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Hu Y, Pan Y, Yue L, Gao X. Self-objectification and eating disorders: the psychopathological and neural processes from psychological distortion to psychosomatic illness. PSYCHORADIOLOGY 2024; 4:kkae003. [PMID: 38666139 PMCID: PMC10946225 DOI: 10.1093/psyrad/kkae003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Yinying Hu
- Department of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Yafeng Pan
- Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China
- The State Key Lab of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejaing 310058, China
| | - Liming Yue
- Department of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Xiangping Gao
- Department of Applied Psychology, School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai 200234, China
- Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai 200234, China
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Cogoni C, Monachesi B, Mazza V, Grecucci A, Vaes J. Neural dynamics of vicarious physical pain processing reflect impaired empathy toward sexually objectified versus non-sexually objectified women. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14400. [PMID: 37578333 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Sexually objectified women are perceived as dehumanized. This may affect the behavioral and neural responses underlying the observer's empathic reactions for their physical pain, although this hypothesis still lacks empirical support. In the present study, we measured the electrophysiological activity of 30 participants (14 females and 16 males), in an empathy for physical pain paradigm in which pictures of sexualized and non-sexualized women were presented in painful and non-painful situations. The behavioral results revealed that sexualized women were evaluated as experiencing less pain than non-sexualized women. Neural evidence corroborated this finding showing that the perception of vicarious physical pain is lacking for sexualized women in both event-related potentials (ERPs) and brain oscillation domains. Specifically, the P2 component and the event-related synchronization/desynchronization (ERS/ERD) on the mu frequency band differed between painful and non-painful stimulation exclusively when women were not sexualized. Our results provide the first evidence that the neurophysiological responses to the vicarious experience of physical pain are dampened or even absent for sexualized women. These findings expand our understanding of the neurophysiological signatures of empathic processes and highlight the detrimental effect of a sexual-objectification bias in everyday contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Cogoni
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Bianca Monachesi
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Veronica Mazza
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Alessandro Grecucci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Jeroen Vaes
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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3
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Pecini C, Ruzzante D, Valtorta RR, Crapolicchio E, Cocco VM, Andrighetto L, Di Bernardo GA. Why Might Women Justify Dating Violence? The Role of Men's Sexual Objectification of Their Romantic Partners Within Heterosexual Relationships. JOURNAL OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 2023; 38:10664-10685. [PMID: 37227007 DOI: 10.1177/08862605231175515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Men's partner-sexual objectification has been linked to increased self-objectification and diminished well-being in women. Some recent findings have also demonstrated that men's partner-sexual objectification is related to increased violence in the relationship. However, mechanisms driving this association remain unexplored. In the present research, we collected data on women and men involved in heterosexual romantic relationships and investigated the associations between men's partner-sexual objectification, women's self-objectification, and both partners' attitudes toward dating violence. Study 1 (N = 171 heterosexual couples) provided first evidence for the link between men's partner-sexual objectification and their attitudes toward dating violence. Furthermore, men's attitudes toward dating violence mediated the relationship between sexual objectification of their partners and women's attitudes toward dating violence. These results were replicated in Study 2 (N = 235 heterosexual couples). Findings of this study also revealed that, along with men's attitudes toward dating violence, women's self-objectification acted as a mediating mechanism linking experiences of being sexually objectified by the romantic partner and attitudes toward dating violence in women. Implications of our findings for the issue of dating violence are discussed.
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Pecini C, Guizzo F, Bonache H, Borges-Castells N, Morera MD, Vaes J. Sexual objectification: advancements and avenues for future research. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2023.101261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
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5
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Guizzo F, Canale N, Fasoli F. Instagram Sexualization: When posts make you feel dissatisfied and wanting to change your body. Body Image 2021; 39:62-67. [PMID: 34175782 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Instagram is a visually centered social media that involves the presence of sexualized imagery posted by users. Such Instagram sexualization may have a negative impact on women's body image. The present study examined whether exposure to Instagram sexualization, namely posts of sexualized women along with appearance-related comments, affected women's body satisfaction and cosmetic surgery intentions. In doing so, it also considered the moderating role of Instagram Addiction Proclivity (IAP). Young Italian female participants (N = 247) were randomly exposed to one of four video conditions resulting from the combination of either sexualized or non-sexualized women's pictures on Instagram, paired with appearance or neutral comments. In the sexualized picture condition participants' body dissatisfaction increased compared to pre-exposure levels and to the non-sexualized picture condition. The type of comments did not affect participants' body satisfaction. Moreover, IAP predicted cosmetic surgery intentions and moderated their reactions to Instagram content. Indeed, the higher the IAP, the higher the cosmetic surgery intentions of participants viewing sexualized pictures with neutral comments and non-sexualized pictures with body appearance comments. These findings suggest that female Instagram users should be aware of the negative impacts of viewing sexualized imagery as well as the role that IAP may play.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Guizzo
- University of Surrey, School of Psychology, Stag Hill Campus, GU2 7HX, Guildford, United Kingdom; University of Padova, Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy.
| | - Natale Canale
- University of Padova, Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padova, Italy
| | - Fabio Fasoli
- University of Surrey, School of Psychology, Stag Hill Campus, GU2 7HX, Guildford, United Kingdom; Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, ISCTE-IUL, Av. das Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisboa, Portugal
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6
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Bernard P, De Laet M, Gervais SJ. Is body inversion effect a valid measure of women's objectification? Yes, it is! PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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7
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Cogoni C, Carnaghi A, Silani G. Reduced shared emotional representations toward women revealing more skin. Cogn Emot 2020; 35:225-240. [PMID: 32998646 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1826409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Extensive experimental research has been conducted to investigate how individuals empathise with others depending on contextual and motivational factors. However, the effect of sexual objectification (i.e. focus on the individual's physical appearance over his/her mental state) on empathy is scarce at best thus far. The aim of this work is to shed light on whether objectification modulates empathic responses toward humans and human-like objects. In Experiment 1, participants either underwent visuo-tactile stimulation or witnessed another person (a mannequin, a sexualized or a non-sexualized female confederate) being stimulated with pleasant or unpleasant objects. Participants were then asked to report either their own or the other's emotional experience. Results showed that shared representations (i.e. similarity between self-other emotional ratings) are significantly lower for the mannequin, intermediate for the sexualized woman, and reach the highest values for the non-sexualized woman. In Experiment 2, shared representations were assessed during a ball-tossing game in which the participants or one of the two confederates (sexualized or non-sexualized woman) were excluded from the game. Again, results showed reduced similarity between self-other emotional ratings toward sexualized as compared to non-sexualized women. The findings suggest that interacting with sexually objectified women reduces empathic responses typically observed within human relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Cogoni
- Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.,Neuroscience Sector, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy
| | - Andrea Carnaghi
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Giorgia Silani
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
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8
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The Drawback of Sexual Empowerment: Perceiving Women as Emancipated but Still as Sexual Objects. SEX ROLES 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11199-020-01192-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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9
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Wollast R, Riemer AR, Gervais SJ, Grigoryan L, Bernard P, Klein O. How cultural orientation and self-compassion shape objectified body consciousness for women from America, Belgium, Russia, and Thailand. SELF AND IDENTITY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/15298868.2020.1787220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin Wollast
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Department of Psychology, Université Libre De Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Sarah J. Gervais
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | | | - Philippe Bernard
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Department of Psychology, Université Libre De Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Olivier Klein
- Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Department of Psychology, Université Libre De Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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