THE ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGY IN EXPLAINING RAPE

    Rape by definition describes a sexual act that exerts one's gender dominance over the other's impotence.  It can also be defined more effectively as "nonconsensual sexual penetration of an adolescent or adult obtained by physical force, by threat of bodily harm, or when the victim is incapable of giving consent by virtue of mental illness, mental retardation, or intoxication" (Cowen 19xx).  Who are generally the victims of rape?  In all honesty, both men and women are victims, yet both men and women can perform this activity.  In the societal perspective, rape constitutes a male exertion of sexual force on a women and can be categorized into such categories as date rape (someone the victim may date regularly or occasionally), acquaintance rape (someone that the victims knows, but not necessarily dates), stranger rape (someone the victim doesn't know), and partner rape (someone the victim has had a romantic relationship with or sexual intercourse).

    Rape dates as far back as the evolution of human history, along with courtship, sexual attraction, and other behaviors related to the production of offspring (Thornhill 19xx).  Generally, it can be understood that rape evolved as a male reproductive act (Thornhill 19xx).  It can also be identified as a psychological problem, which researchers seek to understand what drives or motivates the male sexual jealousy.  To look at the causes of rape psychologically, we must consider these three causes:  victim precipitation; male pathology; and male hostility.  Then, we must consider how the three causes relate to the specific types of rape.  But rape must not be viewed only by the psychological causes in men, but also by the psychological effects it has on women.  Can we also question whether rape is an act of sexual desire by the male or his desire for control and power over the female?

    In this paper, there will be an attempt to give an analysis of what role psychology plays in explaining why men rape and what psychological effects it has on women.  There will also be some references to perspectives, approaches, and/or theories, along with statistical findings and case studies to further explain this widely unreported phenomenon.

LITERATURE REVIEW

    The relationship between sexual interactions with respect to levels of intimacy and forced sexual coercion in rape is a very complicated subject matter to tackle.  There are several factors that contribute to rape as well as views associated with the nature of why these factors are important in understanding why forced sexual coercion occurs.  Feminists argue that sexual assault is legitimate or normal in male-dominated society (Sigler YEAR OF PUBLICATION NEEDS TO BE INSERTED HERE).  Feminists also feel that men use rape or a woman's fear of it to stay in control.  Other researchers who look at rape from a different point of view have done self-report studies and found that rapist report motivation by desire for excitement, risk taking and sex (Sigler, YEAR).  Leaning toward a more social learning theory, rape is motivated by the traditional roles of gender.  For men to fulfill the role expected of them by society, they must be dominant, powerful, sexually aggressive, and able to gain sexual access to reluctant women (Simonson 1999).  Therefore, rape in a male dominated society is not seen as problematic behavior, but a sexual interaction.

    Feminists also feel that pornography is a factor in the cause of rape because porn gives the wrong idea of a woman's sexual activity and perpetuates attitudes that are supportive of forced sexual intercourse (Sigler WHO IS THIS Sigler you keep referencing? He/She's not in your printed references.)  Research has also shown that men and women differ in their levels of sexual intimacy.  In many cases, men were reported to be the more reluctant partner than the woman (Byers and Sullivan 1997, report the year of publication, not the page number; you don't need to use quotation marks so frequently; save them for blockquotes, or something actually quotable)..........

RESEARCH METHODS

    Studies have shown that over the last 10 years, there was a high rate of sexual violence in dating.  Up to 80% of these women had been sexually forced by someone that they knew (Byers and O’Sullivan, 1996).  Researchers have also shown that when a woman resists to rape, the likelihood of the rape being completed decreases.  This does not mean that the chances for the woman to be physically injured will not increase or will not occur.  The physically injuries almost always occur, but the degree of injury changes with each rapists-victim relationship.  There are also ecological models that try to explain the violence against women.  In this model, there are four levels of influence.         

