Bearing Witness
Social Support Responses to Gender Discrimination as a Function of the Emotions Conveyed by the Victim
Abstract
Recognizing discrimination does not necessarily translate into victim support. Willingness to provide support to a female victim of gender discrimination was hypothesized to vary as a function of whether the participant was male or female, along with the emotions conveyed by the victim (anger, shame, or no affect). Participants (N = 198) heard an audiotaped accounting of a woman’s discriminatory (vs. nondiscriminatory) conflict. When the victim encountered discrimination, males saw her as less blameworthy when she expressed anger, but their support was enhanced when she expressed shame. Females’ own anger predicted willingness to provide tangible support, although victim shame also elicited support. Thus, anger might motivate taking action, but its expression did not garner the support of others.
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