Rape Perception Differences Between Japanese and American College Students: On the Mediating Influence of Gender Role Traditionality

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the differences in rape perceptions between Japanese and American college students. It was found that the Japanese minimized the seriousness of rapes, blamed the victims, and excused the rapists more than did the Americans. Crosscultural differences in the gender role traditionality (GRT) were found to mediate these differences. GRT-mediated tendencies for increases in the intimacy between the victim and the perpetrator to be associated with increases in rape minimization and victim blame were also found. These latter tendencies were found to be greater among the Japanese than among the Americans. Gender differences in rape perception were also found among the Japanese participants.

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

“…A written vignette describing a stranger rape was used and a significant main effect for gender was found (but not for ethnicity), with male participants scoring higher on perceived victim responsibility than females. The same findings were reported by studies using English (e.g., Anderson & Lyons, 2005;Durán et al, 2010, Study 2;Grubb & Harrower, 2009;Mitchell et al, 2009), Spanish (Durán et al, 2010, Study 1a), Turkish (Gölge et al, 2003), and Japanese undergraduate students (Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). Durán and colleagues (2010) explored the role of observer gender and sexist ideologies (benevolent and hostile sexism), perpetrator's beliefs (benevolent sexism in Study 1a and hostile sexism in Study 2), and type of relationship (boyfriend or husband) on victim blaming.…”

“…Nonetheless, a large number of studies suggests that men are more likely to engage in victim blaming (e.g., Anderson & Lyons, 2005;Bendixen, Henriksen, & Nøstdahl, 2014;Black & Gold, 2008;Durán, Moya, Megías, & Viki, 2010;Ferrão, Gonçalves, Giger, & Parreira, in press;Gölge et al, 2003;Grubb & Harrower, 2009;Harrison, Howerton, Secarea, & Nguyen, 2008;Mitchell, Angelone, Kohlberger, & Hirschman, 2009;Paul, Kehn, Gray, & Salapska-Gelleri, 2014;Schneider, Mori, Lambert, & Wong, 2009;Strömwall, Landström, & Alfredsson, 2014;Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). …”

A review of the literature relating to rape victim blaming: An analysis of the impact of observer and victim characteristics on attribution of blame in rape cases

“…For example, Japanese students were found to have more traditional gender role attitudes compared to their American counterparts. For Japanese students, the perceived intimacy between victim and perpetrator accounted for an increase in minimization of the seriousness of rape, an increased level of victim blame, and for a tendency of excusing the perpetrators (Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). It may also be that the effects of gender role attitudes itself are moderated by additional variables.…”

“…These studies have found that male observers generally hold more stereotypical beliefs towards gender roles than female observers, which, in turn, leads to the formation of causal attributions about rape incidents and harsher attitudes towards victims and a greater degree of victim blame (Anderson & Lyons, 2005;Grubb & Turner, 2012). Studies also suggest gender role attitudes to have a mediating effect between observer ethnicity and degree of blame, and could, therefore, account for cross-cultural differences in rape victim blaming (Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005). For example, Japanese students were found to have more traditional gender role attitudes compared to their American counterparts.…”

“…Although research in this domain has been conducted all over the world in countries, such as Japan, Australia, South-Africa, Turkey and Israel, specific comparative studies focusing on observer ethnicity and rape victim blaming are limited. The few studies that have considered ethnicity as a relevant characteristic found that South-African undergraduate psychology students are more likely to blame victims compared to Australian undergraduates (Heaven, Connors, & Pretorius, 1998), Japanese college students are more likely to blame victims and minimize rape more compared to American college students (Yamawaki & Tschanz, 2005); and CaucasianAmerican male students are more blameworthy towards victims compared to HispanicAmerican and Asian-American students (Schneider, Mori, Lambert, & Wong, 2009).…”