Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
While the traditional bystander effect literature suggested that the presence of bystanders leads to less help provided to the victims, recent studies that focused on dangerous incidents provided...Show moreWhile the traditional bystander effect literature suggested that the presence of bystanders leads to less help provided to the victims, recent studies that focused on dangerous incidents provided evidence for decreased or even reversed bystander effect in the presence of bystanders. Although previous research proposed that the heightened arousal experienced by bystanders during dangerous incidents with in-group victims leads to increased assistance, empirical evidence supporting this claim remains limited and difficult to be studied with self-report measurements. This study addresses these limitations by employing the biopsychological model of challenge and threat (BPS-CT) to examine empirically the physiological reactions of bystanders. Participants were exposed to vignettes describing dangerous and non-dangerous incidents involving in-group and out-group victims, while their cardiovascular activity and blood pressure were measured. The presence of bystanders was found to have a marginal impact on reducing threat among bystanders, irrespective of the incident's severity. Moreover, in dangerous incidents, the presence of other bystanders and a shared in-group identity with the victim heightened participants' sense of challenge. The findings align with previous meta-analytic evidence, highlighting that bystanders are more likely to intervene in dangerous situations. The results are discussed and possible implications are proposed for designing intervention programs aimed at increasing bystander intervention rates.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
closed access
Negative social reactions to women’s sexual assault disclosure, including disbelief, victim-blaming, and negative character judgments have detrimental consequences for survivors’ mental and...Show moreNegative social reactions to women’s sexual assault disclosure, including disbelief, victim-blaming, and negative character judgments have detrimental consequences for survivors’ mental and physical health and willingness to report the assault. Negative social reactions to female sexual assault disclosure are more often shown by men than women. This effect may be stronger, the more men identify with their gender. Negative reactions to female sexual assault disclosure among men may correspond to possible consequences of two types of social identity threat that depend on gender identification levels. High-identified men may experience threat to the value of their group (value threat), and low-identified men may experience threat of being seen primarily in terms of their male group identity (categorization threat). In the present research, we investigated belief, fault attribution, trait ratings, perceived male heterogeneity, and perceived male stigma in response to women’s disclosure of being sexually assaulted, mugged, or in an accident with men among a mixed gender (Study 1; N = 139) and a male sample (Study 2; N = 79). Study 2 additionally assessed cardiovascular threat. Results indicated that men, compared to women, expressed less belief, higher fault attribution, more negative trait ratings, and more perceived male heterogeneity and male stigma. High-identified, compared to low-identified men, displayed more negative reactions, perceived more stigma against men, and perceived less male heterogeneity. This pattern was mostly reversed for women. Male gender identification was more strongly associated with negative trait judgments of women disclosing sexual assault compared to other experiences, especially regarding morality. Men exhibited higher cardiovascular threat levels when discussing women’s disclosure of sexual assault than of an accident. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find a mediation of social reactions through cardiovascular measures that was moderated by gender identification components. Across studies, men’s reactions were mostly consistent with social identity threat responses: High-identified men’s negative reactions and perceived male stigma indicated value threat, while low-identified men’s emphasis on male heterogeneity indicated categorization threat. Our results emphasize the value of a social identity threat perspective on social reactions to sexual assault disclosure and highlight potential for future investigations with cardiovascular threat measures.Show less
A recent line of research suggests that power might have different meanings to people. More in particular, researchers distinguish between power construed as responsibility and power construed as...Show moreA recent line of research suggests that power might have different meanings to people. More in particular, researchers distinguish between power construed as responsibility and power construed as an opportunity. Correlational research indicated that gender (identity) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, sex predict people’s power construal. The current study took an experimental approach to focus on gender differences in power construal, testing the hypotheses that a feminine gender identity is related to power construed as a responsibility and a masculine gender identity is related to power construed as an opportunity. First, participants described a situation in which they felt powerful (high power condition) or powerless (low power condition). Subsequently, we measured power construals and gender identity (TMF). This scale was a more modern and explicit measure of gender identity than similar assessments in prior research. Results indicated that femininity significantly predicted power construed as a responsibility, regardless of participants experiencing high- or low power. We found no evidence of biological sex or masculinity as predictor for power construal. Additionally, we controlled for possible confounding factors like power domain, stability of power and working field. However, the (combined) effect of sex and condition on power construal remained non-significant. Thus, the current research, making use of an experimental design, and different gender measure, found only weak evidence for a relation between gender and power construal. In conclusion, there might be stronger determinants of power construal than gender. This study discusses possible explanations and suggests alternatives for future research.Show less