    The four levels of influence include, macrosystem[1], the ontogeny[2], exosystem[3], and the microsystem[4].  This model expresses how women respond to sexual force by the male that they date. (See Table Below –Bryer and O’Sullivan p. 121)

Ontogenetic Variables

            There has been proven that at least three ontogenetic variables exist in showing how a woman detects or resists being forced sexually.  Those variables include assertiveness, female sex role socialization, and motivation to maintain the relationship.  It has been found that assertive behavior by the woman decreases the chances that the man will completely rape her.  Research has also revealed that there is a comparison with rape and a history of victimization prior to rape.  The comparison proves that when a young woman is assaulted, she will respond to the situation by coping with it instead of taking action.  As she gets older, the events that occurred would become less and less important to her.  A study done by Murnen in 1989 found that hyperfemininity[1] had no relationship or commonality with a woman resisting sexual coercion, but high levels of the trait were common when the victims blamed themselves for being assaulted.  Lastly, in a study done by Byers, Giles, and Price done in 1987, they found that women did not refuse so much verbally to a man if she had some sort of romantic interest in him from the beginning of their relationship.

  Exosystem Variables

            Peer influences and the response to experiences that they have encountered due to sexual coercion makes women become more conscious of the possibility of rape and increase their defense when interacting with others, especially males. The type of relationship that a woman has with a man can also have an extreme effect to how she responds to a man if he becomes sexually aggressive.  A study done by Shotland and Goodstein in 1992 found that when a woman has sex with a man numerous times, it is assumed that sex will become her obligation to him later on.  When this happens, the woman is then not prepared to act if the man physically assaulted her because they had been in this sexual relationship for a while.

Microsystem Variables

            In a study done by Abbey and Ross in 1992, they found the connection between alcohol consumption and rape.   They found that women are successfully raped after they have consumed a significant amount of alcohol.  Another study done by Hawks and Welch in 1991 found that women who had been drinking did either did not resist or they resisted less and they could not remember consenting to having sex with the male.  Yet another researcher by the name of Norris found that alcohol plays a major factor in the way a woman responds to sexual coercion.  She stated, “First, the mere presence of alcohol can act as a cue to construct an atmosphere of sexual permissiveness, while simultaneously diminishing the gravity of sexual coercion.  Second, even when consuming a moderate amount, that is not enough to debilitate one physically, alcohol appears to increase women’s acceptance of male sexual coercion” (Bryers and O’Sullivan, 1996).  She also stated that women who were intoxicated liked being the victim much more than the women who did not drink.

Willingness to engage in sexual intercourse

 To address the reasons women engage in sexual intercourse is relatively different from the explanation of the violence against women.  In this scenario, the women are not forced but there are some underlying factors that explain why the women will engage in the activity.  Statistics have proven that “both men (52.1 %) and women (65.2%) recognized that at times women agree when they would rather not, or because they feel threatened (men 16.2%, women 20.4%) or coerced (men 15.7%, women 17.9%).  The most common reason that women engage in sexual activity with her partner is to make him happy.  The second most common reason for engaging in sexual intercourse is to keep the partner in the relationship.  The table below shows the degree at which the woman was willing to engage in sexual intercourse, despite her true feelings toward the activity and how much influence she had in making the decision.

(Johnson and Sigler, 1997)

            The reasons that women agree to have sexual intercourse when they did not want to were also examined.  Some of the more popular reasons included: to make date or friend happy, to keep the man as a boyfriend, the date had spent a lot of money, or the date threatened to leave and not date her again (Johnson and Sigler, 1997).  45.1 % of these women had sex with the partner to make him happy, while 12.3 wanted to keep him as a boyfriend.  On a small scale only 6.7 percent of the women had sex with the male because he wanted her to prove her love to him (Johnson and Sigler, 1997).  In some cases, women will explore a more intense relationship with a male who may be considering a permanent relationship with her.  Though she is not looking for a lifelong partner, she still commits to having sex with him.  In other cases, men will be persistent on a woman to have sex with him because he knows that eventually she will give in. 

