Rape and evolutionary psychology: a critique of Thornhill and Palmer's theory

In this article, we present a critical evaluation of Thornhill and Palmer's [(2000). Rape: a natural history. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.] evolutionary theory of rape. This theory attempts to explain rape in terms of evolutionary theory and asserts that rape is either directly or indirectly associated with inherited mechanisms that increased our ancestors' reproductive success. We first provide an introduction and overview of some of the fundamental concepts in the field of evolutionary psychology (EP) and then summarize the major elements of Thornhill and Palmer's theory. Thornhill and Palmer offer two main lines of argument in support of their theory — a positive and a negative argument. The positive argument involves the development of an explicit case for the coherency, scope, empirical adequacy, and explanatory depth of their evolutionary account of rape. The negative argument relies upon refuting what Thornhill and Palmer call the “standard social science model” (SSSM) of rape. The present paper advances some general criticisms of Thornhill and Palmer's theory and then specifically addresses both their positive and negative arguments. We conclude that Thornhill and Palmer have not established that their evolutionary theory of rape is a better theory than social science explanations. At best, their argument presents a strong case for the important, but not exclusive, role of biological factors in the etiology of rape and gender relationships. At this point in time, there are too many unanswered questions concerning the nature of the relevant adaptations and the contribution of environmental and cultural factors to conclude that evolutionary theories are sufficient to explain sexual aggression.     

Sexual victimization among sorority women: Exploring the link between sexual violence and institutional practices

This study investigates the incidence and nature of sexual coercion among sorority women. Particular emphasis is placed on sexual coercion that occurs within the context of fraternal life. Overall, almost half of those studied had experienced some form of sexual coercion, 24% experienced attempted rape, and 17% were victims of completed rape. Almost half of the rapes occurred in a fraternity house, and over half occurred either during a fraternity function or was perpetrated by a fraternity member. This study provides evidence that fraternities represent a social context that tolerates, if not actually encourages, sexual coercion of women, including sorority women.     

Number of older brothers and sexual orientation: new tests and the attraction/behavior distinction in two national probability samples

The extent to which number of older brothers or "fraternal birth order" predicted the 2 main components that researchers have traditionally used to conceptualize sexual orientation-that is, psychological attraction and sexual behavior-was examined in 2 recent national probability samples. In both studies, fraternal birth order predicted same-sex attraction in men, with each additional older brother increasing the odds of homosexual attraction by an average of 38%. Results also indicated that the fraternal birth order/same-sex attraction relationship in men was independent of sexual behavior, including early same-sex behavior. No sibling characteristics predicted sexual orientation in women. Results suggest experience-based theories (e.g., early same-sex play) of the fraternal birth order effect in men are unlikely to be correct.     

Adjustment to rape

This questionnaire study of rape victims' reactions, causal attributions for the rape, coping behaviors after the rape, and psychological adjustment to the rape were examined. As in previous research, high levels of behavioral and characterological self-blame for rape were found. Contrary to prior hypotheses, behavioral self-blame was not associated with good adjustment. Rather, both behavioral and characterological self-blame were associated with poor adjustment. Societal blame was the only causal attribution for rape that was unassociated with adjustment. Remaining at home and withdrawing from others were both associated with poor adjustment, and the use of stress reduction techniques was associated with good adjustment. The implications of the results for theories of victimization and for clinical interventions with rape victims are discussed.     

Team reasoning: Solving the puzzle of coordination

In many everyday activities, individuals have a common interest in coordinating their actions. Orthodox game theory cannot explain such intuitively obvious forms of coordination as the selection of an outcome that is best for all in a common-interest game. Theories of team reasoning provide a convincing solution by proposing that people are sometimes motivated to maximize the collective payoff of a group and that they adopt a distinctive mode of reasoning from preferences to decisions. This also offers a compelling explanation of cooperation in social dilemmas. A review of team reasoning and related theories suggests how team reasoning could be incorporated into psychological theories of group identification and social value orientation theory to provide a deeper understanding of these phenomena.     

The implicit theories of potential rapists: What our questionnaires tell us

Theories of rape give some prominence to the role of offense-supportive cognitive processes and attitudes. Yet, research on the relationship between cognition and rape has produced a confusing picture. Numerous methodological issues are no doubt contributing to this confusion. However, in this article, we argue that another major contributor is the lack of attention given to the underlying mechanisms responsible for generating rape-supportive beliefs. Firstly, we review the relevant cognitive research on rapists and rape-prone men. Then, we present psychological research on implicit theories, and on the nature of conceptual representation, development, and change. We apply this implicit theory perspective to existing scales that measure rape-related distorted cognitions, and derive some core theories from the scale items. We describe these theories, giving examples of items that support them. Finally, we discuss the clinical and research implications of the implicit theories we have identified.     

