Abstract
Human bodies are sometimes cognitively objectified, i.e., processed less configurally and more analytically, in a way that resembles how most objects are perceived. Whereas how people process images of sexualized bodies appearing in the mass media has been well documented; whether subtler manifestations of sexualization, such as wearing makeup, might elicit cognitive objectification of ordinary women’s faces, remains unclear. The present paper aims at filling this gap. We hypothesized that faces wearing makeup would be processed less configurally than faces wearing no makeup. Sixty participants took part in a face recognition task, in which faces wearing or not wearing makeup were presented. In regards to faces with no makeup, people recognized face parts better in the context of whole faces than in isolation, which served as evidence of configural processing. In regards to faces wearing makeup, face parts were recognized equally well when presented in isolation vs. in the context of whole faces; evidence of a lower configural processing. That pattern of results was driven by eye makeup (vs. lipstick). Implications for research on objectification and sexualization are discussed.
Highlights
Human bodies are sometimes cognitively objectified, i.e., processed less configurally and more analytically, in a way that resembles how most objects are perceived
A vast literature in psychology and neuroscience demonstrates that people process a stimulus either as a global physical entity, as if the focus was on the forest, or as a set of parts, as if the focus was on the trees
Most research on objectification and sexualization has documented how body sexualization triggers cognitive objectification and related dehumanization, showing that sexualized bodies are less likely to be processed as wholes and more likely to be processed in an analytic, part-based manner, in a way that resembles how most objects are typically processed
Summary
The Face of Sexualization: Faces Wearing Makeup are Processed Less Configurally than Faces Without Makeup. In regards to faces wearing makeup, face parts were recognized well when presented in isolation vs in the context of whole faces; evidence of a lower configural processing. Such enhanced recognition of parts in the presence of the whole stimulus (vs in isolation) is typically observed for human faces and bodies, not for objects (for a review, see Maurer et al, 2002) Using this paradigm, Gervais, Vescio, Maass, Förster and Suitner (2012) presented images of fully clothed bodies and found that male sexual body parts were better recognized in the context of the whole body rather than in isolation. Concerning faces without makeup, we expected that recognition performance would be improved when face parts are presented in a whole face context vs in isolation, evidencing configural processing. We agree to share on request anonymized data files from this research with other qualified professionals in order to confirm the conclusions of the research
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