Individual Differences in the Effectiveness of Sexual Harassment Awareness Training’ zyx ELISSA zyxwvu L. PERRY2 CAROL T. KULIK zy Institute zyxwvut of Labor and Industrial Relations Universiw of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Management Arizona State University JAMES M. SCHMIDTKE Department of Management The University of Texas at Austin Little research has investigated the effectiveness of sexual harassment awareness training videos on potential harassers’ knowledge, behavior, or attitudes. A laboratory study was conducted that assessed the effects of a sexual harassment awareness training video on several training outcomes: sexual harassment knowledge, touching behavior, and attitudes associated with the likelihood ofharassing others. Participants’ propensity to harass was measured prior to their participation in the study. Results indicated that video-based training increased knowledge acquisition and reduced the inappropriate behavior of men who had a high propensity to harass. However, the training did not influence participants’ long-term attitudes associated with the propensity to harass others. The research and practical implications of the study results are discussed. The prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has received consider- able attention in popular literature (Bresler zyxw & Thacker, 1993; Kronenberger & Bourke, 1981; Moynahan, 1993; Thacker, 1992). Efforts to prevent sexual har- assment have traditionally focused on the development of organizational sexual harassment policies and education programs for potential victims. However, as Biaggio, Watts, and Brownell (1 990) noted, effective policies against sexual harassment should not place all of the responsibility on potential victims. Train- ing directed at potential harassers may be an important part of preventing sexual harassment (Biaggio et al., 1990; zyxw Moynahan, 1993; Pryor, LaVite, & Stoller, 1993). ‘We thank Maureen Ambrose, Alison Davis-Blake, Kate Douglas, Erica Hutton, Donna Peplansky, Heather Ploog, John Pryor, Christina Shalley, and Cheryl Williams for their assistance in the development, conducting, and writing of this research. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology meetings, Orlando, Florida, May 1995. 2Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elissa Perry, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois, 504 East Armory Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820- 6297. 698 Journal zyxwvuts of Applied Social Psychology, 1998, 28, 8, pp. 698-723. Copyright zyxwvuts 0 1998 by V. H. Winston & Son, Inc. All rights reserved.