Schematic influences of rape myth acceptance on visual information processing: An eye-tracking approach

Schematic influences of rape myth acceptance (RMA) on visual information processing were studied. After reading a short text on a rape case, students viewed a “police photograph” of the plaintiff's living room, where the rape allegedly happened, while their eye-movements were recorded. The photograph contained two myth-consistent cues, one being expected in the situation (wine bottle and glasses), the other unexpected (poster of a nude male). Results of Study 1 (N = 60) showed that participants higher in RMA fixated the expected cue both earlier and less long, which may indicate hypervigilance and greater ease of processing, respectively. Higher RMA also predicted longer initial fixation of the unexpected cue. These processing differences mediated participants' verdicts and blame judgments. In Study 2 (N = 30), participants' level of RMA was manipulated experimentally via social norm feedback. This manipulation significantly affected eye-movement patterns for the expected myth-consistent cue. Results support the notion that RMA actively guides visual information processing of relevant stimuli.

► Rape myth acceptance (RMA) as a cognitive schema influences visual information processing in a rape case.
► We differentiate between expected and unexpected rape-myth-consistent cues.
► We find schematic effects (i.e., hypervigilance and faster encoding) only for the expected stimulus (i.e., alcohol).
► In Study 2, a manipulation of participants' level of RMA affected eye movement patterns only for the expected stimulus.
► We emphasize the importance of using process data.