ESRC End of Award Report

Transcription

1 ESRC End of Award Report For awards ending on or after 1 November 2009 This End of Award Report should be completed and submitted using the grant reference as the subject, to reportsofficer@esrc.ac.uk on or before the due date. The final instalment of the grant will not be paid until an End of Award Report is completed in full and accepted by ESRC. Grant holders whose End of Award Report is overdue or incomplete will not be eligible for further ESRC funding until the Report is accepted. We reserve the right to recover a sum of the expenditure incurred on the grant if the End of Award Report is overdue. (Please see Section 5 of the ESRC Research Funding Guide for details.) Please refer to the Guidance notes when completing this End of Award Report. Grant Reference RES Grant Title The impact of sexualized images on thoughts, perceptions and behaviours Grant Start Date 12. Sept Total Amount 80,489 Grant End Date 11. Sept Expended: Grant holding Institution University of Kent Grant Holder Ulrich Weger Grant Holder s Contact Details Address School of Psychology University of Kent, Canterbury, CT27NP Co-Investigators (as per project application): Stephen Loughnan u.weger@kent.ac.uk Telephone Institution University of Melbourne 1

2 1. Non-technical summary Please provide below a project summary written in non-technical language. The summary may be used by us to publicise your work and should explain the aims and findings of the project. [Max 250 words] Sexualized images are widespread in the media today. Such images depict the female body in a way that overemphasizes it s object-style nature. In our project we explored how the exposure to such images influences how men act toward women in their immediate environment and how these images affects women s self-image and the way they interact with others. In a first study, we directly explored this question by exposing men to sexually objectifying vs. non-objectifying images and then analyzed the interaction between the male participant and a female confederate. While the images did have an impact on men, we were not able to establish that this impact translates into a behavior toward a female target.. In the second study, we investigated cultural differences in the way individuals deal with sexually objectifying images and the extent to which this leads them to objectify themselves and others. It was found that Westerner show increased objectification by denying individuals more mental and moral capabilities. Our findings have broad ramifications for a society with a media-culture where sexually objectifying images are displayed routinely. 2. Project overview a) Objectives Please state the aims and objectives of your project as outlined in your proposal to the us. [Max 200 words] The proposed research aimed to understand the impact of sexualized images on how men think, feel, and act towards women. Sexualized images of women are commonplace. Despite their widespread acceptance, scientific literature revealed that sexualized images are harmful to beliefs about women by increasing rape supportive attitudes (Lanis & Covell, 1995), and rape myth acceptance (Kaestle, Halpern, & Brown, 2007); and by decreasing women s perceived humanity and moral standing (Heflick & Goldenberg, 2009; Loughnan, et al., 2010). Importantly, there is some evidence that sexualized images may change how men act towards women, increasing the likelihood for women to be victim of harassment (Maass, Cadinu, Guarnieri, & Grasselli, 2003) and undermining their perceived competence in a hypothetical hiring scenario (Vaes, Paldino, & Puvia, 2011). However, the real impact of such images on actual interaction has not been examined. The proposed research had three main objectives: 1. To examine the negative impact of sexualised images on men's thoughts, perceptions and interactions with women; 2. To understand people's awareness and response to this negative impact; 3. To test ways of reducing the negative impact of mass media sexualisation of women on how men think about, perceive and interact with women. 2

3 b) Project Changes Please describe any changes made to the original aims and objectives, and confirm that these were agreed with us. Please also detail any changes to the grant holder s institutional affiliation, project staffing or funding. [Max 200 words] We originally proposed to conduct a national survey of objectification. In preparing for this project, we discovered similar work by Miranda Horvath at the Middlesex University (Horvarth, Hegarty, Tyler, & Mansfield, 2011; Coy & Horvarth, 2011). Rather than risk duplicating her work, we refocused our survey at a more ambitious international level. We recruited people in seven diverse nations, three of which have never had objectification research conducted. Halfway through the project, in April 2012, the PI, Dr. Stephen Loughnan, returned to Australia; as agreed with the ESRC, the Research Associate, Dr. Elisa Puvia, went with the PI to Australia. The former Co-I, Dr. Ulrich Weger, took on Principal Investigatorship at that point. A workplan was outlined and agreed amongst the three of them prior to the departure of Dr. Loughnan and Dr. Puvia. c) Methodology Please describe the methodology that you employed in the project. Please also note any ethical issues that arose during the course of the work, the effects of this and any action taken. [Max 500 words] Study 1: Impact of sexualized images. In this study only male participants were recruited. A female confederate was employed to actually study male participants behaviour towards women after viewing such images. Participants were randomly assigned to look at pictures of sexually objectified vs. non-sexually objectified female targets. Afterwards, the participant and female confederate were put in the same cubicle and together completed an interaction task (e.g., to have a chat through a structured interview). Following this, participants went back to their cubicles and reported their level of satisfaction about the interaction (e.g., pleasant, boring,). Participants were then asked to report their perception of the female participant (e. g.: sexually interested, friendly, superficial,). Finally, participants intention to engage in future interactions with the female participant was assessed. Study 2: Cross-Cultural Objectification. Participants were recruited from seven nations (Australia, India, Japan, Pakistan, Italy, UK, and the US). Participants were first asked to complete a standard self-objectification questionnaire (i.e., importance of physical appearance over health). Next, participants completed the same scale rating women s and men s bodies, respectively. In the second part of the study participants were randomly assigned to one of four images; a sexualized man, non-sexualized man, a sexualized woman, or a non-sexualized woman. Participants were asked to provide their impressions of the target in three domains: personality traits, mind (e.g., the frequency with which the target engages in mental activities such as reasoning), and moral concern (e.g., How much the target deserve moral consideration?). 3