Twins' reactions to delayed auditory feedback

10 pairs of identical and 10 pairs of fraternal twins, matched by age, spoke under conditions of 0.0-, 100-, 200-, 300-, 400-, and 500-msec. delayed auditory feedback. Length of spoken passages was controlled. Product-moment and intraclass correlations were calculated for speaking times and disfluencies. Significant Pearson rs for times were noted at 0.0 and 300 msec. for both groups and at 100, 200, and 400 msec. for identical twins, while fraternal twins' times were significantly correlated at 500 msec. Difference scores were significantly correlated at 100, 200, 300, and 400 msec. for identical twins. Disfluencies were significantly correlated for identical twins at 400 msec. Data were combined with those of Timmons' (1969) study, increasing subjects to 21 pairs per group. Intraclass correlations supported the contention that responses of identical twin pairs to delayed auditory feedback were more highly correlated than those for fraternal twin pairs.     

Lay theories of rape

This study examined ‘la’ theories of rape and compared them to numerous academic theories. One hundred and thirty subjects-52 male, 78 female-completed two questionnaires, one regarding attitudes/beliefs to rape in general, the other on the possible causes of the crime. Factor analysis revealed five factors in the attitude/belief items: Subjects generally perceived the rape victim as moral, responsible, and unprovoking; the rapist was perceived as a repressed delinquent. Subjects agreed with two of the six explanation factors, seeing rape as resulting from a desire for aggression induced by societal factors. The rapist was believed to be a psychopath. Lay theories did not correspond to any formal academic rape model or explanations. Beliefs about the causes of, and attitudes to rape, correlated highly. Age was the greatest determinant of perspective; older subjects believed more in victim precipitation. Suggestions are made for further research in this comparatively neglected area.     

The return of the prodigal: the emergence of Jungian themes in post-Freudian thought

Stories about reality and the nature of truth constitute the essence of psychological theory. This paper is an overview of the various Jungian-sounding 'storylines' that have slowly been woven into the fabric of Freudian theory, that is, those broad ranges of therapeutic approaches labelled 'psychoanalytic'. These include: hegemony of subjective experience; centrality of the Subject; the ineffable nature of the Subject and its agency; the role of countertransference as primary data in analysis; autonomous structures in the psyche; the nature and function of symbols; desire and its purposiveness; the nature and transformative aspects of primitive affective states. Speculation on the reasons for this occurrence is not considered as merely a function of enlightened theoretical or fraternal interchange, but of an archetypal dynamic of exclusion and reconciliation inherent in the nature of theory building and illustrated by the biblical myth of the prodigal.     

“If a girl doesn't say ‘no’…”: young men,rape and claims of ‘insufficient knowledge’

Most psychological theories of rape tend to stress factors internal to both rapists and their victims in accounting for the phenomenon. Unlike such theories, social psychological and feminist accounts have drawn attention to social and cultural factors as productive of rape, and have criticized psychological accounts on the grounds that they often serve, paradoxically, to cement pre‐existing ‘common‐sense’. In this paper we examine the ways in which young Australian men draw upon widely culturally shared accounts, or interpretative repertoires, of rape to exculpate rapists. In particular, we discuss the reliance placed on a ‘lay’ version of Tannen's 1992 ‘miscommunication model’ of (acquaintance) rape and detail the use of this account—the claim that rape is a consequence of men's ‘not knowing’—as a device to accomplish exculpation. Implications of our methods for capturing young people's understanding of sexual coercion, rape and consent, and for the design of ‘rape prevention’ programmes, are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recovery from sexual assault: an innovative two-stage group therapy model

This article describes an innovative two-stage model of sexual assault therapy groups for women in a university setting. This model is recommended for use in various settings and includes a supportive therapy group and two specialized therapy groups, one for childhood sexual abuse survivors and the other for sexual assault (acquaintance rape and stranger rape) survivors. Theoretical underpinnings of the model are discussed in addition to practical aspects of group development such as elements of an effective group, screening of potential members, and marketing and recruitment techniques.     

Apolitical courts? Rape sentencing in Montana

This analysis examines dockets of the state courts of Montana for the years 1987-1989 in rape cases to determine whether sentencing decisions are significantly related to three political variables: the percentage of women in county executive office as a measure of a relevant judicial constituency, the extent to which the county in which a court is located is Democratic, and whether the judge who enters a decision was appointed or elected. The analysis suggests that two legally relevant facts—the crime rate and multiple charges against a defendant—are significantly related to outcome. Political factors do not appear to influence state court sentencing decisions in rape cases since: (1) sentencing decisions in rape cases are not ‘major’, publicized issues; (2) the selection of state court judges (appointed and elected) is nonpartisan; and (3) interest groups were not involved in rape sentencing cases.     

