Andrea Mariani
Project Update: Development and Validation of the Himpathy Scale:
A Tool for Identification of Bias in Campus Sexual Assault Cases
My research focused on understanding why people sometimes feel sympathy for perpetrators of sexual violence, especially when those perpetrators are powerful or high-status individuals. Drawing on philosopher Kate Manne’s concept of “himpathy”, I developed and validated The Himpathy Scale, a new psychological measure that assesses this form of moral and emotional bias.
In the first study, I confirmed that higher scores on The Himpathy Scale predicted more lenient judgements toward male perpetrators and less empathy toward victims. In a second study of greater statistical power, I found that himpathy extends beyond gender: people high in himpathy also showed sympathy toward female perpetrators who were portrayed as powerful or successful, suggesting that this bias reflects a broader loyalty to social power rather than just gender bias.
Together, these studies shed light on how moral emotions and fairness can become distorted in cases of sexual violence, helping explain why some perpetrators are defended or excused while victims are doubted.
We shared our findings in the following ways:
Oral Presentations and Lectures
Mariani, A., Peterson, Z. D., (upcoming, November 2025). The Development and Application of The Himpathy Scale for the Assessment of Bias in Sexual Assault Cases. Accepted for oral presentation at The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality 2025 Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Mariani, A., (April 2025). Himpathy in Sexual Assault Evaluations. Oral presentation at The Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
Mariani, A., Peterson, Z. D., (March 2025). The Himpathy Scale: Scale Development and Psychometric Properties. Oral presentation at The Association for Women in Psychology 2025 Conference, Santa Fe, NM.
Publications
This projected yielded three journal articles: two of these are in the peer-review process (have been submitted and are being reviewed), while the last one is expected to be submitted for publication in a few months upon my thesis defense.
Check out the White Papers
Himpathy_White_Paper_1_Mariani.pdf
Download File
Himpathy_White_Paper_2_Mariani.pdf
Download File
In the first study, I confirmed that higher scores on The Himpathy Scale predicted more lenient judgements toward male perpetrators and less empathy toward victims. In a second study of greater statistical power, I found that himpathy extends beyond gender: people high in himpathy also showed sympathy toward female perpetrators who were portrayed as powerful or successful, suggesting that this bias reflects a broader loyalty to social power rather than just gender bias.
Together, these studies shed light on how moral emotions and fairness can become distorted in cases of sexual violence, helping explain why some perpetrators are defended or excused while victims are doubted.
We shared our findings in the following ways:
Oral Presentations and Lectures
Mariani, A., Peterson, Z. D., (upcoming, November 2025). The Development and Application of The Himpathy Scale for the Assessment of Bias in Sexual Assault Cases. Accepted for oral presentation at The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality 2025 Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Mariani, A., (April 2025). Himpathy in Sexual Assault Evaluations. Oral presentation at The Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.
Mariani, A., Peterson, Z. D., (March 2025). The Himpathy Scale: Scale Development and Psychometric Properties. Oral presentation at The Association for Women in Psychology 2025 Conference, Santa Fe, NM.
Publications
This projected yielded three journal articles: two of these are in the peer-review process (have been submitted and are being reviewed), while the last one is expected to be submitted for publication in a few months upon my thesis defense.
Check out the White Papers
Himpathy_White_Paper_1_Mariani.pdf
Download File
Himpathy_White_Paper_2_Mariani.pdf
Download File
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