ABSTRACT

The juxtaposition of law, psychology, and policy is drawn starkly in the domain of sexual harassment. The legal parameters for sexual harassment cases depend on behavioral assumptions and practices, whereas the psychological reality of sexual harassment in the 21st century is much determined by how it transpires in the legal and policy context. This chapter examines the scope of the psychological knowledge that experts have brought to bear in sexual harassment cases. It explores the limits of that knowledge, some of the primary battles that have occurred in these cases, and the extent to which we know whether such testimony affects decision making in these cases. The chapter draws on the extensive legal and psychological literature in the field, especially important work by Barbara Gutek, Louise Fitzgerald, Peggy Stockdale, and other scholars. It also discusses the effect of gender of the expert.