Right Wing Authoritarianism 1 Running Head: RIGHT-WING AUTHORITARIANISM AND RAPE MYTH Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Rape Myth Acceptance in Female College Students

The significance of high or low right-wing authoritarianism on rape myth acceptance in female college students was investigated. One hundred and fifty-eight college undergraduates answered an anonymous questionnaire containing a modified version of Altemeyer’s (1996) Right-Wing Authoritarian Scale (RWA) and Burt’s (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMA) and related subscales: acceptance of interpersonal violence (AIV), sex role stereotyping (SRS) and adversarial sexual beliefs (ASB). Consistent with Burt’s findings, males exhibited higher rape myth acceptance than females. Females with high right-wing authoritarianism had greater rape myth acceptance than females with low right-wing authoritarianism. These findings supplement existing research on right-wing authoritarianism and male college students (Begany and Milburn, 2002) and suggest that right-wing authoritarianism is an important factor in understanding why people accept rape myths. Right Wing Authoritarianism 3 Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Rape Myth Acceptance in Female College Students A plethora of research has been devoted to understanding why violence against women occurs and why it is accepted by so many in our society (e.g., Begany & Milburn, 2002; Buddie & Miller, 2001; Burt, 1980; St. Lawrence & Joyner, 1991; Walker, Rowe, & Quinsey, 1993). Rape is just one of many facets of injustice women face today. In the United States, 1 out of 6 women will become a victim of rape (RAINN, 2002). Yet, less than a third of rapes are reported to law enforcement officers (U.S. Department of Justice, 2001). The majority of these cases go unreported because many women do not consider themselves victims of rape (Koss, 1985). It has been suggested by some researchers that the United States is a rape culture, in which particular cultural attributes guide the acceptance of sexual violence (Burt, 1980; Koss et al., 1985; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1995). Buddie and Miller (2001) postulated that societal stereotypes surrounding sexual violence (e.g., a woman who dresses provocatively is 'asking for it') might account for why so many women do not report being raped or acknowledge that they have been victimized. Burt (1980) refers to these stereotypes as rape myths. Rape myths are defined by Burt (1980) as "prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists" (p. 217). Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) also define rape myths as "attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify sexual aggression against women" (p. 134). In recent decades, rape myths have been the focus of several studies (e.g., Begany & Milburn, 2002; Burt, 1980; Burt & Albin, 1981; Malamuth, 1983; Walker et al., 1993). Burt (1980) demonstrated that rape myth acceptance is predominately fueled by a cluster of three attitudinal variables: (a) sex role stereotyping, (b) adversarial sexual beliefs, and Right Wing Authoritarianism 4 (c) acceptance of interpersonal violence. In addition to these variables, Burt found that gender, age, and race were also correlated with the acceptance of rape myths. Researchers have consistently reproduced Burt’s findings (e.g., Burt & Albin, 1981; Fonow, Richardson, & Wemmerus, 1992; Lambert & Raichle, 2000; Mynatt & Allgeier, 1990). Based on her findings, Burt created the Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA), Adversarial Sexual Beliefs (ASB), Sex Role Stereotyping (SRS) and Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence (AIV) scales. Burt's scales have been widely used in the field. Furthermore, research has suggested that there may be an association with the belief in rape myths, acceptance of violence towards women, and males’ self-reported potentiality of raping (Koss et al., 1985; Malamuth, 1983; Walker et al., 1993). Past research has studied numerous variables that could be associated with the acceptance of rape myths. One such variable, known as right-wing authoritarianism (Altemeyer, 1981; Altemeyer, 1988), has recently been gaining attention. Right-wing authoritarians are known to be cognitively rigid, aggressive, and intolerant (McHoskey, 1996). Altemeyer (1981) conceptualized right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) as a combination of three characteristics: (a) authoritarian submission, (b) authoritarian aggression, and (c) conventionalism. Authoritarian submission occurs when someone is highly submissive to authority. Authoritarian aggression is characterized by general aggressiveness directed against those who are condemned by authority figures. Conventionalism is a characteristic of people who obey social conventions, which are perceived as being supported by society in general as well as established authorities. One consistent finding in the literature is that males tend to accept rape myths more often than females (Burt, 1980, Giacopassi & Dull, 1986). Therefore, researchers have primarily concentrated on how acceptance of rape myths may contribute to the beliefs and behaviors of men. Recently, some researchers are beginning to focus on rape myth acceptance in women. Right Wing Authoritarianism 5 For example, Carmody & Washington (2001) surveyed 623 undergraduate college women and studied their attitudes about race, past sexual victimization and the impact these factors have on rape myth acceptance. Their results suggest that African-American and Caucasian women do not differ significantly in their acceptance of rape myths. Furthermore, they found that prior victimization experiences did not affect woman’s attitudes regarding rape myths. Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1995) studied the attitudinal difference men (N = 199) and women (N = 230) have regarding the acceptance of rape myth. They adapted the Burt RMA scale and found that among men hostility toward women was the best predictor of rape myth acceptance, accounting for 40% of the variance in men. However, among women, hostility towards women only accounted for 21% of the variance. Contrary to early research that suggested that rape myth acceptance was mostly related to the prevalence of these myths in society, Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1995) have recently argued that the acceptance of rape myths is related to their function to the believer. Their research findings indicate that males believe rape myths because it allows them to perpetuate violence without feeling blame. Furthermore, they suggest that females may perpetuate rape myths because of their desire to feel that rape victims cause their own victimization. This allows them to believe that they have the power to avoid victimization. Examining rape myth acceptance in women has important implications for understanding why rape victims remain silent and rapists go unpunished. The reason some women remain silent after victimization may be due to the belief that the attack was justified (e.g., they dressed too provocatively). Moreover, women may be afraid that if they report the crime, others will also believe this myth. Therefore, the blame may be placed on the victim rather than the attacker during the trial. Women participate in all aspects of the justice system: they serve as law Right Wing Authoritarianism 6 enforcement agents, jurors, attorneys, judges and policy makers. Therefore, rape myths in women may be a threat to the prosecution and punishment of rapists. The main goal of the present study is to determine if a college sample of men and women would yield findings similar to Begany and Milburn (2002). Begany and Milburn (2002) examined the interaction between sexual harassment, right-wing authoritarianism and rape myth acceptance in male college students. Their findings suggest that highly authoritarian men show in greater support for rape myths. Past researcher conducted on right-wing authoritarianism has neglected to study a female sample when analyzing the possible impact this variable has on rape myth acceptance. We expect to find that women will support rape myths considerably less than men will. Furthermore, we expect to replicate Burt’s (1980) findings that the level of education will significantly influence the acceptance of rape myths in women or men. In addition, we predict that women who are highly right-wing authoritarian will exhibit higher acceptance of rape myths as well as greater acceptance of interpersonal violence, sex role stereotyping and adversarial sexual beliefs than their low authoritarian counterparts will.