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.

Buffering an Objectifying Culture: Interpersonal Sexual Objectification, Self-Objectification, and Attachment Anxiety

In this article, we report two studies that examined the dynamics between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and individuals’ attachment in romantic relationships. Study 1 was based on data from 392 college students ( Mage = 21.42 years, 66.8% women). Results showed positive associations between interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance among women. For men, significant and positive associations were only observed between interpersonal sexual objectification and self-objectification and between self-objectification and attachment anxiety. Study 2 was a 6-month longitudinal study where we recruited participants through CloudResearch ( n = 638, Mage = 24.26 years, 55.8% women at Time 1; n = 283, Mage = 24.43 years, 56.9% women at Time 2; return rate = 44.36%). Results from longitudinal analyses showed that women reported stronger stability in self-objectification than men, and for both women and men, their attachment anxiety predicted increased self-objectification. Additionally, in both studies, women reported higher levels of interpersonal sexual objectification, self-objectification, and attachment anxiety than men. Overall, the findings suggest that high-quality relationships may help buffer the negative effects engendered by an objectifying culture. Based on our results, we recommend that clinicians and parents work to foster secure and healthy relationships as a means of reducing the extensive negative repercussions of objectification.

Women's Self-Objectification Under Competition When They Believe Sex Is Power

Competitions are ubiquitous and their psychological consequences for women have not received sufficient attention. For this research, we tested whether competition, in either work settings or a broader form of competition for resources, would interact with the sex is power belief to result in self-objectification among women. This prediction was confirmed by a series of studies (N = 1416), including correlational studies, a quasi-experiment, and fully controlled experiments, with samples including company employees, MBA students with work experience, college students currently competing in a job market, and Mechanical Turkers. Competition (or a sense of competition) as a feature of the working environment (Study 1), a real state in life (Study 2), or a temporarily activated state (Studies 3-5) resulted in self-objectification among women who believe sex is power (Study 1) or who enter such a mindset (Studies 2-5). This effect further impaired the pursuit of personal growth (Studies 4 and 5).

Lay awake with a racing mind: The associations between sexual objectification, insomnia, and affective symptoms

BACKGROUND

Sexual objectification is a form of interpersonal maltreatment that women may experience in daily life. Research has focused on testing how it leads to various psychological distresses. However, little research has examined its influences on women's sleep quality, the underlying psychological mechanisms, and the potential implications for affective symptoms. We addressed this research gap by testing whether sexual objectification predicted perceived stress and insomnia, thereby predicting affective symptoms (i.e., depression and anxiety). We further examined whether sex-is-power beliefs moderated these associations.

METHODS

Participants completed validated measures of sex-is-power beliefs, sexual objectification, perceived stress, insomnia, depression, and anxiety. We conducted regression analyses, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping analyses to test the associations between these psychological constructs.

RESULTS

As predicted, the results showed that sexual objectification was positively associated with perceived stress, insomnia, and affective symptoms. Moreover, perceived stress and insomnia serially mediated the association between sexual objectification and affective symptoms. Furthermore, sex-is-power beliefs moderated the serial mediation effect, such that the effect was only observed among participants with weak sex-is-power beliefs.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings advanced current theories and knowledge of sexual objectification by demonstrating that sexual objectification is associated with perceived stress and insomnia, thereby predicting affective symptoms. The findings also highlighted the role of beliefs in weakening the negative consequences of sexual objectification.

Associations between body image, social physique anxiety, and dating anxiety in heterosexual emerging adults

Studies have suggested that body image is associated with dating anxiety, but are limited by small sample sizes, singular operationalisations of body image, and a lack of consideration of the concurrent effects of social physique anxiety. To overcome these gaps in the literature, we asked an online sample of 501 heterosexual emerging adults from the United Kingdom (age M = 21.16, 50.3% women) to complete measures of multidimensional body image, social physique anxiety, and dating anxiety. Correlational analyses indicated that more negative body image and social physique anxiety were both significantly associated with greater dating anxiety. However, in hierarchical regressions, the variance accounted for by body image variables was largely non-significant and weak after accounting for the effects of social physique anxiety. In exploratory analyses, we found that social physique anxiety mediated the relationship between the body image facet of appearance orientation and dating anxiety. These results highlight the importance of developing targeted interventions to reduce social physique anxiety and unhealthy appearance orientation in heterosocial dating contexts.

