The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data
Sexual objectification is very common in modern Western societies, especially toward women. Previous research has suggested that in Western cultures, social power could lead to objectification. Specifically, power activates an approaching tendency toward useful targets, in turn leading to instrument...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00057/full |
| _version_ | 1819040924860153856 |
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| author | Lijuan Xiao Lijuan Xiao Baolin Li Lijun Zheng Fang Wang |
| author_facet | Lijuan Xiao Lijuan Xiao Baolin Li Lijun Zheng Fang Wang |
| author_sort | Lijuan Xiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sexual objectification is very common in modern Western societies, especially toward women. Previous research has suggested that in Western cultures, social power could lead to objectification. Specifically, power activates an approaching tendency toward useful targets, in turn leading to instrumental objectification and sexual objectification of targets. However, previous research has mostly focused on Western cultures, and the neural correlates underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. To examine whether the effects of power can be generalized to Chinese cultural contexts and how power promotes the objectification of sexualized bodies, we conducted two studies using Chinese samples. In Study 1, we replicated the behavioral effects of social power on sexual objectification. Specifically, we found that power increased sexual objectification toward sexualized female rather than male bodies. In Study 2, we examined the absence of an N170 amplitude inversion effect as a possible neural correlate of sexual objectification and replicated the effects of power on sexual objectification through event-related potentials (ERPs). For participants in a high-power group, the N170 amplitude inversion effect emerged when processing sexualized male bodies (less sexual objectification) but not female bodies (more sexual objectification); this effect was not seen for those participants in a low-power group. Our findings provide behavioral and neural data that power leads to increased sexual objectification toward sexualized women in Chinese participants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:16:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c895121aba6f433cba81801de58c965a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:16:50Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c895121aba6f433cba81801de58c965a2022-12-21T19:09:08ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-01-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.00057377199The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP DataLijuan Xiao0Lijuan Xiao1Baolin Li2Lijun Zheng3Fang Wang4Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, ChinaSchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaSexual objectification is very common in modern Western societies, especially toward women. Previous research has suggested that in Western cultures, social power could lead to objectification. Specifically, power activates an approaching tendency toward useful targets, in turn leading to instrumental objectification and sexual objectification of targets. However, previous research has mostly focused on Western cultures, and the neural correlates underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. To examine whether the effects of power can be generalized to Chinese cultural contexts and how power promotes the objectification of sexualized bodies, we conducted two studies using Chinese samples. In Study 1, we replicated the behavioral effects of social power on sexual objectification. Specifically, we found that power increased sexual objectification toward sexualized female rather than male bodies. In Study 2, we examined the absence of an N170 amplitude inversion effect as a possible neural correlate of sexual objectification and replicated the effects of power on sexual objectification through event-related potentials (ERPs). For participants in a high-power group, the N170 amplitude inversion effect emerged when processing sexualized male bodies (less sexual objectification) but not female bodies (more sexual objectification); this effect was not seen for those participants in a low-power group. Our findings provide behavioral and neural data that power leads to increased sexual objectification toward sexualized women in Chinese participants.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00057/fullpowersexual objectificationanalytical processingconfigural processinginversion effect |
| spellingShingle | Lijuan Xiao Lijuan Xiao Baolin Li Lijun Zheng Fang Wang The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data Frontiers in Psychology power sexual objectification analytical processing configural processing inversion effect |
| title | The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data |
| title_full | The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data |
| title_fullStr | The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data |
| title_short | The Relationship Between Social Power and Sexual Objectification: Behavioral and ERP Data |
| title_sort | relationship between social power and sexual objectification behavioral and erp data |
| topic | power sexual objectification analytical processing configural processing inversion effect |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00057/full |
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