Citation

Marr KL, Duell MN. Psychol. Rep. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0033294120916868

PMID

32312152

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate gender effects on college students’ judgements about a hypothetical episode of cyberbullying on Facebook that resulted in the suicide of a cybervictim. A total of 176 undergraduate students at a midsize public university in the Northeast served as participants. Four one-page versions of a hypothetical trial transcript detailing a cyberbullying case were utilized. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: male cyberbully/male cybervictim, male cyberbully/female cybervictim, female cyberbully/male cybervictim, and female cyberbully/female cybervictim. After reading one of the trial transcripts, participants rated eight variables, including criminal guilt and intent of the cyberbully, responsibility of entities involved, and appropriate punishment for the cyberbully. Results revealed significant differences in judgments based on the gender of the cyberbully, cybervictim, and participant.

Language: en

Keywords

Cyberbullying; cybervictimization; decision-making; gender; responsibility; suicide