Improving Sexual Assault Online Bystander Training

Presenter: Cade Campigli

Co-Presenter(s):
Bill Thompson, Madlina Shahade, Maggie Geissinger, Nikole Baker, Bryan Carreto

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Heather Smith

Department: Psychology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Diversity and Social Justice

Abstract:
Rates of sexual violence and harassment in the United States general population are staggering (CDC, 2015), and college campuses are not immune. To address this problem, many colleges and universities have adopted sexual assault bystander intervention training. Creators design these trainings to promote shared norms about appropriate behavior and encourage bystanders to respond to potentially problematic situations that they might observe (Potter, 2018, Muj et al., 2019). However, the effectiveness of these programs, if measured, varies widely (Muj et al., 2019). Even less is known about the efficacy of internet-based bystander intervention training. In our first experiment, we compared the effectiveness of an online video game-based bystander training developed by Sharyn Potter (University of New Hampshire) and her colleagues (Dartmouth Tiltfactor) with an online PowerPoint presentation of the same information (created and used by the university Title 9 Office). We randomly assigned 48 participants who identified as men and 57 participants who identified as women to either play the game or watch the presentation. Participants who played the game were as likely to remember the suggested bystander intervention strategies as participants who watched the presentation, and they also reported similar levels of bystander efficacy. Additionally, students who identified as men reported less discomfort and frustration after playing the game compared to watching the presentation. However, students who played the game were less likely to 1) mention thinking about their university affiliation or 2) volunteer for the university bystander intervention program compared to students who watch the presentation. Therefore, in our next experiment, we aim to test whether an opportunity to affirm the university before students play the game will improve the connection between learning strategies and protecting fellow university students. This Koret-funded project is a unique opportunity to determine whether group affirmation can increase the effectiveness of online sexual misconduct bystander intervention training for improving students’ memory of varying intervention strategies and willingness to intervene to prevent sexual misconduct.