What Would a “Reasonable Person” Do? Exploring the Gap Between Experienced and Anticipated Responses to Sexual Harassment

Individuals who are sexually harassed often do not formally report their experience. Current understandings of this focus on the procedural barriers to reporting rather than examining whether and how reporting meets the needs of those who experience harassment. We document the repertoire of needs experienced by those who are sexually harassed and the actions they take to meet them. In two quasi-experimental studies (Ns = 415 and 589), we compared the needs and actions described by those who experience sexual harassment with those anticipated by others who have not encountered sexual harassment (Study 1 also compares across gender identities). Results of multivariate analyses of variance and general linear mixed models revealed a persistent gap between perspectives. People who have experienced sexual harassment reported a range of needs and engaged in a variety of actions to meet these needs. Safety and social support were prioritized over formal actions. Those who had not encountered sexual harassment anticipated having stronger needs and taking more actions—especially formal ones. The results encourage those who seek to support individuals who are sexually harassed to address a wider variety of needs than is typically considered. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231170761.

[1]  Noora Ellonen,et al.  Transgender identity and experiences of sexual harassment in adolescence , 2022, Child Abuse Review.

[2]  P. Recupero.  The Notion of Truth and Our Evolving Understanding of Sexual Harassment. , 2018, The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

[3]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Basic psychological need satisfaction, need frustration, and need strength across four cultures , 2015 .

[4]  S. Ullman,et al.  Unsupported or Turned Against , 2015, Psychology of women quarterly.

[5]  M. Barreto,et al.  Hidden costs of hiding stigma: Ironic interpersonal consequences of concealing a stigmatized identity in social interactions , 2014 .

[6]  J. van Prooijen,et al.  The impact of choice on retributive reactions: how observers' autonomy concerns shape responses to criminal offenders. , 2013, The British journal of social psychology.

[7]  R. Wiener,et al.  Eye of the beholder: Effects of perspective and sexual objectification on harassment judgments , 2013 .

[8]  Nicole Legate,et al.  Is Coming Out Always a “Good Thing”? Exploring the Relations of Autonomy Support, Outness, and Wellness for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals , 2012 .

[9]  E. Diener,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Needs and Subjective Well-Being Around the World , 2011 .

[10]  C. Dweck,et al.  Who Confronts Prejudice? , 2010, Psychological science.

[11]  J. Bosson,et al.  The Emotional Impact of Ambivalent Sexism: Forecasts Versus Real Experiences , 2010 .

[12]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Psychological needs as basic motives, not just experiential requirements. , 2009, Journal of personality.

[13]  R. Campbell,et al.  Understanding rape survivors' decisions not to seek help from formal social systems. , 2009, Health & social work.

[14]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  The Surprising Power of Neighborly Advice , 2009, Science.

[15]  Shu Fai Cheung,et al.  Examining The Job-Related, Psychological, and Physical Outcomes of Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Meta-Analytic Review , 2008 .

[16]  Jennifer L. Berdahl,et al.  Workplace harassment: double jeopardy for minority women. , 2006, The Journal of applied psychology.

[17]  S. Oishi,et al.  Psychological needs and emotional well-being in older and younger Koreans and Americans , 2006 .

[18]  Jennifer M. Talarico,et al.  Emotional intensity predicts autobiographical memory experience , 2004, Memory & cognition.

[19]  R. Stewart,et al.  Confronting Perpetrators of Prejudice: The Inhibitory Effects of Social Costs1 , 2004 .

[20]  J. D. McGaugh.  The amygdala modulates the consolidation of memories of emotionally arousing experiences. , 2004, Annual review of neuroscience.

[21]  J. H. Steiger,et al.  Beyond the F test: Effect size confidence intervals and tests of close fit in the analysis of variance and contrast analysis. , 2004, Psychological methods.

[22]  Lawrence G. Calhoun,et al.  TARGET ARTICLE: "Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence" , 2004 .

[23]  Alexander M. Czopp,et al.  Confronting Prejudice (Literally): Reactions to Confrontations of Racial and Gender Bias , 2003 .

[24]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  What is satisfying about satisfying events? Testing 10 candidate psychological needs. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[25]  Cheryl R. Kaiser,et al.  Stop Complaining! The Social Costs of Making Attributions to Discrimination , 2001 .

[26]  B P O'Connor,et al.  SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test , 2000, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[27]  E. Foa,et al.  Exploring the Roles of Emotional Numbing, Depression, and Dissociation in PTSD , 2000, Journal of traumatic stress.

[28]  F. W. Wicker,et al.  An Experimental Study of Maslow's Deprivation-Domination Proposition , 1999 .

[29]  R. Campbell.  The Community Response to Rape: Victims' Experiences with the Legal, Medical, and Mental Health Systems , 1998, American journal of community psychology.

[30]  L. Fitzgerald,et al.  Why Didn't She Just Report Him? The Psychological and Legal Implications of Women's Responses to Sexual Harassment , 1995 .

[31]  L. Fitzgerald,et al.  Sexual harassment. Violence against women in the workplace. , 1993, The American psychologist.

[32]  F. W. Wicker,et al.  On reconsidering Maslow: an examination of the deprivation/domination proposition , 1993 .

[33]  R. Thacker.  A descriptive study of behavioral responses of sexual harassment targets: Implications for control theory , 1992 .

[34]  A. Bandura.  Human agency in social cognitive theory. , 1989, The American psychologist.

[35]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[36]  J. Gruber,et al.  Blue-Collar Blues , 1982 .

[37]  M. A. Wahba,et al.  Maslow reconsidered: A review of research on the need hierarchy theory , 1976 .

[38]  Holly Kearl,et al.  The Facts Behind the #metoo Movement: A National Study on Sexual Harassment and Assault (Executive Summary) , 2018 .

[39]  C. Craig,et al.  Self-Determination Theory , 2012 .

[40]  Jeremy A. Blumenthal.  Affective Forecasting and Capital Sentencing: Reducing the Effect of Victim Impact Statements , 2009 .

[41]  E. Deci,et al.  Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. , 2008 .

[42]  Liz Kelly,et al.  A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases , 2005 .

[43]  Allison E. Maue,et al.  Reasonable Person versus Reasonable Woman: Does It Matter? , 2002 .

[44]  Julie A. Woodzicka,et al.  Real Versus Imagined Gender Harassment , 2001 .

[45]  Martin A. Safer,et al.  Emotional events and emotions in autobiographical memories , 1996 .

[46]  B. Thurston,et al.  The duality of human existence , 1966 .

[47]  A. Maslow.  A Theory of Human Motivation , 1943 .