Attribution of fault to a rape victim as a function of respectability of the victim.

Tested the hypothesis that a socially respectable person is seen as more at fault in a crime in which he was the victim. This hypothesis was based on 2 assumptions: (a) individuals believe in a just world where people deserve what they get and (b) the more respectable the victim the greater the need to attribute fault to his actions since it is more difficult to attribute fault to his character. It was also hypothesized that a defendant who has injured a more respectable person is sentenced more severely. Results with 234 male and female undergraduates support the predictions. The victim of a rape case was faulted more if she were married or a virgin (most respectable) than if she were a divorcee. Also, Ss sentenced the defendant to a longer imprisonment for the rape of a married woman than for the rape of a divorcee. No sex differences were found in the attribution of fault or the assignment of sentences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)