Sex and attributions on reactions toward alleged spousal abuse victims

This study examined the emotional and behavioral reactions of 118 predominantly Euro-American, middle-class university students toward an alleged spousal abuse victim. In the context of a decision-making task, participants encountered another male or female student (a confederate) who was supposedly injured in an accident or a spousal abuse incident. Participants completed the Trait Questionnaire, Emotional Reaction Measure, and Social Distancing Measure. Generally, participants felt less sympathy and more anger and ascribed less positive traits to the abuse victim than to the accident victim. In addition, they distanced themselves socially from the abuse victim. Further analyses showed that female participants displayed more negative trait ascriptions and behavioral reactions to the abuse victims than did male participants.