Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jennifer G. BoldryJessen, Paul Lee2013-06-252013-06-252005https://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/1562An experiment was conducted to examine the degree to which Jones' (1991) ethical decision-making model is an appropriate theoretical perspective from which to interpret raters' varying responses to a sexual harassment claim that stems from a dissolved workplace romance. The policy capturing methodology was used with 40 study participants to assess the significance of features of a dissolved workplace romance and sexual harassment situation in predicting participants' responses to a sexual harassment claim. Results revealed that Jones' (1991) ethical decision-making model is appropriate for describing the underlying social-cognitive process for observers responding to a sexual harassment claim that stems from a dissolved workplace romance. Results also suggest that certain features of a workplace romance/sexual harassment scenario are weighted more heavily by observers than other features. Future research, alternative explanations, and implications for policy formation, training programs, and sexual harassment investigations are discussed.enSexual harassmentDecision makingEthicsSexWork environmentThesisCopyright 2005 by Paul Lee Jessen