My Physical Appearance at the Center of Others' Concerns: What are the Consequences for Women's Metadehumanization and Emotions?

Despite the frequency of women’s exposure to sexually objectifying behaviors in their daily life (e.g., through comments on their appearance, gazing or touching), no previous work has investigated how such a focus on their physical appearance influences women’s meta-perceptions. Capitalizing on recent studies showing that sexually objectified women are dehumanized by both male and female participants, the present paper investigates women’s metadehumanization (i.e., their perceptions of being viewed as less than fully human) and its emotional consequences following interpersonal sexual objectification. In three studies, we showed that when an interaction partner focuses on their physical appearance, women report higher levels of metadehumanization, as well as increased anger and sadness, than when the partner focuses on non-physical parts. Theoretical and empirical contributions of the present findings are discussed.

Sexual objectification increases retaliatory aggression

Two experiments were conducted to investigate whether sexual objectification increases retaliatory aggression serially through increased vulnerability and hostile intent attributions. Female participants were first exposed to the sexual objectification manipulation by receiving compliments from an online male partner (Experiment 1) or imagining a workplace objectification experience (Experiment 2). Afterward, their vulnerability and hostile intent attributions were assessed. Finally, they were given an opportunity to behave aggressively toward the source of objectification. The results of both experiments indicated that, compared with their counterparts in the control conditions, participants in the sexual objectification condition reported higher levels of vulnerability, hostile intent attributions, and aggression. Moreover, vulnerability and hostile intent attributions serially mediated the effect of sexual objectification on aggression. These findings highlight the critical influence of vulnerability and hostile intent attributions in understanding how sexual objectification increases aggression.

Self-Objectification and Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Objectification theorists posit that exposure to sexually objectifying behavior, images, etc., leads women in particular to adopt an objectifying self-perspective. State self-objectification (SSO) (i.e., the internalization of the objectifying gaze) is theorized to usurp individuals' cognitive resources by diverting attention to their bodies. The objective of this paper is to systematically review the literature surrounding self-objectification and cognitive performance. Six databases retrieved 1,779 relevant articles. Studies were deemed eligible for inclusion if they (a) quantitatively investigated the relationship between SSO and cognitive performance using valid and reliable measures, (b) were published in a peer-reviewed journal between 1997 and 2019, inclusive, and (c) were available in English. Nine studies fulfilled all inclusion criteria. As the heterogeneity of the literature precluded meta-analysis, narrative synthesis was employed to review the results. While the quality of the studies was mixed, the results of our review support the contention that self-objectification impairs cognitive functioning. Appearance monitoring, actual-ideal self-discrepancies, negative self-conscious emotions, gender schema activation, and stereotype activation are evaluated as potential mechanisms behind the relationship between state self-objectification and cognitive performance, while chronic (trait) self-objectification is evaluated as a potential moderator.

The Social Interaction Model of Objectification: A process model of goal-based objectifying exchanges between men and women

People perceive and treat women as sex objects in social exchanges. The interaction processes through which women are objectified, however, have rarely been considered. To address this gap in the literature, we propose the Social Interaction Model of Objectification (SIMO). Rooted in social exchange and objectification theories, the SIMO predicts objectifying behaviours stemming from sexual goals between men and women. We propose that the behavioural dynamics of objectification can be understood through a series of goal-based exchange processes that are shaped by patriarchy. Articulating the SIMO and its predictions for behaviour in social interactions, we describe the scant social psychological studies in this area. Not only is the SIMO useful for understanding objectifying interaction processes, but it can be used to understand why women sometimes evaluate objectification positively as well as instances of sexual violence. Finally, we discuss critical directions for future research and provide promising methodological approaches for testing the SIMO.

