Inhalt: Much of what we know about perceptions of hostile‐environment sexual harassment remains unclear; therefore, scholars have called for greater theory development and theory‐guided research. We present an evolutionary psychological framework for understanding sexual harassment perceptions and use that perspective to examine the effects of age, sex, status, and power on perceptions of hostile‐environment harassment. In Study 1, we examined the effects of observer age, sex, and behavioral severity on harassment perceptions. Age had a significant effect, with older women viewing sexually‐toned behaviors as more harassing than younger women. Observer sex also had a significant effect, with females perceiving sexually‐toned behaviors — primarily the severe behaviors — as more harassing. Behavioral severity had a strong and significant effect on perceptions of both sexes. In Study 2, we examined how initiator status and power affected harassment perceptions. As expected, initiator power had a strong main effect on perceptions, whereas initiator status had no effect. Interactions revealed that harassment perceptions increased as power increased and as status decreased. The results were generally consistent with sexual selection theory. We conclude with suggestions for policies related to perceptions and accusations of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Schlagwörter:Arbeitsklima; Arbeitsproduktivität; awareness; behavior; Modellierung; power; power (psychology); Psychologie; sexual harassment; sexual violence; sexualisierte Gewalt; sexuelle Belästigung; Status; Verhalten; Wahrnehmung
CEWS Kategorie:Sexuelle Belästigung und Gewalt
Dokumenttyp:Zeitschriftenaufsatz