TY - JOUR
T1 - When do people "check out" male bodies? Appearance-focus increases the objectifying gaze toward men
AU - Bernard, Philippe
AU - Gervais, Sarah J.
AU - Holland, Arianne M.
AU - Dodd, Michael D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by a Layman Award to Sarah J. Gervais from the Office of Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This research was also supported in part by the McNair Scholars Program Summer Research Internship (U.S. Department of Education), the Research Experience for Undergraduates Award (National Science Foundation), and the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences Program (Pepsi Endowment) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to Arianne M. Holland
Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by a Layman Award to Sarah J. Gervais from the Office of Research at the University of Nebraska– Lincoln. This research was also supported in part by the McNair Scholars Program Summer Research Internship (U.S. Department of Education), the Research Experience for Undergraduates Award (National Science Foundation), and the Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences Program (Pepsi Endowment) from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln to Arianne M. Holland.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Psychological Association.
PY - 2018/7
Y1 - 2018/7
N2 - Objectification studies have mostly focused on why and how women are objectified, but relatively little is known about what drives the objectification of men. This article aims to examine the objectifying gaze toward men, which is operationalized in the present article as decreased focus on men's faces and increased focus on men's body parts (arms, chest, and stomach). We considered the role of appearance (vs. personality) focus and ideal body shape on the objectifying gaze toward men. Specifically, we instructed 65 participants (36 men) to either evaluate the appearance or the personality of men while their eyes were monitored. To assess the objectifying gaze, we examined dwell time (i.e., total time spent fixating on an area) on targets' face, arms, chest, and stomach as well as first fixation time (i.e., how quickly face, arms, and stomach were fixated relative to the onset of the image). Consistent with our main hypothesis, results indicated that appearance-focused participants looked at faces for less time and chests, arms, and stomachs for more time than personality-focused participants. Participants also looked at men's arms for more time for men's bodies with high (vs. average and low) ideal body shapes. We discus these results and their implications in the light of objectification and body perception theories.
AB - Objectification studies have mostly focused on why and how women are objectified, but relatively little is known about what drives the objectification of men. This article aims to examine the objectifying gaze toward men, which is operationalized in the present article as decreased focus on men's faces and increased focus on men's body parts (arms, chest, and stomach). We considered the role of appearance (vs. personality) focus and ideal body shape on the objectifying gaze toward men. Specifically, we instructed 65 participants (36 men) to either evaluate the appearance or the personality of men while their eyes were monitored. To assess the objectifying gaze, we examined dwell time (i.e., total time spent fixating on an area) on targets' face, arms, chest, and stomach as well as first fixation time (i.e., how quickly face, arms, and stomach were fixated relative to the onset of the image). Consistent with our main hypothesis, results indicated that appearance-focused participants looked at faces for less time and chests, arms, and stomachs for more time than personality-focused participants. Participants also looked at men's arms for more time for men's bodies with high (vs. average and low) ideal body shapes. We discus these results and their implications in the light of objectification and body perception theories.
KW - Eye tracking
KW - Impression formation
KW - Objectifying gaze
KW - Person perception
KW - Sexual objectification
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U2 - 10.1037/men0000122
DO - 10.1037/men0000122
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85028516798
SN - 1524-9220
VL - 19
SP - 484
EP - 489
JO - Psychology of Men and Masculinity
JF - Psychology of Men and Masculinity
IS - 3
ER -