The current study examined the psychological consequences of trait and state self
objectification. This study had three main objectives: to examine the relation between
trait self objectification and various eating pathologies; to examine the degree of state
self objectification (induced by three different conditions) and the impact of condition on
affect and sense of self; and finally, to examine the effect of condition on interactions
with the opposite sex. The pilot study was used to select thin, thin sexually objectifying
and average/plus size non-sexually objectifying images. Using a quasi-experimental
research design with an elaborate cover story, the main study exposed one hundred
seventy women to one of three conditions (thin non sexually objectifying, thin sexually
objectifying or plus size non-sexually objectifying images) and measured negative affect
and body image. Following viewing images, participants interacted with a male
confederate for five minutes and their reported comfort level and flirting with the
confederate were assessed. Results indicated that trait self objectification was associated
with disordered eating symptomatology. However, the manipulation check revealed that
the experimental condition did not produce varying degrees of sexual objectification.
Nonetheless, results indicate an effect of condition on body dissatisfaction, in which individuals who viewed thin images reported more body dissatisfaction than participants
in the above average/plus size group. In regards to the social interaction, individuals in
the non-sexually objectified group reported more flirting than individuals in the sexually
objectified group. Implications for clinical work and future research are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1851 |
| Date | 02 June 2009 |
| Creators | Clarke, Analesa N. |
| Contributors | Perez, Marisol |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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