Reaching Conservative Students in Bystander Training Against Sexual Assault: Teaching Pros & Bros

Abstract

Humane Acts Bystander Intervention Training curriculum (HABIT) aims to reach students less inclined to learn from liberal and more-feminist education offered in current curricula. Using moral foundations theory to encourage bystander intervention in potential sexual assault situations, the authors taught and assessed 137 diverse students within an urban university’s First Year Seminar course. Results indicated the curriculum improved the inclination to intervene in those deemed least likely to intervene.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank past and present members of the Sexual Ethics Research Lab, graduate students who taught the curriculum, Neal Bruss, the director of the First Year Seminar program at UMass Boston, and the instructors in the First Year Seminar program who collaborated with us.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Joseph P. Healey Grant at UMass Boston.