 The real deal

            In all actuality, a woman has to consent to the male that she wants to engage in that activity before it can occur.  It is okay for a man to pursue an interest or desire for the woman to have sex with him, but until she verbally agrees with no hesitation, then there should be no interaction of the sort.  A long-term relationship does not constitute the obligation of sex nor should the fear of being rape gives the woman the option of consenting.  The roles of both men and women need to be defined especially in an intimate setting and the awareness that rape still exist should not be taken lightly.  As a result, women’s responses to men who are sexually aggressive will greatly affect the course of the sexual relationship, but it will increase the likelihood of reacting in a more positive way to his aggression than for her to be force to have intercourse or physically injured. 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

    Rape, as we have consciously concluded, is one of the most widely unreported phenomena in our society today. Rape is also characterized or defined by the forced sexual acts on a woman or it can be a forced act on a man. In this research, I attempted to explain the reasons in which rapes occur and what feelings are evoked by this detestable act. Through my findings, I learned that rape does not just occur because a man gets a woman intoxicated and forces her to have sex with him, nor does rape occur by a person that the woman does not know. Rape can occur with a person whom the woman is familiar with, for example, someone that she just met, or someone that the woman may have known her whole life. I also found that the fear of being raped among women was one causal mechanism in why the women were easily raped. Also instead of taking action or becoming aware of what actions to take against rape were other causes in why women allowed themselves to be rape. It was sad to also see that women "for the sake of love" would allow men to influence them to be sexually coerced in this way and then blame themselves for what happened. It was also observed that some women get pleasure from being in a position where they are forced to engage in a sexual activity, therefore consent is not needed, while there are some women who have been mistreated earlier in their lives that they can not distinguish whether to defend themselves or to accept the treatment that is given.

    Men on the other hand who were included in the research, whether rapist or nonrapist, showed some sympathy toward women who were raped. Some of the rapist proved that they liked the control and that manipulating a woman to do whatever he wanted caused a moment of arousal for them. The actual rape was not the cause of arousal, but the actual control and the sight of another suffering. In the study, I also found that a number of the rapist struggled with the fact that they were neglected as young men by their mothers or they may have had some other underlying problems.
In the research, evolutionary biologists asserted that rape occurred because it "provides a means for males to increase and diversify their offspring and offers an opportunity for those unable to locate satisfactory voluntary partners to pass along their genetic traits" (Brown, Esbensen, Geis, 1991). Evolutionary biologists also favor the idea of promiscuity in men and choosiness in women and the fact that the rapists prefer much younger women than themselves to bear their children. Two things about the research done by the evolutionary biologist that I found agreeable was the fact that rape is an inexcusable act and that it is a part of nature that is undesirable, and that rape is an act of violence and not sex. What I didn't agree with was the fact that they thought that rape stemmed from social conditions and male cultural values because, in our society men are taught that to force a woman to engage in sexual activity is wrong and that a woman must give her consent. As far as social conditions, regardless if a boy, young man, or full grown man has been raised up in the ghetto, in poverty, has gone bankrupt, or whatever the social condition may be, rape is not an option to change his status.

    So what are rapists' motivations? Psychological profiles would suggest that rapists are motivated by the idea of being in power, being angry, and sadism. Other scholars like William Sanders feel that rapist's feelings of inferiority drive them to be quite angry and aggressive toward weaker targets. One factor that I also found amazing was that some rapist struggle with the fact that they are impotent. On the other hand, social learning theorist think that rape is learned and reinforce through four processes: " 1) by imitating rape scenes and other acts of violence toward women that are seen in person, conveyed by others, or depicted by the mass media, 2) by associating sexuality and violence, 3) by perpetuating various "rape myths," such as "No means Yes" and "Women secretly desire to be raped," and 4) by desensitizing men to the pain, fear, and humiliation of sexual aggression" (Brown, Esbensen, Geis, 1991). Lastly, feminist saw rape as a result of social traditions where as men have always being dominant in the political, economic, and social arenas. Women were seen as objects, were not valued, and depended solely on a man for protection.

    As a result of my findings, I came to the conclusion that not only should men be blamed for the act of rape, but women as well, but only in certain situations. I think that when two people decide that they are going to be friends or are going to date, they should lay out the guidelines as far as sexual intercourse is concerned. I also feel that people should thoroughly check out the other person before they decide to go out on that first date or even plan to be active with the person. I also found that some rapist have many problems that go way beyond the research while other rapist get a thrill from the power and seeing someone else being humiliated. I also wondered about the impotency issue as well. Why would a man rape a woman even when he can not perform sexually on a normal basis? Why do men feel that they need to have so much power and authority over a woman anyway? This is what a scholar by the name of William Sanders had to say about rapists, which concludes and confirms my thought as well:

    "Rapists...violate male role expectations. In effect, they "hit girls" and that is something only wimps and sissies do...In the world of violent men, rapists are considered punks and generally low life. We find this in prison, where the status hierarchy is based on personal violence. Robbers, killers, and other violent characters who make up the prison population hold rapists in very low esteem, about one rung above child molesters who are at the bottom of the heap" (Brown, Esbensen, Geis, 1991)

REFERENCES

Brown, Stephen E., Finn-Aage Esbensen, and Gilbert Geis. Criminology: Explaining Crime in its Context: Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co., 1991.

