How Psychology Could Change the Way We Understand Consent - By Vanessa Bohns - Behavioral Scientist

"Typically, questions of consent are debated on their legal merits: What is someone legally allowed to do to, or expect of, another person? Can this particular individual in this particular situation be considered to have legally consented?

This emphasis on legality makes sense. After all, a legal determination of consent fundamentally transforms how an experience is defined and understood. As Michigan Law Professor Peter Westen has argued, consent possesses “moral magic,” turning “‘rape’ into sexual intercourse, ‘maiming’ into therapeutic surgery, ‘kidnapping’ into vacation, ‘trespass’ into hospitality, and ‘theft’ into gift-giving.”

Yet, as the Wilson example above reveals, even when the legality of an act is not in question, the consensual nature of an act as it is subjectively experienced still has important consequences. In other words, even if an act was not legally rape, maiming, kidnapping, trespassing, or theft, certainly feeling as if it was any of these things is meaningful in itself....

In an article in Perspectives on Psychological Science (open access), I argue that psychologists should embrace consent as a core topic of study, incorporating and expanding on research already being conducted on “specialty” topics, such as sexual consent and informed consent. As I argue in my article, we have much to gain by a serious examination of individuals’ feelings of consent across a wide range of situations...."