Autonomous agency,we-agency,and social oppression

Theories of collective intentionality and theories of relational autonomy share a common interest in analyzing the social dynamics of agency. However, whereas theories of collective intentionality conceive of social groups primarily as intentional and voluntarily willed, theories of relational autonomy claim that autonomous agency is both scaffolded and constrained by social forces and structures, including the constraints imposed by nonvoluntary group membership. The question raised by this difference in view is whether social theorizing that overlooks the effects of nonvoluntary social group membership on individual and joint agency overlooks crucial aspects of the social dynamics of agency. To explore this question, this article first evaluates Michael Bratman's planning analysis of individual agency from the perspective of relational autonomy theory and compares it with a narrative self-constitution account of temporally extended agency. It then evaluates Bratman's analysis of shared agency and discusses Shaun Gallagher and Deborah Tollefsen's concept of we-narratives, which extends the notion of narrative construction to shared agency. Overall, the argument aims to show that if we are interested in understanding the social dynamics of agency, it is critical to attend to the way that agents exercise their intentional agency in relation to internalized and external social constraints.     

The Quest for a Unified Psychoanalytic Theory: A Retreat from Uncertainty

There has been a historical shift in psychoanalysis from an earlier time of certainty to our present state of uncertainty with the coexistence of multiple theories competing for our attention. We realize retrospectively how entrenched groups ruled our institutions by maintaining faith in their authority as the keepers of “pure” psychoanalysis. Despite struggles between competing ideologies, there has been progress in integrating clinical theories. As no psychoanalytic theory or technique has been proved superior, we advocate an inclusive approach with all psychoanalysts keeping an open mind about the value of competing theories. This integration of disparate theories has led to a resurgence of interest in psychoanalytic training. Examples are given of some of the difficulties encountered when competing ideas are introduced in psychoanalytic groups.     

The Male Rape Survivor: Possible Meanings in the Context of Feminism and Patriarchy

This article covers a philosophical investigation into the possible meanings of rape for male survivors. The legal definitions of rape are investigated and the impossibility of male rape—from a legal, personal and social angle—described. An analysis of male rape in feminist theories and philosophies reveals that the dominant discourse on rape has the effect of silencing the voice of the male rape survivor. Prevailing social constructs about the perpetrator of male rape are challenged, and the physiological and psychological sequelae of rape described. A call is made for a conversation in which male and female survivors can participate and where the warrior psyche of the man can be transcended in order to facilitate healing.     

One line decreases the visibility of a simultaneous identical distant second line

A top line decreased the visibility of a simultaneous, identical, distant bottom line. This context-produced decrease in visibility (DV) occurred when the bottom line was masked by flanking lines and hence was less visible than the top line. It continued when the top line was three times as far from the bottom line. It disappeared without the mask. There was a hint of an opposing context-produced increase in visibility (IV) when the lines were close together. The DV is not accounted for by numerous extant phenomena and theories. It means that the top line decreased the similarity in visibility between it and the bottom line, a contrast effect for visibility, rather than for a typical attribute. Contrast does not occur between two attributes that are perceptually equal. Therefore, the reason why two distant equally visible objects fail to result in a DV may be that their equal visibility precludes the occurrence of contrast. This DV-as-contrast theory is consistent with evidence that two groups (phenomenal wholes) are associated with both contrast and DVs, and thus also with evidence that one group is associated with both assimilation and IVs.     

Identification of cues and control of sexual arousal by rapists

The experiments in this article pertain to factors relevant to rape. The first experiment examined the ability of four groups to discriminate between appropriate and inappropriate sexual cues. Rapists detected such cues as well as did either Normals or Non-rapist Inmates, in all but the most assaultive rape tape. Normal subjects who had consumed alcohol prior to testing, detected inappropriate cues earlier in the tapes than did all other subjects. The second experiment addressed the ability of subjects to inhibit sexual arousal when instructed to do so. Rapists and Non-rapists were shown to be equally capable of inhibiting arousal in response to both mutually-consenting and rape cues. These findings negate theories suggesting that rapists differ from other men in that they are unable to exert control over their arousal, and that they have difficulty in identifying inappropriate cues to arousal.     

Rights Theories and Public Trial

Most rights claims are capable of being analysed in terms of both the competing theories of rights, the will theory and the interest theory. Discussion hitherto has concentrated on particular instances of rights claims which are easily accommodated by the one theory but accommodated only with difficulty (if at all) by the other. Such problematic examples have served to illuminate what is at stake between the rival theories. However, in the case of the right to a public trial, I argue that neither theory is capable of accommodating that particular 'right'.     

Sexual violence perceptions among Christian college students

Sexual violence is a persistent problem, both nationally and globally, with college females having an elevated risk over their non-college peers. However, there have been limited studies exploring the beliefs that specific sub-populations, such as religious groups, have about sexual violence. A central objective of this study was to provide a better understanding of student needs in order to assist administrators and student service professionals as they offer support for students in Christian higher education settings. This study was a comprehensive, exploratory survey into the attitudes and perceptions of rape myth acceptance, sexism, authoritarianism, violence, and safety, as well as occurrence of sexual violence, among Christian college students at a mid-Atlantic Christian university was conducted. The results demonstrate which concepts relate to or were predicted by students’ rape myth acceptance, as well as ascertaining similarities and differences between secular and religious colleges. Recommendations for universities, program developers, and researchers are discussed.