Awareness of societal emphasis on appearance decreases women's (but not men's) career aspiration: A serial mediation model

"She's so pretty": The development of valuing personal attractiveness among young children

The current study sought to understand gender differences in how much children value personal attractiveness, whether age is associated with valuing personal attractiveness, and the role of gender identity development. Three- to five-year-olds (N = 170; 89 girls, 81 boys, 0 other genders; primarily Latiné, multiethnic, and non-Hispanic White American) were recruited from child centers across the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan areas. Across several indicators (e.g., self-report, preference for appearance-related female-typed occupations and fancy gender-typed outfits, memory for fancy gender-typed clothing, and spontaneous reasons for liking a media character), girls highly valued personal attractiveness. Girls also valued personal attractiveness and tied their gender to personal attractiveness to a greater extent than boys. We discuss implications for later well-being and health.

Self-objectification and career aspirations among young Chinese women: the roles of self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy

This study explored the relationship between self-objectification and career aspirations among young women from the perspective of objectification theory. A sample of 439 Chinese undergraduate women completed questionnaires on self-objectification, self-esteem, career decision-making self-efficacy, and career aspirations. The results revealed that self-objectification was negatively correlated with self-esteem, career decision-making self-efficacy, and career aspirations. Self-esteem and career decision-making self-efficacy, both independently and serially, mediated the association between self-objectification and career aspirations. These results provide a better understanding of the negative consequences of self-objectification for career aspirations.

Objectification limits authenticity: Exploring the relations between objectification, perceived authenticity, and subjective well-being

Five studies (total valid N = 834) examined whether objectification (i.e., being treated as a tool or an object to achieve others' goals) reduces people's perceived authenticity and subjective well-being. Participants who experienced more objectification (Studies 1a and 1b), imagined being objectified (Study 2), or recalled a past objectification experience (Study 3) felt less authentic and reported lower levels of subjective well-being than their counterparts. Moreover, perceived authenticity mediated the link between objectification and subjective well-being (Studies 1a-3). In addition, offering objectified participants an opportunity to restore authenticity could enhance their well-being (Study 4). Taken together, our findings highlight the crucial role of authenticity in understanding when and why objectification decreases subjective well-being and how to ameliorate this relationship. Our findings also imply the effect of authenticity in understanding various psychological outcomes following objectification.

Psychometric Properties and a Multiple Indicators Multiple Cause Model of the Career Aspiration Scale with College Students of Rural Thailand

To help address educational inequalities in student backgrounds and career plans, the measurement of career aspirations can provide crucial information about inequality related to career opportunities. Therefore, this study analyzed the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Career Aspiration Scale-Revised (CAS-R) and the effects of sociodemographic variables on the CAS-R. The study participants were 590 undergraduates at three community colleges in rural Thailand. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to investigate the validity of the CAS-R three-factor model. The Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model with and without differential item functioning (DIF) were applied to investigate the effects of sociodemographic factors as covariates on the CAS-R and specific item response. The CFA results supported the 18-item CAS-R’s three-factor structure because the items well represented latent factors and because the subscales met research standards for reliability and validity. The MIMIC model showed that only the year of study (first-year students) had a positive direct effect on leadership, achievement, and educational aspirations. The MIMIC model with DIF indicated that gender, year of study, major, and paternal education caused inequality in 10 items. Overall, the results show that the 18-item CAS-R has strong psychometric properties and can accurately assess the career aspirations of Thai students. The MIMIC model’s application allowed researchers to show that sociodemographic background affected the leadership, achievement, and education subscales. Obtaining information on the CAS-R scale’s measurements would be useful for researchers, practitioners, and career counselors interested in helping students develop career aspirations and choices.