Berg, Neele (2025) When Harm Has a Gender: Claimant Gender and Benevolent Sexism in Perceptions of Verbal Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
This paper examined whether perceptions of allegations of verbal sexual harassment in the workplace vary depending on the claimant’s gender and whether benevolent sexism moderates this relationship. Drawing on moral typecasting theory, stereotypical gender role expectations, and benevolent sexism, it was hypothesized that claims made by women would be perceived more seriously, that individuals with higher scores of benevolent sexism would generally perceive harm claims more seriously, and lastly, that individuals with higher scores of benevolent sexism would perceive of harm claims more seriously when made by women. To investigate these dynamics, a convenience sample of 146 participants, gathered through social networks, were asked to take part in a questionnaire. First, participants reported their benevolent sexism attitudes and then read one of two identical vignettes, which described an incident of verbal sexual harassment differing only by the claimant’s gender. Afterwards, they were asked to report the perceived harm severity. The results suggested that allegations made by women were perceived as significantly more severe than identical claims made by men. Contrary to expectations, benevolent sexism was neither found to have a direct effect on harm severity nor to have a moderating effect on the relationship between the claimant’s gender and harm severity. However, a marginally significant result of the moderation effect suggests potential directions for future research, such as including more stereotypically gendered contexts and more diverse and larger samples. Overall, the findings highlight the subtle influence of gendered expectations and draw attention to evaluating harm claims beyond surface level. Keywords: Verbal Sexual Harassment, Workplace Allegations, Benevolent Sexism, Gender Stereotypes, Moral Typecasting, Vignette Study, Observer Perception
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Graso, M. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Jul 2025 09:52 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Jul 2025 09:52 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/5687 |
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