Blame of victim and perpetrator in rape versus theft

Variables that may affect attribution of responsibility and blame were explored to assess whether societal stereotypes about rape victims still exist among students in Alaska. In ambiguous crime situations, more blame was attributed to victims and less responsibility to perpetrators if the subjects had traditional views about women's roles. The victims were rated as being more responsible for a theft than for a rape, but the perpetrators were rated as being more responsible for a rape than for a theft. Overall, type of crime affected social judgments. Attitudes toward women affected the attribution of blame, but not fault, in ambiguous crime situations.