Date of Award
Spring 6-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Forensic Psychology
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Elizabeth L. Jeglic
Second Reader
Philip T. Yanos
Third Advisor
Peggilee Wupperman
Abstract
Despite increased global attention since the #MeToo movement of 2017, workplace sexual harassment remains a pervasive issue. This is because victims of workplace sexual harassment often react passively, meaning that approaches primarily reliant on victim reporting are less likely to succeed. Given this, bystander intervention has emerged as a promising way to prevent sexual harassment and protect victims. Adopting the previous theoretical framework (Bowes-Sperry & O’Leary‐Kelly, 2005), this study aimed to investigate the decision-making process of bystanders responding to workplace sexual harassment, and to identify the relative frequencies of intervention types and influencing factors. 170 participants from various occupations in the United States who witnessed actual sexual harassment in their current workplace completed an online self-report survey designed to inquire about their experience. The results showed that the most common bystanders were colleagues at similar levels to the victim. 42.9% (n = 73) of the original sample intervened after going through a decision-making process, with high-immediate–low-involvement interventions being the most frequent type (47.2%). Findings also revealed that the victim-bystander positional relationship, as well as the presence of reporting procedures for sexual harassment in their workplace, were significantly associated with factors influencing bystander intervention in chi-square tests. Despite some methodological issues, this study holds significance in its assessment of whether previous theoretical discussions apply to real-world bystander intervention decisions in workplace sexual harassment. This study pointed to potential ways to encourage prosocial responses from bystanders and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Yunjung, "Bystander Intervention in the Workplace Sexual Harassment" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/311
Included in
Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Social Psychology Commons