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Perceptions of intimate student professor relationships

University of British Columbia

The ideology and logistics of implementing policies that ban intimate student-professor relationships (ISPRs) are a source of debate. Previous research indicates that students generally disapprove of ISPRs, finding them inappropriate and unethical. In addition to the imbalance of power, research suggests that students, particularly females, may lose faith in their academic abilities and may consider abandoning their studies following sexual overture from a professor. Despite these findings, there is limited current research on the perceptions of students who observe the ISPRs of others. The present research explores student perceptions of ISPRs. Specifically, two independent studies were conducted using an undergraduate sample. Study 1 employed a 2 (Gender of the Initiator: Male or Female) by 2 (Status of the Initiator: Professor or Student) between-groups vignette design. Study 2 employed the same design as Study 1, with the addition of a third variable – the quality of a graduate school reference letter provided by the professor for the student involved in the relationship (overly positive or negative in tone). Both studies included level of sexism as a covariate. Participants were asked to rate the degree to which there was sexual harassment, a power imbalance, impacts to others, as well as the appropriateness of consequences (e.g., punishment). In Study 1, it was found that participants in the Professor as Initiator conditions rated sexual harassment, a power imbalance, and impacts to others to be more severe regardless of the gender of the initiator. In Study 2, it was found that participants in the Positive Letter conditions rated the power imbalance as more severe regardless of the gender or status of the initiator. Overall, participants in Study 2 rated sexual harassment, power imbalance, impacts to others, and consequences more severely than those in Study 1.

Text

2021-04-16

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77816

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/