The effects of official reporting and perceived deservingness on evaluations of sexual harassment responses

Previous research suggests that individuals may not report sexual harassment for a variety of reasons. There is evidence that women who report and do not report sexual harassment both face negative evaluations. The current studies investigated a potential explanation for these contradictory findings—the perceived deservingness of consequences for the alleged harasser. Across three studies, we examined evaluations of a woman who reported (versus did not report) an uncomfortable situation as sexual harassment as well as examining whether the alleged harasser was perceived as deserving punishment or not. In Study 1, participants rated the woman less favorably when she reported behavior most participants considered not to be sexual harassment compared to when she did not report. In Studies 2 and 3, using a scenario perceived as more ambiguous, we found that participants who believed that the alleged harasser deserved punishment evaluated the woman more favorably when she reported. In Study 3, however, whether or not the alleged harasser was actually punished for his actions had little effect on evaluations of the harassment target. Ultimately, findings suggest that differences in evaluations on reporting sexual harassment may be rooted in whether the alleged harasser is perceived as deserving punishment or not.