Self-objectification Theory Research Articles

How Do Social Media Affect Social Appearance Anxiety of Chinese High School StudentsTake Little Red Book for an Example

As technology popularizes and advances by leaps and bounds, social media has become an increasing part of teenagers lives. Social media use can shape mentality and change people's behavior, which may lead to social appearance anxiety. Adolescents are exposed to messages containing certain characteristics when browsing social networks, such as the tendency of people to show their relatively perfect body image on social media, producing low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence issues. Individuals with social appearance anxiety typically hold negative views of their bodies and appearance, and they often try to hide features or body parts that they dislike. Combining with Social Comparison Theory, people tend to compare themselves to other people, including comparing their looks to those celebrities we see on social media platforms. Such a trend is particularly pronounced and on the rise among adolescent females. Drawing on Self-Objectification Theory, the research examines how social media affects the level of Chinese female high school students' social appearance anxiety, using Little Red Book, a common social media used by the Chinese youth population, as an example. The paper uses online case study of self-reports and online questionnaire survey to analyze the present days social appearance anxiety issue among Chinese high school students in the society. The context of this essay includes the cause and effect of social appearance anxiety due to social media; correlation studies and analyses of appearance concerns are relevant to online activities, especially selfies related that receive through social media.

Самообъективация, социальные сети и психическое здоровье

<p style="text-align: justify;">The paper presents a review of foreign studies on social and psychopathological consequences of self-objectification. The chief provisions of self-objectification theory, which is briefly discussed in the paper, includes the subject’s disposition to regard one’s body from the point of view of an external spectator, when one’s value is defined solely by one’s physical attractiveness in the eyes of others (B. Fredrickson, T. Roberts). Social networks are considered the ever-growing source of objectification and self-objectification due to the high popularity of sexualized content and the wide spread of selfie posting, which urges girls and women to regard their bodies from the point of view of the outside observer. The paper describes the consequences of self-objectification for mental health. Self-objectification is closely linked to body image disturbances, body shame, guilt, low self-esteem, appearance-related worry and emotional problems. It also has an impact on the emergence and persistence of eating disorders, depression, and suicidal and self-injurious behaviors. Self-objectification is more pronounced in women due to sexualizing beliefs about female bodies that are highly prevalent in modern society. Women start to evaluate their bodies and their attractiveness in the eyes of others early in their lives, and it often happens to the detriment of their own experiences and needs.</p>

The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Self-objectification in Female College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-esteem

In order to explore the effects of childhood traumatic experiences and individual self-esteem level on female college students' self-objectification level and the functional mechanism, this study proposed hypotheses and constructed a model based on self-objectification theory and self-schema theory, and then used an online questionnaire to investigate 530 female college students. The results indicated that: (1) the traumatic experiences of female college students in childhood have a significant positive effect on their self-objectification level, which means that the more likely an individual is to objectify himself if he has experienced a traumatic event in childhood. (2)Female college students' self-esteem level has a full mediation effect between childhood trauma and self-objectification level. According to the results, this study has supplemented and proved the inducing factors of female self-objectification.

A Survey of Motivations and Concerned Psychological Characteristics of Sexy Clothing among College Students

Contemporary young people often express their pursuit of sexy beauty by sexy clothing. It is of great significance to investigate their motivations and concerned psychological characteristics of sexy clothing behavior based on the aesthetic theory and self-objectification theory. 558 college students from three key universities in Nanjing were investigated with Body Monitoring Scale(BMS) and the self-designed questionnaire, it was found that the motivations mainly includes sexy performance motivation, self-objectification motivation, body comfort motivation and homosexual competition motivation; although sexy performance motivation is related to aesthetic motivation, it is also closely related to self-objectification motivation; it’s imperative to carry out clothing aesthetics education for college students.

