Who the "Real" Victims Are: College Students' Perceptions on the Cause of Sexual Assault and Rape

Presenter Information

Alexandria Dobson, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 204

Start Date

2-4-2019 11:05 AM

End Date

2-4-2019 12:05 PM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Jeffrey Brown

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

This study will examine college students' perceptions on who the “real” victims are in cases of sexual violence, as well as what causes sexual violence to occur. Minnesota State University-Mankato student participants will be given a survey containing multiple choice questions, open-ended questions, and questions in response to a vignette to obtain participants' views on sexual violence. Within the vignette, participants will be asked to identify if an act of sexual violence occurred and who, if anyone, is responsible for that violence. Based off of previous research, I suspect that most college students will have the ability to recognize who experienced sexual violence as the victim, so long as they are the “ideal/perfect victim” (sober, modestly dressed, no prior sexual contact with perpetrator, etc.). However, if alcohol or other drugs are present or if the victim is dressed in revealing clothing, I expect that participants' perceptions will change slightly and they may be more likely to victim-blame.