To Act or not to Act: The Dilemma Faced by Sexual Harassment Observers

Efforts to end sexual harassment that rely primarily on target reporting are unlikely to be successful because most targets do not report their experiences. Thus, we explore an alternative mechanism for controlling sexual harassment—observer intervention. We examine observer intervention in sexual harassment using the literature on bystander intervention for guidance. We describe the concept of observer intervention, develop a taxonomy of intervention types, and discuss factors promoting and inhibiting its occurrence.

[1]  D. Baker,et al.  Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace , 2003 .

[2]  Charmine E. J. Härtel,et al.  Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator of Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Job Insecurity , 2002 .

[3]  Daniel C. Ganster,et al.  Social Undermining in the Workplace , 2002 .

[4]  Neal M. Ashkanasy,et al.  Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers , 2002 .

[5]  A. O'Leary-Kelly,et al.  Sexual harassment as unethical behavior: the role of moral intensity , 2001 .

[6]  Ramona L. Paetzold,et al.  Sexual Harassment as Aggressive Behavior: An Actor-Based Perspective , 2000 .

[7]  B. Tepper,et al.  Consequences of Abusive Supervision , 2000 .

[8]  G. Powell,et al.  Observers’ Reactions to Social-Sexual Behavior at Work: An Ethical Decision Making Perspective , 1999 .

[9]  Mark Levine,et al.  Rethinking Bystander Nonintervention: Social Categorization and the Evidence of Witnesses at the James Bulger Murder Trial , 1999 .

[10]  B. Gutek,et al.  The utility of the reasonable woman legal standard in hostile environment sexual harassment cases: A multimethod, multistudy examination. , 1999 .

[11]  A. Bandura.  Moral Disengagement in the Perpetration of Inhumanities , 1999, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[12]  Quy Nguyen Huy,et al.  Emotional Capability, Emotional Intelligence, and Radical Change , 1999 .

[13]  Jeremy A. Blumenthal.  The Reasonable Woman Standard: A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Differences in Perceptions of Sexual Harassment , 1998, Law and human behavior.

[14]  Robert H. Faley,et al.  Determinants of Target Responses to Sexual Harassment: A Conceptual Framework , 1997 .

[15]  R. Folger,et al.  RETALIATION IN THE WORKPLACE: THE ROLES OF DISTRIBUTIVE, PROCEDURAL, AND INTERACTIONAL JUSTICE , 1997 .

[16]  Marc D. Street.  Groupthink , 1997 .

[17]  Mark L. Lengnick-Hall,et al.  SEXUAL HARASSMENT RESEARCH: A METHODOLOGICAL CRITIQUE , 1995 .

[18]  B. R. Ragins,et al.  Antecedents and work-related correlates of reported sexual harassment: An empirical investigation of competing hypotheses , 1995 .

[19]  R. Bennett,et al.  A TYPOLOGY OF DEVIANT WORKPLACE BEHAVIORS: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCALING STUDY , 1995 .

[20]  B. R. Schlenker,et al.  The triangle model of responsibility. , 1994, Psychological review.

[21]  D. Cicchetti.  Emotion and Adaptation , 1993 .

[22]  Barbara A. Gutek,et al.  Changed Women and Changed Organizations: Consequences of and Coping with Sexual Harassment , 1993 .

[23]  J. Pryor,et al.  A Social Psychological Analysis of Sexual Harassment: The Person/Situation Interaction , 1993 .

[24]  Bart Victor,et al.  PEER REPORTING OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR: A SOCIAL CONTEXT PERSPECTIVE , 1992 .

[25]  Charles R. Schwenk,et al.  Who Blows the Whistle and Why? , 1991 .

[26]  S. Bingham.  Communication strategies for managing sexual harassment in organizations: Understanding message options and their effects , 1991 .

[27]  T. Jones.  Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An Issue-Contingent Model , 1991 .

[28]  D. Terpstra,et al.  Perceptions of sexual harassment: a re-examination of gender differences. , 1990, The Journal of psychology.

[29]  R. Cramer,et al.  Subject competence and minimization of the bystander effect. , 1988 .

[30]  Marcia P. Miceli,et al.  INDIVIDUAL AND SITUATIONAL CORRELATES OF WHISTLE‐BLOWING , 1988 .

[31]  D. Organ.  Organizational citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. , 1988 .

[32]  Barbara A. Gutek,et al.  Sex and the workplace , 1987 .

[33]  S. Kenig,et al.  Sex differences in levels of tolerance and attribution of blame for sexual harassment on a university campus , 1986 .

[34]  S. J. Motowidlo,et al.  Prosocial Organizational Behaviors , 1986 .

