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Can Brief Empathy Training Increase Sexual Harassment Bystander Intervention Intentions?
Tristan Barta1, Zachary E Piper1, Harshit Chaubey1
1Department of Psychology, Indiana University Indianapolis, 402 N. Blackford St., Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 27, 2026
Summary
A brief online empathy training module significantly boosted participants' understanding of sexual harassment (SH) and increased their willingness to intervene as bystanders. This approach shows promise for improving SH prevention programs.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Science
- Workplace Behavior
Background:
- Sexual harassment (SH) is prevalent in workplaces and academia.
- Traditional SH training has limited effectiveness in preventing harassment and encouraging bystander intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a brief online empathy training module to enhance understanding of SH.
- To increase participants' willingness to intervene and support individuals experiencing SH.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted with U.S. adults randomly assigned to different training conditions (SH empathy, burglary empathy, time management, standard SH training, or waitlist control).
- Measures included empathy, perspective-taking, and bystander intervention intentions.
Main Results:
- Study 1 showed empathy correlated with bystander intentions, with women reporting higher levels than men.
- Study 2 demonstrated that SH empathy training improved empathy and perspective-taking, which were linked to increased willingness to intervene.
- Gender did not moderate the training effects.
Conclusions:
- A short empathy module integrated into SH prevention programs can improve readiness to act as a supportive bystander.
- Future research should examine the long-term impact and real-world behavioral changes resulting from this training.
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