Poster #119 - How Much Does Experimental Realism Really Matter? The Tale of an Experiment on an Experiment

• In Event: ASC Poster Session II

Abstract

In this experiment, 180 subjects are randomly assigned to one of six conditions where they review a fictious case of an alleged victim reporting sexual victimization by a former partner. The report is identical for all experimental conditions, except on two variables: 1) sexual orientation of alleged victim and perpetrator, and 2) the realistic presentation of the case. In conditions one and four, the report details a heterosexual women describing victimization by an ex-boyfriend; in conditions two and five, a lesbian describes victimization by a former girlfriend; in conditions three and six, a gay man describes being victimized by a former boyfriend. In conditions 1, 2, and 3, subjects are informed that the report is real and documented by a local police department. In conditions 4, 5, and 6, the subjects are not deceived in this way. They are informed that the case is fictional. Central to our analysis is the examination of differing degrees of subject assessment of victim believability and blaming, perceptions of the alleged perpetrator, and whether these perceptions are influenced by how the case was presented to the subjects (real versus unreal). At the experiment’s conclusion, all subjects are debriefed to the actual nature of experiment.

Authors

• Chris Rose, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

• Kristin Rose, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh