Do college students endorse rape culture? Examining rape myth acceptance and gender norms among college students using decision making in an interactive narrative video game

Rape culture is a set of ideologies that minimize and justify sexual assault through a set of social and cultural norms. Two of those norms are rape myths, false attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault, survivors, and perpetrators; and gender norms, which are behavioral expectations based on a person’s gender identity or expression. Because college students are at a high risk of experiencing and perpetrating sexual assault, it is important to understand the extent they adhere to beliefs that contribute to the perpetration of sexual assault, including rape myths and gender norms. Through the use of a narrative based video game, the researcher examined the decision-making patterns in the game to assess what, if any, rape culture ideologies college students adhere to. Results demonstrated that students in this sample did not endorse rape culture; and often made decisions in the game rooted in empathy and compassion. The study also demonstrated that, despite this overall positive result, there are still ideas that need to be combatted through education and prevention, including that there is an abundance of false reporting. Results of this study can be used to better inform sexual and dating violence prevention on college campuses. This study provides perspective on the issues that need focus and attention. Results also demonstrate that data as a result of game based learning can help us understand a particular population and their behaviors.