www.postersession.com Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) is a framework for understanding the process by which women begin to view themselves as objects, valuing their bodies on the basis of appearance instead of performance or function. Self-objectification is theorized to be associated with body surveillance and increases in negative outcomes such as body shame, body dissatisfaction, depression, sexual dysfunction, and eating disorders (Noll & Fredrickson, 1998). Research on self-objectification has traditionally utilized one of two available explicit measures of self-objectification. While implicit measures have been developed for a number of attitudes and self-perceptions, to the best of our knowledge, no such measure has been developed for the construct of self- objectification. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to develop and examine the psychometric qualities of an implicit measure of self-objectification and compare relationships between explicit and implicit measures. As previous work has primarily examined women’s self-objectification a secondary purpose of the study was to examine potential gender differences/similarities on these measures. Implicit Measurement of Self-Objectification: Implications for Health Behaviors and Psychosocial Well-Being Marissa Wagner Oehlhof 1 , Jacob M. Burmeister 2 , Nova Hinman 2 , Caroline Coates 2 , Austin Brown 2 , Jessica Peternelj 2 , and Robert A. Carels 2 1 University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash College 2 Bowling Green State University Figure 1. Interaction of pornography use and body shame on body satisfaction among men (n = 49). Participants, which included 114 (49 male; 65 female) predominately White/ Caucasian (78.9%) and Black/African American (12.3%), first and second year (82.5%) undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university, completed measures of psychosocial outcomes (body satisfaction, depression, internalized weight bias), two explicit self-objectification measures (TSOQ and OBCS), and demographic measures of type and frequency of pornography use, weight loss efforts, and physical activity. • Trait Self-Objectification Questionnaire (TSOQ; Noll & Fredrickson, 1998) • Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS; McKinley & Hyde, 1996) • Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire – Appearance Evaluation subscale (Cash, 2000) • Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (Radloff, 1977) • Weight Bias Internalization Scale (Durso & Latner, 2008) • Self-Objectification Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants completed an electronic IAT with target category labels for bodily attributes (e.g., Appearance, Performance) and attribute category labels of rank (e.g., Important, Unimportant). For both men and women the explicit self-objectification measures (TSOQ and OBCS surveillance) were correlated, r(102) = .44, p < .01, but only one (TSOQ) was correlated with the IAT, r(85) = .22, p < .05. For both sexes, the OBCS-surveillance predicted depression (controlling for weight loss efforts), F(2, 113) = 6.11, p < .05, internalized weight bias (controlling for BMI and weight loss efforts), F(3, 113) = 18.51, p < .01, body satisfaction (controlling for BMI and weight loss efforts), F(3, 113) = 11.11, p < .01, and weight loss efforts, F(1, 113) = 6.92, p = .01, while the OBCS-control predicted physical activity (controlling for BMI), F(2, 113) = 6.06, p < .05. For both sexes, internet porn use negatively predicted body satisfaction (controlling for BMI and weight loss efforts), F(3, 113) = 8.90, p < .05. However, for men, analyses also indicated an interaction between pornography use and body shame, such that men who reported high levels of both body shame and pornography usage reported the lowest body satisfaction, F(3, 48) = 9.44, p < .01 (see Figure 1). Among men, the IAT was correlated with one explicit self-objectification measure (OBCS-surveillance), r(37) = .37, p < .05, and among women, the IAT only predicted internet pornography use, F(1, 56) = 7.96, p < .05. Similarly, among women, greater self-objectification (TSOQ) was related to greater internet pornography use, r(59) = .28, p < .05. The findings, though complex, suggest that self-objectification is a likely a relevant construct in the lives of both men and women and can be measured implicitly. However, the appropriate use of various measures of self-objectification may depend on the specific research questions as well as gender of the sample. One notable limitation involves the measure of pornography use. Beyond basic types (Internet, video, and magazine) and frequency, further research is needed to determine whether other distinctions have influence, such as how it is used (i.e., privately or in the presence of others) and various subtypes (e.g., violent/aggressive, LGBT, female- oriented). Given the objectifying nature of much pornography, it is not possible from this data to determine whether the viewing of pornography contributed to higher rates of self- objectification or whether those with a greater tendency toward self-objectification are more likely to consume pornography. Further, while pornography use among men is correlated with almost everything except self-objectification, whether pornography use is associated with objectifying toward others is ultimately a question for future research. Method Discussion Introduction Results References Cash, T. F. (2000). The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire Users’ Manual. Available from the author at www.body-images.com. Durso, L. E., & Latner, J. D. (2008). Understanding self-directed stigma: Development of the Weight Bias Internalization Scale. Obesity, 16, S80-S86. Fredrickson, B. L. & Roberts, T. A. (1997). Objectification theory: An explanation for women’s lived experience and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206. McKinley, N. M. & Hyde, J. S. (1996). The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale: Development and validation. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 20(2), 181-215. Noll, S. N., & Fredrickson, B. L. (1998). A mediational model of linking self-objectification, body shame, and disordered eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22, 623-636. Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401. Table 1 Means and Standard Deviations of Study Variables