031 Can We Give What We Don't Own: Self-objectification's Role in Sexual Consent Behaviors and Attitudes

Sexual assault and other non-consensual sexual activity is an epidemic in the United States. It is estimated that 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual consent is the fine line that determines if an individual has been sexual assaulted. Even with the popular affirmative consent campaigns, the frequency of sexual assault on college campuses remains high, suggesting a new approach is needed to help reduce victimization. Self-Objectification theory (Fredrikson and Roberts, 1997), suggests there are psychological consequences to being a woman in the United States. Self-Objectification theory states that women who constantly receive objectifying messages through the mass media and interpersonal interactions might come to internalize these messages and subsequently start to self-objectify. Self-Objectification has been linked to depression, eating disorders, and sexual dysfunction in women. Self-objectification can cause women to take an observer’s perspective on their body, decreasing their interoceptive awareness (IA), or their capacity to recognize and interpret internal and bodily signals. Past research has found that a women’s level of IA is a valid measure of how much she self-objectifies.As self-objectification leads to a decreased IA, it could be possible that women are unable to interpret bodily signals of consent. This is consistent with the current conceptualizations of consent as having three distinct forms: (1) an internal state of willingness, (2) an act of explicitly agreeing to something, and (3) a behavior that someone interprets as willingness (Muehlenhard et al., 2016). Very little research has been conducted to find what factors are related to consent behaviors.

Internalised White Ideal, Skin Tone Surveillance, and Hair Surveillance Predict Skin and Hair Dissatisfaction and Skin Bleaching among African American and Indian Women

Women of Colour are subject to unique pressures regarding their appearance due to racialised beauty standards and the pre-eminence of White features (e.g., skin tone and hair texture). Through associated self-objectification, Women of Colour can face negative outcomes, including negative thoughts and feelings about body features, and can engage in potentially dangerous behaviours like skin bleaching. The present research investigated the connection between internalisation of White beauty standards and Women of Colour’s dissatisfaction with their skin and hair as well as their use of cosmetic products to attempt to meet White beauty ideals. Participants were 149 African American women from the United States and 168 Indian women living in India. Results reveal that internalisation of White beauty ideals predicted skin tone and hair texture dissatisfaction as well as skin bleaching. Results also suggest that these associations are indirectly mediated by surveillance of skin tone and hair texture. Findings are discussed in relation to self-objectification theory and representations of racialised beauty standards. These findings suggest that in order to reduce the negative effects of internalisation of White ideals on Women of Colour, White standards of beauty ought to be targeted and dismantled. Broadening of beauty standards and increasing positive media representations of Women of Colour may also be important.

The Relationship between social media and body image of women: Applying Self-Objectification Theory

The Relationship between social media and body image of women: Applying Self-Objectification Theory

Self-Objectification and the Use of Body Image Coping Strategies: The Role of Shame in Highly Physically Active Women.

We investigated the mediating role of body shame in the relationship between self-objectification and body image coping strategies in highly physically active university women. Bivariate correlations revealed body shame was positively related to self-objectification, appearance fixing, and avoidance coping but unrelated to positive rational acceptance. In addition, self-objectification was positively related to appearance fixing and avoidance coping but unrelated to positive rational acceptance. Mediation analyses showed that body shame partially mediated the relationship between self-objectification and avoidance and appearance fixing coping but did not mediate the relationship between self-objectification and positive rational acceptance. Future research should examine other potential mediators or moderators in this relationship and explore the role of positive body image framed within self-objectification theory.

The Relationship Between Body Image Concerns, Eating Disorders and Internet Use, Part II: An Integrated Theoretical Model

The last decade has seen a huge rise in Internet use, including social media, particularly among youth, and preliminary evidence of a relationship between Internet use and increased body image concerns and eating pathology has emerged. However, to date, considerations of theoretical perspectives that might guide this direction of research are lacking. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to provide an analysis of the different theoretical contexts in which Internet use may be studied, and propose an integrative framework for research among adolescents. It reviews five important theoretical models of the development of body image concerns and eating pathology and discusses their usefulness as frameworks within which to explore the relationships between Internet and social media use and body image concerns and eating pathology. Specifically, it critically evaluates sociocultural theory, feminist and self-objectification theory, impression management theory, social identity theory, and gratification theory. Finally, drawing on these five theories, it presents an integrated model and proposes a framework within which to ground research focusing on the relationships between Internet and social media use, and body image concerns and eating pathology. It ends with suggestions for future research among adolescents within the proposed framework.

The Role of Body Image in the Relationship Between Internet Use and Bulimic Symptoms: Three Theoretical Frameworks.

Exposure to traditional media has been associated with bulimic symptoms. However, to date, little is known regarding the effects of Internet exposure. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between Internet use and bulimic symptoms within the competing frameworks of sociocultural, impression management, and self-objectification theory. A sample of 289 French women aged 18-25 years completed an online questionnaire assessing bulimic symptoms, body dissatisfaction, body image avoidance, self-surveillance, body shame, and weekly Internet use. Bootstrapping analyses revealed that body shame and body image avoidance mediated the effect of weekly Internet use on bulimic symptoms. Furthermore, when entered into a multiple mediation analysis, these two variables provided independent mediation pathways of equal magnitude. The findings support the usefulness of both the self-objectification and impression management frameworks for investigating the relationship between Internet use and bulimic symptoms. Longitudinal research would help to clarify these pathways further.

