Month/Year of Graduation

5-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Abigail M. Folberg

Abstract

Confronting sexist acts (e.g., by saying, “That was sexist!”) has been empirically shown to reduce others’ sexist behaviors. However, bystanders are often reluctant to confront sexist acts, particularly when perpetrators of sexism are perceived as high in status. Prior studies have operationalized status in terms of organizational rank. However, individuals may also have status by virtue of their connections to other group members, which I investigate in the present study. Participants with full-time work experience (N = 451) were asked to read a vignette describing a sexist incident in which a male perpetrator of sexism had many (vs. few) social connections. Participants then indicated the perceived normative acceptability of sexism, how positively (vs. negatively) they viewed the perpetrator, their willingness to engage in the necessary steps to confront sexist behaviors, the perceived costs and benefits of confronting a sexist act, and confrontation intentions. As expected, when the perpetrator was described as having many (vs. few) social connections, participants perceived sexism as more normative, viewed the perpetrator more positively, were less likely to identify the perpetrator’s behavior as sexist, and perceived confronting sexism as conferring fewer benefits and greater costs. These effects were partially mediated by the perceived normative acceptability of sexism, consistent with literature suggesting that highly socially connected individuals tend to strongly influence group norms. The present study expands prejudice confrontation research by identifying less obvious forms of status (i.e., social connections) that may deter confronters from acting.

Comments

Reviewed and passed for accessibility.

This study was pre-registered through Open Science Framework linked below: 

OSF | The Role of Perceived Perpetrator Popularity in Intentions to Express or Confront Sexist Behaviors

Download

Share

COinS