Measurement of empathy toward rape victims and rapists.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was the construction of the Rape Empathy Scale (RES), designed to measure subjects' empathy toward the rape victim and the rapist in a heterosexual rape situation. The results of psychometric analyses of reliability for both a student and juror sample are presented, in addition to evidence of cross-validation on separate student and juror samples. Significant differences between male and female subjects' RES scores were found, as well as differences between scores of women who had experienced a rape situation (rape victims and rape resisters) and women with no previous exposure to rape. RES scores were predictive of both students' and jurors' ratings of defendant guilt, as well as their recommended sentences for the defendant and their attributions of responsibility for the crime. Furthermore, subjects' RES scores were predictive of their social perceptions of the rape victim and defendant, and male jurors' RES scores were negatively correlated with their reported desire to rape a woman. The results are discussed in relation to the low conviction rate for sexual assault cases and the importance of juror selection as a vehicle for increasing the number of just convictions in rape cases.

ATTITUDE AND PURCHASE INTENTION TOWARDS TEMPE PRODUCERS JOINING THE PROTESTS A Study in Central Java

“…These also support the results obtained from studies conducted by Deitz et al (1982); Deitz et al (1984); Lambert and Raichle (2000); Sakalli-Ugurlu et al (2007) that empathy towards rape victims will result in positive attitude towards the victims. Meanwhile, as studied by Batson et al (1997) for the stigmatized group (i.e., patients of AIDS, the homeless, and criminals convicted for murder), positive empathy will similarly result in positive attitude towards the stigmatized group members.…”

Sexual assault prevention programs Current issues, future directions, and the potential efficacy of interventions with women

“…Although there are several reliable and potentially valid instruments for assessing men's potential to engage in sexually abusive behavior, the same does not apply for evaluating changes in female participants' behavior (Burt, 1980;Deitz et al, 1982;Malamuth, 1986;Malamuth & Check, 1981). Whether some of the psychological constructs identified as being important in changing males' behavior are also relevant for females (e.g., adherence to rape myths) is a question that currently remains unanswered.…”

“…All participants were randomly assigned to the empathy treatment, the rape myths treatment, or a no-treatment control group. Outcome was determined by changes in scores on the Likelihood of Sexually Abusing scale (a revised version of the Sexual Experiences Survey, SES; Koss & Gidycz, 1985), the Rape Empathy Scale (Deitz, Blackwell, Daley, & Bentley, 1982), the Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence scale (Burt, 1980), and the Adversarial Sexual Beliefs Scale (Burt, 1980). In addition, all participants were assessed using an Asch-type conformity measure.…”

Rape Crimes Reviewed: The Role of Observer Variables in Female Victim Blaming

“…AS = Ambivalent Sexism; RMA = Rape Myth Acceptance; RE = Rape Empathy; N.a. = not applicable; St. = Studies; ASI = Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (Glick & Fiske, 1996); IRMAS = Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Payne et al, 1999); RMAS = Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Burt, 1980); AMMSA = Modern Myths about Sexual Aggression Scale (Gerger et al, 2007); RVE = Rape Victim Empathy Scale (Deitz et al, 1982); REMV (Rape-Victim Empathy Scale (Smith & Frieze, 2003). …”