4 d) Project Findings Please summarise the findings of the project, referring where appropriate to outputs recorded on the ESRC website. Any future research plans should also be identified. [Max 500 words] Study 1: Impact of sexualized images. Based on the expected detrimental impact of sexualising images on male/female interactions, we hypothesised that after the exposure to images of sexually objectified female targets, male participants should be evaluated less positively, be less willing to interact longer and to engage in future interaction with a real female partner. Our hypotheses were generally not confirmed. Our findings show that male participants did not change their evaluation of the interaction with a female partner. No effect emerged regarding participants willingness to interact with a woman after the exposure to sexualized female targets. Finally, no significant results emerged relating to participants willingness to avoid future interaction with a female target. Study 2: Cross-Cultural Objectification. The results of this study broadly indicate that sexual objectification is primarily a Western phenomenon. Western cultures reported higher levels of every type of objectification. Second, objectification is primarily directed towards female targets. The results for other-objectification show that Westerners tend to objectify more than non- Westerners, denying moral concern and showing reduced attributions of rational mind related traits. These findings have important implications for understanding the origins of objectification, specifically the role of media and norms of public sexuality. Overall, the findings of this study provide support for a cultural relativism account of sexual objectification. e) Contributions to wider ESRC initiatives (eg Research Programmes or Networks) If your project was part of a wider ESRC initiative, please describe your contributions to the initiative s objectives and activities and note any effect on your project resulting from participation. [Max. 200 words] NA 4

5 3. Early and anticipated impacts a) Summary of Impacts to date Please summarise any impacts of the project to date, referring where appropriate to associated outputs recorded on the Research Outcomes System (ROS). This should include both scientific impacts (relevant to the academic community) and economic and societal impacts (relevant to broader society). The impact can be relevant to any organisation, community or individual. [Max. 400 words] 1. Paper published: Loughnan, S., Bratanova, B., & Puvia, E. (2012). The Meat Paradox; how are we able to love animals and love eating animals. In Mind Italy, 1, Talk at the University of Melbourne by S.Loughnan: Sexual Objectification: New findings and theory. Delivered on July 26 th, Symposium submitted by S.Loughnan: Understanding Sexual Objectification: The role of Culture. Annual Meeting of the Society of Personality and Social Psychologists, New Orleans, Loughnan, S., Fernandez, S., Vaes, J., Anjum, G., Aziz, M., Harada, C., Holland, E., Puvia, E., Singh, I., & Tsuchiya, K. (revise and resubmit). Sexual Objectification is common in Western, but not non-western nations: A seven nation study of sexual objectification. Psychology of Women Quarterly b) Anticipated/Potential Future Impacts Please outline any anticipated or potential impacts (scientific or economic and societal) that you believe your project might have in future. [Max. 200 words] The project addresses an important issue of broad relevance in our current society. It is expected that the outcome of this work will be of relevance to various organisations and charities, such as Women s Aid. It will also be important to individuals reviewing their own public media exposure and consumption. The results, which are being communicated via talks and publications, have also reached the mainstream audience, for example via the Italian outlet In Mind. You will be asked to complete an ESRC Impact Report 12 months after the end date of your award. The Impact Report will ask for details of any impacts that have arisen since the completion of the End of Award Report. 5

6 4. Declarations Please ensure that sections A, B and C below are completed and signed by the appropriate individuals. The End of Award Report will not be accepted unless all sections are signed. Please note hard copies are not required; electronic signatures are accepted and should be used. A: To be completed by Grant Holder Please read the following statements. Tick one statement under ii) and iii), then sign with an electronic signature at the end of the section (this should be an image of your actual signature). i) The Project This Report is an accurate overview of the project, its findings and impacts. All coinvestigators named in the proposal to ESRC or appointed subsequently have seen and approved the Report. X ii) Submissions to the Research Outcomes System (ROS) Output and impact information has been submitted to the Research Outcomes System. Details of any future outputs and impacts will be submitted as soon as they become available. or This grant has not yet produced any outputs or impacts. Details of any future outputs and impacts will be submitted to the Research Outcomes System as soon as they become available. X iii) Submission of Datasets Datasets arising from this grant have been offered for deposit with the Economic and Social Data Service. or Datasets that were anticipated in the grant proposal have not been produced and the Economic and Social Data Service has been notified. or No datasets were proposed or produced from this grant. 6