TY - JOUR
T1 - Legitimizing Intimate Partner Violence: Moral Evaluations, Attribution of Responsibility, and (Reduced) Helping Intentions
AU - Pagliaro, Stefano
AU - Pacilli, Maria Giuseppina
AU - Giannella, Valeria Amata
AU - Giovannelli, Ilaria
AU - Spaccatini, Federica
AU - Baldry, Anna Costanza
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - This article examines the influence of moral evaluations and attribution of responsibility on individuals’ willingness to provide help if witnessing an intimate partner violence (IPV) episode. A total of 121 undergraduates read a fictitious article from a newspaper, allegedly describing an IPV episode. According to the experimental condition, participants read that the victim had either admitted infidelity or denied it. After reading the newspaper article, participants evaluated the victim on several dimensions (i.e., morality, competence, and sociability), rated the extent to which they deemed her responsible for the violence (i.e., the internal attribution of what happened), and expressed their willingness to provide help and support to the victim herself. In the admission condition, the victim was evaluated as less moral and more responsible for the episode of IPV. These evaluations, in turn, lowered the willingness to provide help to the victim. This study confirmed the role of moral evaluations and internal attribution on bystanders’ reaction, and we present practical implications for intervention in a field, IPV, in constant need of updated validated evidence for efficient prevention strategies.
AB - This article examines the influence of moral evaluations and attribution of responsibility on individuals’ willingness to provide help if witnessing an intimate partner violence (IPV) episode. A total of 121 undergraduates read a fictitious article from a newspaper, allegedly describing an IPV episode. According to the experimental condition, participants read that the victim had either admitted infidelity or denied it. After reading the newspaper article, participants evaluated the victim on several dimensions (i.e., morality, competence, and sociability), rated the extent to which they deemed her responsible for the violence (i.e., the internal attribution of what happened), and expressed their willingness to provide help and support to the victim herself. In the admission condition, the victim was evaluated as less moral and more responsible for the episode of IPV. These evaluations, in turn, lowered the willingness to provide help to the victim. This study confirmed the role of moral evaluations and internal attribution on bystanders’ reaction, and we present practical implications for intervention in a field, IPV, in constant need of updated validated evidence for efficient prevention strategies.
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Intention
KW - Intimate Partner Violence
KW - Morals
KW - Social Perception
KW - Violence
KW - attribution of responsibility
KW - bystanders’ intervention
KW - intimate partner violence
KW - moral evaluations
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Intention
KW - Intimate Partner Violence
KW - Morals
KW - Social Perception
KW - Violence
KW - attribution of responsibility
KW - bystanders’ intervention
KW - intimate partner violence
KW - moral evaluations
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/200061
U2 - 10.1177/0886260518760611
DO - 10.1177/0886260518760611
M3 - Article
SN - 0886-2605
VL - 36
SP - 2929
EP - 2941
JO - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
JF - Journal of Interpersonal Violence
ER -