Sex differences, communication consistency, and judgments of sexual harassment in a performance appraisal interview

Abstract

Survey research indicates that the problem of sexual harassment in organizations is both significant and widespread. Judgments of sexual harassment appear to be influenced, however, by the sex of the judge and the actions of the perpetrator. In this factorial design survey, the effects of the target's communication behavior and the sex of the judge on judgments of sexual harassment were examined. Judges were presented with vignettes which varied the verbal and nonverbal responses of the target to the perpetrator to create conditions of consistent and inconsistent communication. The results provided some support for the hypothesis that judges would perceive more sexual harassment, would disapprove of the perpetrator more, and would approve of the target more, as the target's responses to the perpetrator were increasingly negative. Although judgments of sexual harassment were not affected by the sex of the judge, female judges showed more disapproval of the perpetrator than did male judges. The essay offers a social exchange model to explain the formation of judgments about sexual harassment.

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