Objectification and Gender Lab
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Lab Director
Dr Elise Holland
Research Overview
Below is a sample of our current research projects
Women's Daily Experiences of Objectification
We are interested in how women's daily experiences of objectification affect their thoughts, behaviours, and emotions. We are currently running some studies using ecological momentary assessment technology, which lets us check in on our participants several times per day. As we can track changes in emotions and behaviour over time, we can get a much better understanding of how experiencing objectification can affect women, both positively and negatively.
Engaging Men in Gender Equality
There is increasingly widespread agreement that engaging men and boys as allies of gender equality plays a central role in redressing the problem. In our lab, we conduct research on the personal, interpersonal and societal factors that facilitate men’s engagement as advocates for change. Our aim is to better understand how to foster their positive involvement more effectively.
Fitspiration Imagery
Fitspiration (or fitspo, for short) is a social media trend designed to encourage individuals to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle. While it has become increasingly popular in recent years, very little is known regarding the impact of fitspo on women’s wellbeing and body image. In our lab, we conduct research examining how different fitspo messages and images affect women and how they think about their bodies.
Funding
Research Publications
Paaßen, B., Morgenroth, T., & Stratemeyer, M. (in press). What is a True Gamer? The male gamer stereotype and marginalization of women in video game culture. Sex Roles. doi: 10.1007/s11199-016-0678-y.
Holland, E., Koval, P., Stratemeyer, M., Thomson, F., & Haslam, N. (in press). Sexual objectification in women’s daily lives: A smartphone ecological momentary assessment study. British Journal of Social Psychology. doi: 10.1111/bjso.12152.
Holland, E., & Haslam, N. (2016). Cute little things: The objectification of pre-pubescent girls. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 40, 109-118.
Loughnan, S., Fernandez, S., Vaes, J., Anjum, G., Aziz, M., Harada, C., Holland, E., Sing, I., Puvia, E., & Tsuchiya, K. (2015). Exploring the role of culture in sexual objectification: A seven nations study. International Review of Social Psychology, 28, 125-152.
Holland, E., & Haslam, N. (2013). Worth the weight: The objectification of overweight vs. thin targets. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 37, 462-468.
Bongiorno, R., Bain, P. G., & Haslam, N. (2013). When sex doesn’t sell: Using sexualized images of women reduces support for ethical campaigns. PLoS ONE 8(12): e83311.
Reynolds, C., & Haslam, N. (2011). Evidence for an association between women and nature: An analysis of media images and mental representations. Ecopsychology, 3, 59-64.
Loughnan, S., Haslam, N., Murnane, T., Vaes, J., Reynolds, C., & Suitner, C. (2010). Objectification leads to depersonalization: The denial of mind and moral concern to objectified others. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 709-717.