Sexist humor as a trigger of state self-objectification in women

AbstractWe conducted two experiments to test the possibility that sexist humor triggers a state of self-objectification in women. Our findings supported two hypotheses derived from self-objectification theory. In Experiment 1, we found that women (but not men) reported greater state self-objectification following exposure to sexist comedy clips than neutral comedy clips. Experiment 2 replicated this finding for women and further demonstrated that sexist humor causes women to engage in more body surveillance compared to neutral humor.

Extending the evidence base for eating disorders prevention: the impact of a dissonance-based intervention on positive body image, intuitive eating and self-objectification

Recently, there have been significant advances in eating disorders (ED) prevention. Cognitive dissonance programs have demonstrated reductions in ED risk factors outlined in the dual pathway model (Stice, 1994) among university-age women in the USA and the UK. However, self-objectification theory proposes additional empirically supported risk-factors for EDs. In addition, body image research has recently expanded its focus to consider the promotion of positive body image. The present study examines the impact of a dissonance-based intervention on self-objectification, positive body image, and intuitive eating. Sixty-nine British women (M=19.06 years) took part in the intervention as part of their undergraduate psychology coursework. A separate sample of 47 undergraduate women formed a non-randomized control group. Baseline measures typically used to evaluate the intervention were administered alongside measures of self-objectification, positive body image, intuitive eating and life satisfaction pre- and immediate post- intervention, and at 8-week follow-up. As hypothesised, the intervention led to significant improvements relative to the control group in body dissatisfaction, dietary restraint, surveillance, body shame, body appreciation and intuitive eating at post-intervention and 8 week follow-up. It also improved life satisfaction at post-intervention only. The results suggest that dissonance-based interventions have benefits beyond risk factors identified in the dual-pathway model. This abstract was presented in the Prevention & Public Health stream of the 2014 ANZAED Conference.

Reducing self-objectification: are dissonance-based methods a possible approach?

BackgroundPrevious research has documented that self-objectification is associated with numerous negative outcomes including body shame, eating disorder (ED) pathology, and negative affect. This exploratory open study investigated whether or not an evidence-based body image improvement program that targets thin-ideal internalization in university women also reduces self-objectification. A second aim of the study was to determine if previous findings showing that body shame mediated the relationship between self-objectification and eating disorder pathology at a single time point (consistent with self-objectification theory) but did not mediate longitudinally (inconsistent with self-objectification theory) would be replicated in a new sample under novel conditions.MethodsNinety-six university women completed a peer-led dissonance-based intervention, along with assessment measures at pre-, post-intervention, 8-week and 8-month follow-up. To address the open trial nature of this study, a planned manipulation check was included to make sure that peer-led dissonance decreased thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, eating disorder pathology, and negative affect with effect sizes being similar to past randomized controlled trials. We hypothesized that all three subscales of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (i.e., self-surveillance, body shame, and appearance control beliefs) would be reduced. In addition, we hypothesized that body shame would mediate the relationship between self-objectification (i.e., self-surveillance) and eating disorder pathology at a both at a single time point and longitudinally.ResultsThe planned manipulation check supported the interpretation that peer-led dissonance in this study largely yielded comparable changes to past controlled trials. In terms of changes in dependent variables, results supported all hypotheses with the exception of body shame, which remained unchanged. With regards to the mediation analyses, our first (cross-sectional) hypothesis but not our second (longitudinal) was supported.ConclusionsFindings provide preliminary support for the use of dissonance interventions in reducing self-surveillance and body control beliefs. Results for body shame and the mediation analyses suggest that greater scrutiny of the body shame construct is warranted.

Self-objectification and ideal body shape for men and women

Objectification theory posits that valuing one's body for appearance rather than performance is associated with a range of negative psychological outcomes. This theory has been tested in women, but has received less empirical attention in men. This study examined the relation between self-objectification and ideal body shape in both men and women. One hundred eighty-three college students (111 women, 72 men) completed a questionnaire containing measures of self-objectification and ideal body shape (using a figure array ranging from non-muscular to very muscular). Consistent with hypotheses, women desired a less muscular body and men desired a more muscular body. Women also self-objectified more than men. In addition, there was an interaction between sex and self-objectification on ideal body shape. For women, higher self-objectification scores were related to a desire for a less muscular body. For men, higher self-objectification scores were related to a desire for a more muscular body. Self-objectification theory is a useful framework for understanding body image issues in men. However, the relation between self-objectification and other body related variables may differ for men and women.

