## Project Description ## Sexual aggression is prevalent and damaging in our culture, and sources of support or blame following an attack of this kind can be important influences on the recovery process. This pair of studies investigate the nature of women’s blame reactions towards survivors of sexual aggression, as well as the potential for provision of sympathy and support. Specifically, we focused on the previously neglected role of female self-objectification. It was expected that increased self-objectification would lead to decreased sympathy and support, and more rape victim blame. However, results of Study 1 showed that chronic self-objectification was actually related to higher levels of sympathy and support for a rape victim. Study two built upon the limitations of study one, and examined similar questions. It was expected that women who engaged in greater self-objectification would again show greater sympathy and support for the victim, replicating study one’s results, and this was supported with a different scale. The overall relationship between self-objectification and sympathy and support was driven by body-relevant control beliefs. ---------- ## Using These Materials ## This repository contains the materials and data supporting our project concerning the role of self-objectification in women's blame, sympathy, and support for a rape victim . It contains sub-directories for all anonymized data sets, pilot study information, and ethical approval forms. The final paper can be found on the main project page, along with all materials and measures employed. ---------- **Published communication.** https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0199808 ---------- **Data citation.** See citation list in the top-right corner of the main project page. If you would like to use the data or materials in published work, please cite both the paper and this OSF project. ---------- **Ethics approval.** This project was approved by the Department of Psychology Research Ethics Committee of the University of Edinburgh. ---------- **Contact.** For any further questions or comments, don't hesitate to email Casey L. Bevens at caseylynnbevens@gmail.com