Method

1. Have You Left Me Speechless? It Depends...: The Effect of Sexual Objectification on Self-Presentation and Self-Regulation Researchers: Wendy L. Wolfe, Vann B. Scott, William Worrell, Jesse Moore, Wendy Lozo, CosimaHoetger, Dujon Curtis, Brandi Hill, & Jonathan Shay aged student) was taken into account in a 2x2x2 ANOVA; there was a significant interaction found between participant age and personal objectification condition (audio vs. video/body) on talking time [F(1,65)=4.67, p<.05, ηp2=.067]. The nature of the interaction is shown in the Figure. Consistent with the effect of the personal objectification manipulation on NT participants, they were less likely to have felt “like a body” during the introduction task [t(71)=3.25, p<.01]. Two 2x2 between-groups ANOVA’s were conducted to test the effect of the objectification manipulations on self-regulation resources. Less noxious beverage was consumed by participants in the body/video condition (M=3.40, SD=3.59) when compared to the audio condition (M=5.18, SD=5.23), although the difference was not statistically significant [F(1,69)=2.44, p=.12, ηp2=.034]. Age did not interact with personal objectification here. There also was no effect of objectification on talking time estimation accuracy. Finally, exposure to general objectification of women was not related to any of the dependent variables. Introduction Method Long-term exposure to sexually objectified images of women in the media and/or personal experiences of sexual objectification has been proposed to affect women's self-perception, body image, and the development of clinical syndromes. Moreover, experimental research has found that even a brief objectification experience can affect the way women present themselves. Saguy, Quinn, Dovidio, and Pratto (2010) investigated the effects of sexual objectification within the context of interpersonal interaction and found that female participants spent significantly less time talking during a personal introduction when they believed that a male participant was viewing them from the neck down via closed circuit television as opposed to either viewing their face or hearing their voice.  Saguy et al. provided two possible explanations for their results. The first explanation is that women talk less because they attempt to conform to a stereotype activated by the objectification. A second explanation is that less talking time may have occurred because cognitive resources were consumed by regulating concerns about physical appearance.        The current investigation replicates the Saguy et al. study, and adds two measures of self-regulation resources in order to test the second hypothesis: talking time estimation accuracy and consumption of a noxious beverage. The additional effect of priming through exposure to sexually objectified images of women in a popular videogame was also explored in order to compare the separate and additive effects of general versus personal objectification.  Based on the most impactful condition in their study, we limited our study to focus on the situation of a female participant introducing herself to an alleged male counterpart in either a high objectification (body/video) or low objectification (audio only) condition.       Sexual objectification can occur through a variety of media. However, we decided to use videogame exposure as this form of media has been under-investigated, outside of research on the effects of videogame exposure on aggression in males. We hypothesized that brief exposure to sexually objectifying videogame images would sensitize participants to personal objectification during the introduction task, and that both objectification experiences would be associated with decreased talking time during the introduction task and depletion of self-regulation resources). Participants The participants in this study were 75 heterosexual women from a small public university in the Southeast (age M = 21.5 yrs., SD = 6). The majority of women were Caucasian (64%), followed by African-American (27%). Materials Two small rooms were utilized during the experiment. Videogame exposure was conducted using a 36-in TV, Sony Play Station 2 controller, and hidden DVD player containing a recording of either a sexually explicit scene from the popular game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, or a neutral scene containing normal game play from the same game. During the introduction task, a stop watch, video camera, wireless router, and 19-in TV were used. The unpleasant tasting liquid consisted of vinegar and cherry Kool-Aid. Procedure Participants were greeted by a female researcher at the designated meeting place. The participant was informed that the experimental room was not quite ready and they were escorted to a waiting area where a male confederate was already waiting. Depending on the condition, the confederate was to simulate playing the videogame with the strip club scene or a neutral scene. After approximately six minutes, the researcher returned to retrieve the participant and took her to the experimental room. The participant completed a two-minute introduction task in which she believed a male student in another room was either watching her body from the neck down (video) or only hearing her voice (audio). Two way radio communication with a male confederate and a display of the participant’s body (turned black for the audio only condition) were used to heighten the believability of the introduction task. The participant’s talking time during the introduction task was later measured by a rater blind to condition. She then completed a task consisting of consuming as many 1 oz cups of an unpleasant tasting liquid as she could for a reward of $.05 per cup. This task has been used to assess availability of self-regulation resources, such that fewer resources are typically associated with less beverage consumption (Vohs, 2006). Lastly, the participant was logged onto the Survey Monkey website for remaining questionnaires and manipulation checks. First, she was asked to estimate how long she talked during the two-minute introduction task. Accuracy of talking time estimation was used as a second measure of self-regulation resources. Manipulation check measures followed and included a rating of the degree to which the participant felt like a body during the introduction task, as well as open-ended questions to assess the participant’s awareness of our hypotheses and the manipulations used in the study. Finally, a demographic questionnaire was completed and the participant received a partial debriefing (a full debriefing followed data collection for the study). Conclusion The results we obtained in our study do not precisely mimic those of Saguy et al’s. Although women that were led to believe their body was being viewed by a male talked less than those in the audio condition, this effect was exclusive to women of traditional college age (ages 18-22). Women of nontraditional college age (over 22 years of age) were found to be more comfortable and talked significantly more than the traditional female students. One potential explanation for this effect would be increased interpersonal comfort and decreased body anxiety among “older” women. In addition to these findings, subjection to videogame images of sexual objectification failed to impact participant self-presentation. It could be that longer-term exposure or interaction with the images via game play is required to influence later interpersonal interaction. Interestingly, it does not appear that objectification influences self-presentation via depletion of self-regulation resources. Saguy et al. proposed an alternative explanation, that women may be attempting to align their self-presentation with what they believe is expected of them as sex objects. This hypothesis should be confirmed through further research. Results A 2x2 between-groups ANOVA was used to test if the objectification manipulations had an effect on talking time during the introduction task. Results showed that participants in the audio only condition (M=51.21, SD=22.18) talked longer than participants in the body/video condition (M=42.22, SD=18.58). However, this difference did not reach statistical significance [F(1,70)=3.2, p=.078, ηp2=.044]. Participant age (T=traditionally aged students; NT=non-traditionally References Saguy, T., Quinn, D. M., Dovidio, J. F., & Pratoo, F. (2010). Interacting like a body: Objectification can lead women to narrow their presence in social interactions. Psychological Science, 21, 178-182. Vohs, K. D. (2006). Self-regulatory resources power the reflective system: Evidence from five domains. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16, 215-221. For further information, contact: Dr. Wendy Wolfe (wendy.wolfe@armstrong.edu or Dr. Vann Scott (vann.scott@armstrong.edu) Thanks to student members of the Scott-Wolfe lab group for their assistance with this project.