Factors Related to Engagement in Risky Appearance Management Behaviors

Using self-objectification theory we investigated variables that predict engagement in risky appearance management behaviors among female college students. We found self-objectification was related to engagement in risky appearance management behaviors. Interaction about appearance with friends and family members was also related to engagement in risky appearance management behaviors. Both beliefs about appearance and internalization of appearance ideals were influences on self-objectification.

The Romance of Self-objectification: Does Priming Romantic Relationships Induce States of Self-objectification Among Women?

Objectification theory suggests that women internalize an observer’s perspective on the body (self objectification; Fredrickson and Roberts, Psychol Women Q 22:173–206, 1997); however, certain contexts and thoughts may make self-objectification more likely. Because the pursuit of relationships is tied to attractiveness, the present study examines whether women have an automatic link between self-objectification and romantic relationships. Using a US undergraduate sample, women (N = 86) of different relationship statuses were either exposed to relationship-related or neutral words in a lexical decision making task. Following relationship priming, single women showed greater self-objectification and women in relationships showed less self-objectification. These findings are discussed in terms of self-objectification theory and the importance of attractiveness and beauty in the pursuit of relationships.

Power and the objectification of social targets.

Objectification has been defined historically as a process of subjugation whereby people, like objects, are treated as means to an end. The authors hypothesized that objectification is a response to social power that involves approaching useful social targets regardless of the value of their other human qualities. Six studies found that under conditions of power, approach toward a social target was driven more by the target's usefulness, defined in terms of the perceiver's goals, than in low-power and baseline conditions. This instrumental response to power, which was linked to the presence of an active goal, was observed using multiple instantiations of power, different measures of approach, a variety of goals, and several types of instrumental and noninstrumental target attributes. Implications for research on the psychology of power, automatic goal pursuit, and self-objectification theory are discussed.

When the Relationship Becomes Her: Revisiting Women's Body Concerns from a Relationship Contingency Perspective

Given women's communally oriented socialization and social pressures to find romantic partners, many heterosexual women may derive self-worth from having romantic relationships (relationship contingency). Across two studies, we explored whether relationship contingency heightens women's body shame. Studies 1A and 1B found that relationship contingency causes body shame among women. In Study 2, relationship contingency predicted greater bulimic symptoms, which was mediated fully by greater body shame. Using both experimental methods and structural equation modeling, these studies demonstrate a link between relationship contingency and body shame that is not explained by appearance contingency (basing self-esteem on one's physical appearance). Results are discussed in terms of self-objectification theory, contingencies of self-worth, mate preferences, and close relationships.

The swimsuit becomes us all: ethnicity, gender, and vulnerability to self-objectification.

Self-objectification theory posits and past research has found that Caucasian women's body image is negatively affected by a stigma of obesity and sociocultural norm of thinness that leads women to self-focus from a critical external perspective. However, research in this area is limited by its methodology and the restricted demographic composition of its study participants. The current study tested 176 men and 224 women of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American descent in a situation that induced a state of self-objectification (e.g., wearing a one-piece Speedo bathing suit) or that served as a control condition (e.g., wearing a sweater). Contrary to previous research, when put in a self-objectifying situation, men and women of every ethnicity experienced negative outcomes (e.g., lower math performance) that parallel those previously found for Caucasian women.

Self-Objectification and Its Psychological Outcomes for College Women

The objectification of women by our society can become internalized by women, resulting in negative psychological outcomes. Using Fredrickson and Roberts' (1997) objectification theory, we tested a model of the relationships between self-objectification and disordered eating and depressive symptoms in a sample of undergraduate women ( n = 384). One postulate of self-objectification theory is that self-objectification can lead to a lack of internal awareness, which may mediate the relationship between self-objectification and restrictive eating, bulimic, and depressive symptoms. Results of structural equation modeling suggest that self-objectification has a direct relationship to restrictive eating, bulimic, and depressive symptoms. The mediational role of internal awareness was relevant for depressive symptoms but not for restrictive eating or bulimic symptoms. Depressive symptoms did, however, mediate the relationship between self-objectification and bulimic symptoms. The relevance of our findings to the understanding of objectification theory are discussed and future areas of research recommended.