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Effect of perceived motivation on the assignment of blame and punishment to rapists by female respondents
Author(s) -
Selby James W.,
Calhoun Lawrence G.,
Cann Arnie
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6629(197910)7:4<357::aid-jcop2290070414>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - blame , attribution , punishment (psychology) , causation , psychology , social psychology , function (biology) , developmental psychology , political science , law , evolutionary biology , biology
This study examined the assignment of blame in rape episodes by female observers. When the rapist's behavior was described as caused by intrapsychic, as compared with organic factors, greater blame was assigned to the rapist. A greater degree of causal attribution to factors external to the rapist occurred with organic, as compared with intrapsychic, causation. Ratings of the severity of punishment deserved by the rapist differed significantly as a function of both intrapsychic versus organic causation and whether the rape was characterized as sexually versus aggressively motivated.