[35]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[36]  Marcia P. Miceli,et al.  Potential Predictors of Whistle-Blowing: A Prosocial Behavior Perspective , 1985 .

[37]  Bruce Morasch,et al.  Interpreting social-sexual behavior in a work setting , 1983 .

[38]  C. Carver,et al.  Anticipation of future interaction and the bystander effect , 1980 .

[39]  R. L. Shotland,et al.  Bystander behavior and kinesics: The interaction between the helper and victim , 1978 .

[40]  R. Lance Shotland,et al.  Bystander response to an assault: When a man attacks a woman. , 1976 .

[41]  David R. Shaffer,et al.  Intervention in the library: The effect of increased responsibility on bystanders' willingness to prevent a theft. , 1975 .

[42]  J. Rodin,et al.  Costs, diffusion, and the stigmatized victim. , 1975 .

[43]  Thomas Moriarty,et al.  Crime, commitment, and the responsive bystander: Two field experiments. , 1975 .

[44]  R. D. Clark,et al.  Where is the apathetic bystander? Situational characteristics of the emergency. , 1974 .

[45]  J. Darley,et al.  Do groups always inhibit individuals responses to potential emergencies? , 1973, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[46]  Abraham S. Ross,et al.  Effect of increased responsibility on bystander intervention: II. The cue value of a blind person. , 1973 .

[47]  R. D. Clark,et al.  Why don't bystanders help? Because of ambiguity? , 1972 .

[48]  D. Lien,et al.  Inhibition of helping behavior by a similar or dissimilar nonreactive fellow bystander. , 1972 .

[49]  B. Latané,et al.  The Unresponsive Bystander: Why Doesn't He Help? , 1972 .

[50]  Shalom H. Schwartz,et al.  Responsibility, norms, and helping in an emergency. , 1970 .

[51]  Irving Piliavin,et al.  GOOD SAMARITANISM: AN UNDERGROUND PHENOMENON?1 , 1969 .

[52]  T. I. Cook.  Administrative Behavior , 1950, The Review of Politics.

[53]  Mary Culbertson Ludwig.  Service With A Smile , 1949, The Palimpsest.

[54]  J. Stainer,et al.  The Emotions , 1922, Nature.

[55]  P. Breslin,et al.  MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD , 2006 .

[56]  M. Hogg,et al.  Social Identity and Self-Categorization Processes in Organizational Contexts , 2000 .

[57]  Tom R. Tyler,et al.  Why people cooperate with organizations: An identity-based perspective. , 1999 .

[58]  Richard J. Klimoski,et al.  Toward a theory of accountability in organizations and human resource management. , 1998 .

[59]  Fritz Drasgow,et al.  Organizational influences on sexual harassment. , 1996 .

[60]  G. Powell,et al.  Sexual Harassment as a Moral Issue: An Ethical Decision-Making Perspective , 1996 .

[61]  H. Weiss,et al.  Affective Events Theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. , 1996 .

[62]  P. Clarkson.  The bystander : an end to innocence in human relationships?r/ Petrūska Clarkson , 1996 .

[63]  Ramona L. Paetzold,et al.  Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment in the United States: Post‐Meritor Developments and Implications , 1994 .

[64]  Ronald J. Burke,et al.  Women in management : current research issues , 1994 .

[65]  P. Tetlock.  The Impact of Accountability on Judgment and Choice: Toward A Social Contingency Model , 1992 .

[66]  David L. Cooperrider,et al.  Appreciative management and leadership : the power of positive thought and action in organizations , 1990 .

[67]  L. L. Cummings,et al.  The logical and appreciative dimensions of accountability. , 1990 .

[68]  J. Hartnett,et al.  Perceptions of males and females toward sexual harassment and acquiescence. , 1989 .

[69]  M. Miceli,et al.  Whistle-blowers in organizations: Dissidents or reformers? , 1987 .

[70]  P. Loy,et al.  The Extent and Effects of the Sexual Harassment of Working Women , 1984 .

[71]  Christine L. Smith.  Sexual harassment of working women , 1983 .

[72]  N. Kerr,et al.  Obtaining help from strangers: Effects of eye contact, visible struggling, and direct requests. , 1979 .

[73]  Catharine A. MacKinnon,et al.  The sexual harassment of working women , 1979 .

[74]  H. Tajfel,et al.  An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. , 1979 .

[75]  R. Abelson.  Script processing in attitude formation and decision making. , 1976 .

[76]  J. Rodin,et al.  Good samaritanism: an underground phenomenon? , 1969, Journal of personality and social psychology.