In a study conducted in 2009, researchers tried to find a correlation between objectivism and gender. Objectivism was defined in the research as “perceiving a person as an object, and consequently, less than human” (Heflick et al). What they were specifically looking for was to see if a person’s level of “humanity” is determined or skewed by the image of that person, where as humanity is defined by having; “warmth”, morality, and competence.
Being human was described as having features of warmth, morality, and competence and a person lacking in some or all of those traits would be considered less human. Warmth was the concept of compassion and having intentions while competence was having the ability to act on the intentions and where morality is described on whether or not to carry out the actions. The theory is that the majority of someone’s worth is based solely off of their looks, similar to the cliché, judging a book by its cover.
Heflick et al gathered a sample size of one hundred and one undergrad students and showed the participants video clips of a male and female newscaster. The participants were then asked to rate the attractiveness, familiarity, appearance, and performance. From the responses, the researchers were able to find correlations between attractiveness and familiarity, but only for the female newscaster. For the male newscaster, they observed no correlation of any kind, meaning that despite what the participants thought of his appearance, the newscaster was still considered “fully human”. Because of the female newscaster’s appearance and her attractiveness, the participants rated her with less morality and less familiarity while receiving data that she was attractive.
This study’s findings show that women’s humanity is based off of appearance more frequently than men’s. Rather being attractive or unattractive, society views women as less than human and more of objects despite skill level, education, and other qualities that society determines a man’s worth. This finding may help to explain a part of why some women have a poor body image because they will be objectified and their worth based on appearance.
A study conducted in 2009 determines the humanity of women and tries to find a correlation between appearance and objectivism. The study asked participants to rate characteristics that would determine a level of “being human” for a female example and a male example. They found that the male, regardless of looks, was considered to be warm and moral, while the female was found to be attractive but lacking in familiarity. The conclusion of the study suggests that women are judged mainly on their looks and that objectifies them.
Work Cited:
Heflick, N., Goldenberg, J., Cooper, D., & Puvia, E. (2010). From Women To Objects: Appearance Focus, Target Gender, And Perceptions Of Warmth, Morality And Competence. <i>Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,</i> <i>47</i>(3), 572-581. Retrieved November 10, 2014, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210311000288X