Despite increasing awareness, sexual harassment remains a significant concern in the workplace. The enduring problem of sexual harassment seems to persist due to a lack of clarity regarding what behaviors qualify as harassment. Furthermore, the interpretation of these behaviors is influenced by contextual and relational factors, contributing to the complexity of addressing and preventing such incidents. This study builds on existing research by investigating how the severity of sexually harassing behavior, the response from the target, and the gender of the participant contribute to labeling behavior as sexual harassment. Using an online experimental scenario-based survey, 1,700 (850 female, 850 male) currently employed participants were presented with a single workplace scenario that manipulated the severity of the sexual harassment behavior and the target’s response. Participants were then asked to assess the appropriateness of the behavior, label it as sexual harassment or not, and rate their confidence in their labeling decision. The results revealed that less severe sexual harassment behaviors, targets who displayed interest, and male participants were more likely to perceive the behavior as less inappropriate and were less inclined to label it as sexual harassment. These findings have implications for shaping the definition of sexual harassment and designing training programs for heightened awareness.

中文翻译：

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模糊的想法：施暴者行为、目标反应和观察者性别如何影响对工作场所性骚扰的看法


尽管人们的认识不断提高，性骚扰仍然是工作场所的一个重大问题。由于对哪些行为属于骚扰缺乏明确性，性骚扰这一持久问题似乎仍然存在。此外，对这些行为的解释受到情境和相关因素的影响，导致解决和预防此类事件的复杂性。本研究以现有研究为基础，调查性骚扰行为的严重性、目标的反应以及参与者的性别如何影响将行为标记为性骚扰。通过一项基于场景的在线实验性调查，向 1,700 名（850 名女性，850 名男性）目前在职的参与者展示了一个单一的工作场所场景，该场景操纵了性骚扰行为的严重程度和目标的反应。然后，参与者被要求评估该行为的适当性，是否将其标记为性骚扰，并评估他们对标记决定的信心。结果显示，性骚扰行为不太严重、表现出兴趣的目标以及男性参与者更有可能认为该行为不太不恰当，并且不太愿意将其标记为性骚扰。这些发现对于制定性骚扰的定义和设计提高认识的培训计划具有重要意义。