6 BLAME
Not I: A Behavioral Conceptualization of Perpetrator Blame
Abstract
The way that blame is attributed to both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence has been a point of contention. This has become more prominent and has been emphasized by the media in several well publicized cases, including People v. Brock Turner (2016) and more recently, the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and the subsequent appointment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Blame attribution has typically been studied through a social psychology lens, but to further understand how and why these inappropriate and harmful misattributions occur, it is important to investigate this phenomenon from a behavioral perspective. This paper will conceptualize perpetrator blame from a behavioral approach. The authors will address the current body of work around perpetrator blame and its background in social psychology, as well as the contexts in which perpetrator blame is examined. This paper will also take steps to describe perpetrator blame in behavioral terms and make recommendations for influencing effective behavior change in remedying problematic blame attribution in cases of sexual violence.
Keywords
blame
perpetrators
sexual violence
sexual assault
social psychology
rape
victim blame
social reactions
perpetrator blame
verbal behavior
social consequences
mand
tact
consequential control
Defensive Attribution Theory
learning history
escape
avoidance
suicidal ideation
high probability responding
aversive control
trauma
misattributions
wellness
work life balance
burnout
About
Eva Lieberman
Eva has her Masters of Science in psychology from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She currently teaches undergraduate psychology courses at ULL and her research primarily focuses on sexual violence.
Emily Sandoz
Dr. Emily K. Sandoz is the Emma Louise LeBlanc Burguieres/BORSF Endowed Professor of Social Sciences in the Psychology Department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Emily is the Director of the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. She has co-authored three books on acceptance and commitment therapy for struggles with eating and body image, along with chapters and journal articles on ACT, Relational Frame Theory, values, the therapeutic relationship, and psychological flexibility. Emily has led more than 70 professional training workshops around the world, and serves as a peer-reviewed ACT trainer. She also practices as a Clinical Psychologist, focusing on clinical behavior analysis.
Karen Kate Kellum
Kate currently serves as the Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Mississippi. She holds a masters degree in education from Purdue University and a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Nevada Reno. She loves behavioral conceptualizations of complex behavior and has considerable experience in assessment of educational and research activities, time-series research design, and performance improvement. She has been consulting with schools, universities and non-profits in the USA and UK for over 20 years to improve their ability to implement contextual changes and measure learning/organizational outcomes. Kate is an active presenter at national and international conferences.