Brains over beauty: A preregistered test of the effects of objectification on women's cognitive performance.

The present study was a preregistered, well-powered experimental test of findings related to the effect of state self-objectification and anticipation of the sexualized male gaze on women's cognitive performance. College women (n = 407) performed a working memory task in one of three randomly assigned conditions. In the experimental conditions (self-objectification and male gaze), women completed the task while being video recorded from the neck down. In the male gaze condition, participants were told their videos would later be evaluated by men as part of a separate dating study. Women in the control condition were not video recorded. Results indicated women experienced a moderate increase in state self-objectification in both experimental conditions. However, compared to the control condition, women in the experimental conditions did not show reduced performance on the working memory task (in either latency or accuracy), decreases in body satisfaction, or increases in negative mood. Across conditions, state self-objectification was not associated with accuracy or latency on the working memory task. Mixed findings concerning objectification's effect on cognitive performance may be attributed to variability in experimental manipulations and dependent variables employed in this area of research.

These Boots Weren't Made for Walking: Gendered Discrepancies in Wearing Painful, Restricting, or Distracting Clothing.

Using the framework of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts in Psychology of Women Quarterly 21(2): 173-206, 1997), the current studies explored how often women (vs. men) reported wearing clothing that is painful, distracting, and/or restricting (PDR clothing). Additionally, we examined differences in body surveillance (i.e., chronically monitoring the appearance of one's body) and body appreciation between those who reported wearing various types of PDR clothing and those who did not. In both a sample of U.S. college students (n = 545) and a broader sample of U.S. adults (n = 252), results indicated that women were substantially more likely to wear PDR clothing than men. Across both samples, the largest differences between men and women were in wearing uncomfortable or painful shoes and in wearing clothing that is distracting because it requires ongoing monitoring or adjusting. Women and men with higher body surveillance were more likely to report wearing PDR clothing. Though some findings pointed toward a negative association between body appreciation and wearing PDR clothing, these results were inconsistent. Overall, results were consistent with the notion that the gendered nature of clothing might reflect and provoke chronic vigilance of the body's appearance. Gendered differences in the extent to which clothing promotes comfort and movement vs. discomfort and distraction has clear implications for women's quality of life.

Compared to Facebook, Instagram use causes more appearance comparison and lower body satisfaction in college women.

The current experiment tested the effect of social media use on college women's appearance comparisons, mood, and body satisfaction. We randomly assigned 308 undergraduate women (aged 18-26) to use Facebook, use Instagram, or play a matching game (the control condition) on an iPad for seven minutes. Compared to the Facebook condition, Instagram users retrospectively reported spending more time viewing images or videos containing people. Participants in both the Facebook and Instagram conditions also retrospectively reported engaging in more appearance comparisons relative to those in the control condition, but Instagram users reported significantly more appearance comparisons than those in the Facebook condition. Those who used Instagram, but not Facebook, showed decreased body satisfaction, decreased positive affect, and increased negative affect. Results are consistent with previous research suggesting social media use influences body satisfaction and social comparison, and that Instagram may be a particularly harmful platform when it comes to body image because of its focus on photos over text.

The Gay Community Involvement Index: An Exploratory Factor Analysis and Initial Validation of a New Measure of Gay Community Involvement.

This article details initial measure development, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary validation of the Gay Community Involvement Index (GCII) across two studies. Previous research on gay community involvement has relied on measures that do not distinguish between distinct ways in which men may be involved in the gay community (e.g., going to bars and clubs vs. advocating for political issues). The GCII is a new multidimensional measure of the type and intensity of participation in a variety of activities within the gay community. Exploratory factor analysis suggested four subscales: Community Activities, Nightlife, Media, and Political Activism. We report strong evidence for internal consistency within subscale scores, as well as both convergent and discriminant validity for subscale scores. This measure may help those researching gay men's health and well-being better understand the impact of different types of community involvement on health and psychosocial outcomes.

Negative body talk measures for Asian, Latina(o), and White women and men: Measurement equivalence and associations with ethnic-racial identity.

Negative body talk measures have been developed with predominantly White, female samples. We tested measurement invariance (equivalence) of two available negative body talk scales for Asian, Latina(o), and White college women and men in the U.S. In Study 1 (n = 1501 women; n = 1436 men), multiple group confirmatory factor analyses indicated scalar (strong) invariance across groups for the Negative Body Talk (Engeln-Maddox, Salk, & Miller, 2012) and Male Body Talk (Sladek, Engeln, & Miller, 2014) scales, suggesting these measures can be used to test mean group differences. Ethnic group comparisons adjusting for body mass index (BMI) showed similarities overall; few differences that emerged had small effect sizes. In Study 2 (n = 227 women; n = 141 men), greater ethnic-racial identity resolution was associated with less frequent negative body talk for Latina and Asian women but more frequent muscularity-focused negative body talk for Asian men, adjusting for BMI.

The demographics of fat talk in adult women: Age, body size, and ethnicity.

Fat talk, conversations in which women disparage the size/shape of their bodies, acts as both a reflection of and contributor to body dissatisfaction. We assessed the impact of age, body mass index, and ethnicity on fat talk in two large, online surveys of adult women. Body mass index showed a small, positive correlation with fat talk, but only for women who were not overweight. Fat talking was common across all ages. In contrast to the common belief that fat talk is limited to young, thin women, these studies demonstrate that women of many body sizes and ages engage in fat talk.

Development and validation of the Male Body Talk Scale: a psychometric investigation.

This paper details the development of the Male Body Talk (MBT) scale and five studies supporting the psychometric soundness of scores on this new measure. Participants were 18-65-year-old men recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk, introductory psychology courses, and snowball sampling. The MBT scale assesses the frequency with which men engage in negatively valenced body-related conversations with others. Two subscales were identified through a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The Muscle Talk subscale assesses men's tendency to express concerns regarding degree of muscularity and being too small. The Fat Talk subscale assesses men's tendency to express concerns regarding level of body fat and being overweight. Scores on the MBT scale demonstrated strong internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability. Evidence of convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of scores on the MBT scale is presented. This new measure is a useful tool for examining how often men engage in negative body talk.

Body talk among college men: content, correlates, and effects.

Though researchers are beginning to examine body-related talk in women (often referred to as fat talk), little work has examined how men talk about their bodies with peers. The two studies presented in this article explore body talk among U.S. college men. First, an online survey examined the frequency with which college men engage in negative body talk, the content of these conversations, and the body image variables associated with engaging in this type of talk. Negative body talk in men was associated with drive for muscularity, eating disordered behavior, and appearance investment. Study 2 experimentally examined the effects of hearing male peers engage in negative body talk. Hearing muscle talk or fat talk caused decreased state appearance self-esteem and increased state body dissatisfaction. The correlates and consequences of negative body talk among men appear no less troubling than those identified among women.