Abstract

Self-objectification occurs when women view themselves as objects for use. Two studies investigated whether individual differences in cultural disposition (valuing equality vs. authority) relate to the extent of self-objectification and implicit dehumanization of other sexualized women. Study 1 employed a survey methodology to examine the relationships between cultural disposition, the trait of gender specific system-justification, and the trait of self-objectification. Results showed that participants with greater vertical collectivism (accepting inequality) exhibited stronger system-justification and self-objectification. In contrast, the higher tendency of horizontal collectivism (valuing equality) was negatively associated with system justification and self-objectification. Study 2 tested whether the increasing tendency towards horizontal vs. vertical collectivism was related to implicit dehumanization of other sexualized males and females. To examine the dehumanizing perceptions of objectified men and women, an implicit association test (IAT) was introduced which compared objectified male and female targets in eliciting associations with humans and animals. According to the results, female participants with greater horizontal collectivism reported decreasing scores of implicit dehumanization toward other sexualized women. These findings suggest that individual differences in cultural disposition might be associated with the trait of self-objectification, the extent of rationalizing the gender status and implicit dehumanization toward other objectified females.