Focusing on one's own appearance leads to body shame in women but not men: The mediating role of body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth

Previous research has shown that some appearance-focused situations lead to increased self-objectification, especially among women. The present research explored, with an experimental design, whether the simple fact of thinking about one's own physical appearance increases body shame through body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth in men and women. Our main prediction was that focusing on one's own appearance would increase both women's body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth, and that both variables in turn would increase women's body shame. Among men, while we expected body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth to be related to body shame, we believed that thinking about their physical appearance would be less likely to increase their body surveillance and appearance-contingent self-worth. Spanish young men (n = 123) and women (n = 140) were randomly assigned to an appearance group, in which they wrote about their appearance, or a personality group, in which they wrote about their personality. The results confirmed our prediction for women. Among men, the indirect effects were not significant, and focusing on one's own appearance did not increase body surveillance or appearance-contingent self-worth. Since body shame has been associated with pervasive negative consequences, knowledge about its antecedents has practical and theoretical significance.

Adolescent Sexting: The Roles of Self-Objectification and Internalization of Media Ideals

We examined adolescent sexting using objectification theory as a framework. We hypothesized that sexting is a manifestation of trait self-objectification and the internalization of gender-specific media ideals about attractiveness. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 201 Midwestern adolescents, 14–17 years old. We tested a three-stage path model, which differed for female and male adolescents. For female adolescents, self-objectification was positively associated with favorable attitudes about sexting, which further predicted two types of intentions to engage in sexting: sexting when there is trust in the sexting partner (security-based intentions) and sexting that is spurred by situational cues. Although there was a serial mediation effect of self-objectification on sexting behaviors through sexting attitudes and total sexting intentions, only the indirect effect of sexting attitudes on behaviors through security-based intentions was individually significant. For male adolescents, internalization of media ideals was positively associated with sexting attitudes, which further predicted the two types of sexting intentions. Similar to female adolescents, there was a serial mediation effect of internalization of media ideals on sexting behaviors through sexting attitudes and total sexting intentions; however, only security-based sexting intentions predicted sexting behaviors. Our results have implications regarding how to conceptualize adolescent sexting and how researchers, parents, and educators may help teenage youth to establish healthy sexting attitudes and behaviors. Additional online materials for this article are available to PWQ subscribers on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684318809383

Work and freedom? Working self-objectification and belief in personal free will

The current work aimed to extend the burgeoning literature on working objectification by investigating the effects of particular job activities on self-perception. By integrating relevant theoretical reflections with recent empirical evidence, we expected that performing objectifying (i.e., repetitive, fragmented, and other-directed) tasks would affect participants' self-objectification and, in turn, their belief in personal free will. In three studies, we consistently found that performing a manual (Study 1 and Study 2) or a computer (Study 3) objectifying task (vs. a non-objectifying task and vs. the baseline condition) led participants to objectify themselves in terms of both decreased self-attribution of human mental states (Study 1 and Study 3) and increased self-perception of being instrument-like (Study 2 and Study 3). Crucially, this increased self-objectification mediated the relationship between performing an objectifying activity and the participants' decreased belief in personal free will. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.

Perpetuation of sexual objectification: The role of resource depletion

Women are sexually objectified when viewed and treated by others as mere objects. Abundant research has examined the negative consequences of being the target of sexual objectification; however, limited attention has focused on the person doing the objectification. Our focus is on the agent and how self-regulatory resources influence sexual objectification. Consistent with prior evidence, we reasoned that people have a well-learned automatic response to objectify sexualized women, and as such, we expected objectifying a sexualized (vs. personalized) woman would deplete fewer regulatory resources than not objectifying her. Findings across three studies confirmed our expectations, demonstrating the extent to which people objectify a sexualized woman or not is influenced by the availability of regulatory resources, a case that heretofore has been absent from the literature. These patterns are discussed in the context of the sexual objectification and self-regulation literature.