New research links psychopathy to a proclivity for upskirting

The unauthorized taking of intimate images, a practice often referred to as “upskirting,” has emerged as a distinct form of sexual abuse in the digital age. New research indicates that the likelihood of someone committing this offense, as well as how society judges the victims, is heavily influenced by demographic factors such as age and gender.

The study found that older individuals and men are generally more inclined to blame the victim and less likely to perceive the act as a serious criminal offense. These findings on the psychology behind image-based sexual abuse were published in the journal Sexual Abuse.

As smartphones with high-quality cameras have become ubiquitous, the barriers to committing digital sex crimes have lowered. One such offense is upskirting, which involves positioning a camera underneath a person’s clothing to photograph or film their genitals or buttocks without their consent.

This behavior is often done to obtain sexual gratification or to cause humiliation. While England and Wales formally criminalized this specific act under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act in 2019, legal frameworks around the world remain inconsistent. Some jurisdictions treat it as a breach of privacy rather than a sexual crime, while others lack specific legislation altogether.

To better address this issue, it is necessary to understand the psychological motivations of the perpetrators and the societal attitudes that might minimize the harm caused to victims. Dean Fido, a psychologist at the University of Derby, led a research team to investigate these factors.

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Fido and his colleagues, Craig A. Harper, Simon Duff, and Thomas E. Page, aimed to identify which personality traits predict a willingness to commit upskirting. They also sought to determine if the physical characteristics of the victim affect how the public judges the severity of the crime.

The researchers recruited 490 participants from the United Kingdom to complete an online study. To assess social judgments, the team presented participants with a written vignette describing a fictional scenario at a spa.

In the story, a character named Taylor is relaxing on a poolside lounger. Taylor notices another character, named Ashley, lying on a lounger opposite. Taylor observes that Ashley’s robe has parted, revealing their genitals. Without Ashley noticing, Taylor uses a mobile phone to take a photograph of Ashley’s private area before leaving the premises.

The researchers manipulated the details of this story to create four different versions. In some versions, the victim, Ashley, was described as a woman, while in others, Ashley was a man.

Additionally, the researchers included a photograph of “Ashley” to manipulate perceived attractiveness. These photos depicted either an attractive or unattractive individual, based on ratings from previous psychological datasets. After reading the assigned scenario, participants answered questions about how much blame Ashley deserved, whether police intervention was necessary, and how much harm the incident caused.

The results revealed a distinct double standard regarding the gender of the victim. When the victim in the scenario was a woman, participants assigned significantly less blame compared to when the victim was a man.

Participants were also more likely to believe that the police should be involved and that the victim would suffer harm if the target was female. This aligns with broader patterns in society where sexual violence is often viewed primarily as a crime against women. The victimization of men in this context was viewed with less severity.

Physical appearance also influenced these judgments, particularly for male victims. The study found that when the male victim was depicted as attractive, participants perceived the lowest levels of victim harm. This suggests a specific bias where attractive men are less likely to be viewed as vulnerable or traumatized by non-consensual sexual attention.

For female victims, attractiveness did not play a statistically significant role in how much blame was assigned, contradicting some historical research suggesting attractive women are often blamed more for sexual victimization.

One of the strongest predictors of social attitudes was the age of the participant. The data showed that older participants consistently held more negative views toward the victim than younger participants did. Regardless of the victim’s gender or attractiveness, older respondents assigned more blame to the person who was photographed. They also perceived the act as less criminal and believed it caused less harm than their younger counterparts.

The researchers suggest this generational divide may stem from differences in technological familiarity. Younger generations, who have grown up with the internet and smartphones, may be more acutely aware of the permanence and reach of digital images. They may perceive the violation of digital privacy as a more profound threat. Conversely, older individuals might view the scenario through a different lens, potentially minimizing the severity of an act that does not involve physical contact.

Beyond judging the scenario, participants were asked about their own potential behavior. The survey included a question measuring proclivity, or willingness, to commit the crime. Participants were asked how likely they would be to take intimate pictures of an attractive person if they were guaranteed not to get caught. To understand who might answer “yes” to this question, the researchers administered standard psychological questionnaires measuring the “Dark Tetrad” of personality traits.

The Dark Tetrad consists of four distinct but related personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Narcissism involves a sense of entitlement and grandiosity. Machiavellianism is characterized by manipulation and a focus on self-interest. Psychopathy involves a lack of empathy and high impulsivity. Sadism is the enjoyment of inflicting cruelty or suffering on others.

The study found that a willingness to engage in upskirting was not randomly distributed. Men were more likely to express a proclivity for the behavior than women.

Additionally, participants who admitted to past voyeuristic behaviors—such as secretly watching people undress—were more likely to say they would commit upskirting. Among the personality traits, higher levels of psychopathy emerged as a primary predictor. Individuals scoring high in psychopathy were more likely to endorse taking the non-consensual photos.

This connection to psychopathy makes theoretical sense. Upskirting requires a person to violate social norms and the rights of another person for immediate gratification, often without concern for the distress it causes the victim.

This aligns with the callousness and lack of empathy central to psychopathy. The researchers also noted that older age predicted a higher self-reported likelihood of committing the act, which mirrors the finding that older participants viewed the act as less criminal.

The study also measured “belief in a just world,” which is the psychological tendency to believe that people get what they deserve. In many studies on sexual violence, a strong belief in a just world correlates with victim blaming.

In this study, however, those with a stronger belief in a just world were less likely to express a willingness to commit upskirting. This suggests that for this specific crime, a belief in moral fairness might act as a deterrent against perpetration, even if it does not always prevent victim blaming.

There are limitations to this research that context is needed. The sample was drawn exclusively from the United Kingdom, meaning the results reflect British cultural and legal norms. Attitudes might differ in countries with different laws regarding privacy and sexual offenses. Additionally, the study relied on a single specific scenario in a spa. Upskirting frequently occurs in public spaces like public transit or escalators, and public perceptions might shift depending on the setting.

The measurement of proclivity relied on self-reports. Participants had to admit they might commit a crime, which can lead to underreporting due to social desirability bias. However, the anonymity of the online survey format was designed to encourage honest responses. The researchers also point out that while they found statistical links, they cannot definitively say one factor causes another, only that they are related.

Despite these caveats, the findings have implications for the legal and justice systems. The observation that older individuals are more likely to minimize the harm of upskirting and blame the victim is relevant for jury selection and judicial training. If older jurors or judges hold implicit biases that view this form of abuse as trivial, it could affect the outcomes of trials and the sentences handed down to offenders.

For mental health practitioners, the strong link between voyeurism and upskirting provides a pathway for intervention. Therapists working with individuals who have committed these offenses might focus on addressing underlying voyeuristic compulsions and deficits in empathy associated with psychopathic traits. Treating upskirting not just as a privacy violation but as a manifestation of voyeuristic disorder could lead to more effective rehabilitation strategies.

The study, “Understanding Social Judgments of and Proclivities to Commit Upskirting,” was authored by Dean Fido, Craig A. Harper, Simon Duff, and Thomas E. Page.