Sexual Assault Programming on College Campuses: Using Social Psychological Belief and Behavior Change Principles to Improve Outcomes

Abstract

Sexual assault programming is often delivered without a theoretical framework and does not typically utilize applicable research that could help to induce change among participants. Such interventions may target male and/or female students, although the focus of this review is on men. It is important to examine these programs in light of current theoretical knowledge and empirical findings from the social psychological attitudinal and behavioral change literatures. To this end, current programming efforts and their limitations are briefly reviewed. Three social psychological theories targeting belief and behavior change (i.e., social norms, hypocrisy salience, decision, and deterrence) are discussed and their application to such programming is elaborated. Given this information, recommendations for the research and practice of such interventions are provided.