptual gap between men and women for incidents of unwanted sexual attention and g ender harassment but not for incidents of sexual coercion. Results pro vide support for the sex-role spillover model of sexual harassment pro posed by Gutek. Theoretical and legal implications of this research ar e discussed.