A review of cognitive factors in the etiology of rape

Clinical Psychology Review

In the past decade, research into the etiology of rape has increasingly focused on cognitive variables. The studies reviewed in the present article provide evidence that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory self-verbalizations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive attitudes interact with noncognitive factors in the etiology of rape. Implications for rape prevention and treatment of rapists are conside...

Clinical Psychology Review

In the past decade, research into the etiology of rape has increasingly focused on cognitive variables. The studies reviewed in the present article provide evidence that men with a high proclivity to rape have more rape supportive attitudes, are more likely to consider victims to be responsible for rape, and are less knowledgeable about the negative impact of rape on the victims. These men tend to misperceive cues emitted by women in heterosocial interactions; fail to generate inhibitory self-verbalizations to suppress association of sex and aggression; and have more coercive, sexual fantasies. Furthermore, a high proclivity to rape is associated with a semantic network in which concepts of sex and power are closely linked in such a way that power cues are necessary precursors of sexual feelings. Multivariate studies suggest that rape-supportive attitudes interact with noncognitive factors in the etiology of rape. Implications for rape prevention and treatment of rapists are considered. Finally, methodological issues are discussed, and recommendations for future research are given. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd SEVERAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL studies indicate an alarming prevalence of rape. In North American samples of college students (e.g., and in community samples (e.g., , about one in four women report to have been the victim of a rape or an attempted rape. About 15% of male college students report to have attempted at least once to have intercourse with an unwilling female (Koss et al.,

Journal of Sex Research, 2010

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985

35 male and 35 female undergraduates were exposed to slides that portrayed aggression, close personal interactions between men and women, and women as sex objects before reading the testimonies of rape victims and making judgments concerning both the victim and the alleged rapist. Results show that exposure to negative consequences of aggression apparently threatened Ss' beliefs in a just world, leading them to interpret rape incidents in ways that reaffirmed this belief (i.e., it strengthened Ss' beliefs that the defendant should be punished, but it also caused them to attribute more responsibility for the incident to the victim). Portrayals of close personal relationships between men and women increased male Ss' beliefs that rape victims were responsible for the incident, but had the opposite effect on female Ss' beliefs. Portrayals of women as sex objects decreased males' beliefs in the victim's credibility and increased their beliefs that she was responsible for the incident; however, it had the opposite effects on females' judgments. Despite their effect on judgments of the rape victim, priming manipulations did not affect beliefs that the defendant should be convicted. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the effects of the public media on attitudes and beliefs about rape.

Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2002

Theories of rape give some prominence to the role of offense-supportive cognitive processes and attitudes. Yet, research on the relationship between cognition and rape has produced a confusing picture. Numerous methodological issues are no doubt contributing to this confusion. However, in this article, we argue that another major contributor is the lack of attention given to the underlying mechanisms responsible for generating rape-supportive beliefs. Firstly, we review the relevant cognitive research on rapists and rape-prone men. Then, we present psychological research on implicit theories, and on the nature of conceptual representation, development, and change. We apply this implicit theory perspective to existing scales that measure rape-related distorted cognitions, and derive some core theories from the scale items. We describe these theories, giving examples of items that support them. Finally, we discuss the clinical and research implications of the implicit theories we have identified. D

The bulk of research on acquaintance rape has focused on higher educated students. Studies revealed a positive relationship between sexually coercive behaviors and rape-supportive attitudes or rape myth acceptance. Despite much research, sexually coercive behaviors have not subsided, especially on college and university campuses. The current study investigated these factors but also tried to determine the level of awareness on acquaintance rape between males and females. Higher educated individuals (n= 152) were asked to participate in a 7-point Likert scale survey, which consisted of the Sexual Beliefs & Behavior Scale (SBBS), the Mejia's Awareness on Acquaintance Rape (MAAR), and the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMAS) scale. The first hypothesis that males would have less significant level of awareness, compared to females on what constitutes acquaintance rape was supported. The second hypothesis was also supported with results revealing a correlation between sexually coercive behaviors based on scores from the SBBS and rape-supportive attitudes based on scores from the MAAR and IRMA scales. The current study not only reiterated the importance of education to further awareness surrounding sexually coercive behaviors such as rape, particularly acquaintance rape, but also investigated the factors that may contribute sexually coercive behaviors.

Rape is costly to survivors and to society. It is essential that we develop optimal prevention and early intervention programs and policies to reduce its occurrence. The first step toward this goal is to identify the behaviors, traits, developmental experiences, and biological antecedents that have been found to be associated with an increased probability that a male will become sexually aggressive. This article briefly reviews this literature and attempts to identify the gaps in our knowledge that must be addressed to develop effective prevention programs. We speculate about the general parameters of interventions that the existing evidence suggests are likely to be successful in decreasing the probability that a male will become sexually aggressive. We also argue that current rape prevention programs might be suboptimal because they fail to encompass the complex of traits that cause sexual aggression, and primary prevention efforts must focus on the latter. A more extensive exposition of these issues can be found in Knight and Sims-Knight (in press).

Journal of Research in Personality, 1998

The present study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the generalizability of extant measurement models derived for the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMA; Burt, 1980; Briere, Malamuth, & Check, 1985). For samples of females restricted or unrestricted by current romantic relationship status, and for an unrestricted sample of males, models were inadequate. For both female samples, RMA responses were best explained by a modified 12-item version of Briere et al.'s original model. The new model consisted of three correlated factors (Disbelief of Rape Claims, Blame the Victim, Rape Reports as Manipulation). Demonstrating gender invariance, multi-group analyses revealed that the three-factor model provided a comparable goodness-of-fit for male data. Additional analyses demonstrated the discriminant validity of the three RMA factors when considered as a function of individual differences in dispositional empathy among males and females. Future researchers can use the oblique three-factor model to better conceptualize and measure rape myth beliefs.

Sex Roles, 1996

This study assessed rape and sexual force proclivities among 159 college men at a small Protestant church-affiliated liberal arts college. No data were collected regarding ethnicity; however, institutional statistics indicate that the population was about 90% European American. There were 69 freshmen, 31 sophomores, 30 juniors, and 29 seniors (mean age = 19.34). Thirty-four percent reported some proclivity to rape or force sex. Participants who reported both proclivities indicated higher rape myth acceptance, offered more justifications for the increasing use of violence against women, were lower in rape empathy, held more gender stereotyped attitudes toward women, and accepted interpersonal violence more than those who reported no proclivities. However, by contrast, these groups did not differ on general emotional empathy.

2010

The present study developed and contrasted predictive models of male nonphysical sexual coercion (e.g., verbal pressure or manipulation) and physical sexual aggression (e.g., incapacitation, physical force, or threats) using a sample of 369 incarcerated males to identify shared and unique risk factors for each form of sexual perpetration. Results revealed a set of shared risk characteristics that predisposed individuals to both sexual coercion and aggression (i.e., belief in rape myths, sexual promiscuity, aggressive tendencies, and empathic deficits). In addition, findings indicated that whether the offenders engaged in only sexual coercion or also used more violent sexually aggressive tactics depended on the presence of two sets of traits unique to these forms of perpetration. Specifically, sexual coercers tended to possess traits that facilitated the use of verbal tactics (i.e., ability to manipulate others and to imagine others ’ emotional reactions). In contrast, sexual aggress...