A representative sample of 1,182 students from a state university judged vignettes describing violent threats or acts perpetrated against a woman by a man. The violence varied in type, but in each case it followed an escalating verbal fight between a heterosexual couple whose relationship varied from being near strangers to married. In addition, the injury sustained by the woman, the perpetrator's prior history of intimate violence, and the research participants' background characteristics, including their own family violence histories, are examined. Judgments are analyzed to explain perceptions regarding violent acts and threats. Research hypotheses based on social learning theories and prior studies of intimate violence and abuse are examined. The analysis suggests that an explanation for the observed variations in perceptions should consider the likelihood of committing or experiencing acts of violence, a process of social learning, and the relationship in which intimate violence occurs.
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