Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Personality and the Likelihood to Sexually Harass

  • Published:
Sex Roles Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To identify personality traits associated with sexual harassment proclivities, scales that measure the Likelihood to Sexually Harass (LSH) and personality traits were administered to 150 respondents. Peer reports of personality were also obtained from respondents' acquaintances. The Big Five factors and a newly suggested major dimension of personality, named Honesty–Humility, were measured to represent respondents' personalities. Two major findings were obtained. First, as predicted, Honesty–Humility was more strongly associated with sexual harassment proclivities than were any of the Big Five, within both self- and peer reports. Second, among the Big Five, only peer-reported Intellect/Imagination (i.e., Openness to Experience) contributed to the prediction of LSH independently of Honesty–Humility. The importance of using an optimal framework of personality structure was discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2001). A theoretical basis for the major dimensions of personality. European Journal of Personality, 15, 327-353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2002). Six independent factors of personality description: A response to Saucier. European Journal of Personality, 16, 63-75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., Perugini, M., Szarota, P., De Vries, R., Di Blas, L., Boies, K., & De Raad, B. (in press). A six-factor structure of personality-descriptive adjectives: Solutions from psycholexical studies in seven languages. Journal of Personality of Social Psychology.

  • Ashton, M. C., Lee, K., & Son, C. (2000). Honesty as the sixth factor of personality: Correlations with machiavellianism, psychopathy, and social adroitness. European Journal of Personality, 14, 359-368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, D. D., Terpstra, D. E., & Cutler, B. D. (1990). Perceptions of sexual harassment: A re-examination of gender differences. Journal of Psychology, 124, 409-416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bargh, J. A., Raymond, P., Pryor, J. B., & Strack, F. (1995). The attractiveness of the underling: An automatic power→sex association and its consequences for sexual harassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 768-781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barling, J., Dekker, I., Loughlin, C. A., Kelloway, E. K., Fullager, C., & Johnson, D. (1996). Prediction and replication of the organizational and personal consequences of work-place sexual harassment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 11, 4-25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, R. J., & Robinson, S. L. (2000). Development of a measure of workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 349-360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, N. H., & Wolkon, G. H. (1964). A forced choice form of F scale-Free of acquiescent response set. Sociometry, 27, 54-65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burt, M. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38, 217-230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in machiavellianism. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). NEO Personality Inventory Revised (NEO-PI-R) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dall'Ara, E., & Maass, A. (1999). Studying sexual harassment in the laboratory: Are egalitarian women at high risk? Sex Roles, 41, 681-704.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, D. M., Kelly, J. R., & Henderson, W. M. (1998). Can perceivers identify likelihood to sexually harass? Sex Roles, 38, 557-588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (1999). Enforcement guidance: Vicarious employer liability for unlawful harassment by supervisors. Code of Federal Regulations. 615 (Sec. 915.002).

  • Equal Opportunity Commission of Australia. (2000). Commissioners annual report, 1999-2000. Canberra: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, L. F., Drasgow, F., Hulin, C. L., Gelfand, M. J., & Magley, V. (1997). Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment in organizations: A test of an integrated model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 578-589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public-domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde, I. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7-28). Tilburg, The Netherlands: Tilburg University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutek, B. A. (1985). Sex and the workplace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heaven, P. C. L., & Bucci, S. (2001). Right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, and personality: An analysis using the IPIP measure. European Journal of Personality, 15, 49-56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, D. N. (1994). Jackson Personality Inventory Revised manual. Port Huron, MI: Sigma Assessment Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., Donahue, E. M., & Kentle, R. L. (1991). The "Big Five" Inventory-Version 4a and 54. Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Personality and Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larrimer-Scherbaum, K., & Popovich, P. (2001, April). The relationship between personality and the proclivity to sexually harass. Paper presented at the annual meeting of Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego, CA.

  • Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2002). The HEXACO Personality Inventory: A new measure of the major dimensions of personality. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Lee, K., Ashton, M. C., & Shin, K.-H. (in press). Personality correlates of workplace anti-social behavior. Applied Psychology: An International Review.

  • Levenson, M. R., Kiehl, K. A., & Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1995). Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68, 151-158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malamuth, N. (1986). Predictors of naturalistic aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 953-962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meston, C. M., Heiman, J. R., Trapnell, P. D., & Paulhus, D. L. (1998). Socially desirable responding and sexuality self-reports. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 148-157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, J. D., Driscoll, D. M., & Kelly, J. R. (1999). Differences in the nonverbal behavior of men who vary in the likelihood to sexually harass. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 14, 113-128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paulhus, D. L. (1991). Measurement and control of response bias. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes (pp. 17-59). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peabody, D. (1987). Selecting representative trait adjectives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 59-71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peabody, D., & Goldberg, L. R. (1989). Some determinants of factor structures from personality-trait descriptors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 552-567.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, E. L., Kulik, C. T., & Schmidtke, J. M. (1998). Individual differences in the effectiveness of sexual harassment awareness training. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, 698-723.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B. (1987). Sexual harassment proclivities in men. Sex Roles, 17, 269-290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B. (1995). The psychosocial impact of sexual harassment on women in the U.S. military. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 17, 581-603.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B., Giedd, J. L., & Williams, K. B. (1995). A social psychological model for predicting sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 51, 69-84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B., LaVite, C., & Stoller, L. (1993). A social psychological analysis of sexual harassment: The person/situation interaction. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 42. 68-83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B., & Meyers, A. B. (2000). Men who sexually harass women. In L. B. Schlesinger (Ed.), Serial offenders: Current thought, recent findings, unusual syndromes (pp. 207-228). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor, J. B., & Stoller, L. (1994). Sexual cognition processes in men who are high in the likelihood to sexually harass. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 163-169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terpstra, D. E., & Cook, S. E. (1985). Complaint characteristics and reported behaviors and consequences associated with formal sexual harassment charges. Personnel Psychology, 38, 559-574.

    Google Scholar 

  • Timmerman, G., & Bajema, C. (2000). The impact of organizational culture on perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 57, 188-205.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Kibeom Lee

  2. Department of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Australia

    Marie Gizzarone

  3. Department of Psychology, Brock University, Canada

    Michael C. Ashton

Authors
  1. Kibeom Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marie Gizzarone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael C. Ashton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kibeom Lee.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lee, K., Gizzarone, M. & Ashton, M.C. Personality and the Likelihood to Sexually Harass. Sex Roles 49, 59–69 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023961603479

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023961603479

Search

Navigation