Morality and the Social Perception of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Women's Attributions of Prototypicality to, and Social Distancing Toward, the Victim

The present research examines laypeople's social perception of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). We explored how women's moral judgments of a female IPV victim impact psychological and social distancing. Across two experiments, participants read a scenario where the victim admitted or denied infidelity. When she admitted betrayal, participants judged her as less moral, leading to psychologically distance themselves from the victim by judging her as less prototypical of the women as a group and to keep her at a distance. Findings highlight the role of moral evaluations in shaping IPV perceptions, offering insights for educational campaigns addressing victim blaming.