Byers, E. Sandra and Lucia F. O'Sullivan, eds. Sexual Coercion in Dating Relationships: New York: The Haworth Press, Inc, 1996.

Johnson, Ida M. and Robert T. Sigler. Forced Sexual Intercourse in Intimate Relationships: Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1997.

"Rape." Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. 2001. Find Articles Online.Online. 15 Feb. 2002. <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/g2699/0002/2699000285/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

"Soaring Rape Figures Challenge A Country in Transition." Women's Health Weekly July 1997. Online. 13 Feb. 2002. <http://ehostvgw12.epnet.com/delivery.asp?deliveryoption=Citation+with+formatted+full+text&e>

Christian, Margena A. ": Black Man Befriends White Woman Who Wrongfully Accused Him of Rape." Jet Magazine Oct. 2000. Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb. 2002. <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1355/18_98/66157011/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

Cowan, Gloria. "Beliefs about the Causes of Four Types of Rape." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. May 2000. Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb. 2002. <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2294/2000_May/6530652/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

Pino, Nathan W. "Gender Differences in Rape Reporting." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research June 1999. Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb. 2002. <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2294/11_40/57533236/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

Rice, Marnie E. and Terry C. Chaplin. "Empathy for the Victim and Sexual Arousal among Rapist and Nonrapist." Journal of Interpersonal Violence Dec. 1994. Online. 5 March 2002. <http://ehostvgw12.epnet.com/delivery.asp?deliveryoption=Citation+with+formatted+full+text&e>

Seidman, Bonnie T. and W.L. Marshall. "An Examination of Intimacy and Loneliness in Sex Offenders." Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Dec. 1994. Online. 5 March 2002.
<http://ehostvgw12.epnet.com/delivery.asp?deliveryoption=Citation+with+formatted+full+text&e>

Shackelford, Todd K. "A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion." Journal of Sex Research Feb. 2001. Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb.2002.
<http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2372/1_38/75820043/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape

Starling, Kelly. "Black w omen and rape: the shocking secret no one talks about." Ebony Magazine Nov. 1998. Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb. 2002.<http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1077/nl_v54/21270366/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

Thornhill, Randy. "Why Men Rape." Science World Magazine Jan. 2000: Find Articles Online. Online. 13 Feb. 2002. <http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2379/1_40/59024294/p1/article.jhtml?term=rape>

ENDNOTES

 Comments: A lot for me to type in, but a good start for you. It sounds like you're exploring the whole psychological perspective for a good theory.  I would have preferred you use one, single psychological theory, and I would have preferred you use actual words, ideas, and concepts from the field of criminology.  For example, I don't know what you mean by the "societal perspective" in your first paragraph.  I assume you mean from society's point of view.  Also, I think you may have oversimplified your project by making it a simple typological study, connecting three causes to three types of behavior.  I'm unclear on the role that "psychological effects on women" plays in your paper.  It almost sounds like you're talking about rape fantasies in both genders.  You'll need something other than the definitional debates on rape to talk about in this paper.  You need specific concepts from the areas of study known as the fields of victim precipitation, male pathology, and male hostility.  Aren't some of the authors you cite writing from the evolutionary ecological school of thought which explains crime as male sexual jealously?

The most important thing is for you to turn in your work to me, as you complete it, on a floppy disk, saved as a Word document; or send it via an email attachment.

04/17/02 I added your methods section. I hope you read the link in the syllabus to the Style Guide which said NOT to use endnotes. Can you send me those HTTP URL references you found on the web? In an email?

On 04/28/02, I added your Summary section and references. Congratulation on being the first one in the course to have a whole paper complete and ready to analyze in its wholeness for any last-minute touch-ups.