The Influence of Sexual Objectification Experience on Chinese Female College Students’ Selfie-Posting Behavior: A Mediated Moderation Model — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
The Influence of Sexual Objectification Experience on Chinese Female College Students’ Selfie-Posting Behavior: A Mediated Moderation Model
Sexual objectification experience is that person experienced life with objectified information. In order to explore the influence of the sexual objectification experience on female college students’ selfie-posting behavior, 700 female college students were surveyed with the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification scale, Enjoyment of Sexualization scale, Social Network Selfile-posting scale and Imaginary Audience Ideation scale. The results show that: 1) Sexual objectification experience is significantly correlated with female college students’ selfie-posting behavior and enjoyment of sexualization. Female college students’ enjoyment of sexualization is significantly correlated with selfie-posting behavior. 2) Sexual objectification experience can predict female college students’ selfie-posting behavior through the partial mediating role of enjoyment of sexualization, and the mediating role of enjoyment of sexualization is moderated by female college students’ imaginary audience ideation. This research revealed the mechanism of the relationship between sexual objectification experience and selfie-posting behavior, which helps to guide female college students to actively and healthfully participate in social activities.
KeywordsSexual Objectification ExperienceSelfie-Posting BehaviorEnjoyment of SexualizationImaginary Audience IdeationChinese College Students
Aubrey, J. S. (2006). Effects of Sexually Objectifying Media on Self-Objectification and Body Surveillance in Undergraduates: Results of a 2-Year Panel Study. Journal of Communication, 56, 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00024.x
Barnett, M., Maciel, I., & Gerner, M. (2018). Enjoyment of Sexualization and Feminism: Relationships with Sexual Self-Schema and Psychosexual Health. Sexuality & Culture, 22, 669-684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-018-9515-5
Cohen, R., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2018). Selfie-Objectification: The Role of Selfies in Self-Objectification and Disordered Eating in Young Women. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, 68-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.027
Erchull, M. J., & Liss, M. (2013). Feminists Who Flaunt It: Exploring the Enjoyment of Sexualization among Young Feminist Women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43, 2341-2349. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12183
Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2015). Negative Comparisons about One’s Appearance Mediate the Relationship between Facebook Usage and Body Image Concerns. Body Image, 12, 82-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.10.004
Fiske, S. T., Bersoff, D. N., Borgida, E. et al. (1991). Social Science Research on Trial: Use of Sex Stereotyping Research in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. American Psychologist, 46, 1049-1060. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.46.10.1049
Fredrickson, B. L., & Roberts, T. (1997). Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women’s Lived Experiences and Mental Health Risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173-206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x
Gill, R. (2008). Empowerment/Sexism: Figuring Female Sexual Agency in Contemporary Advertising. Feminism & Psychology, 18, 35-60. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353507084950
Goossens, L. (1984). Imaginary Audience Behavior as a Function of Age, Sex and Formal Operational Thinking. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 7, 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502548400700106
Hou, F. Y. (2018). The Effect of Media Information on College Female Students’ Self-Objectification: The Mediating Role of Enjoyment of Sexualization. Master Thesis, Changchun: Jilin University.
Kozee, H. B., Tylka, T. L., Augustus-Horvath, C. L. et al. (2007). Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 176-189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00351.x
Langlois, J. H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A. J. et al. (2000). Maxims or Myths of Beauty? A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 390-423. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.3.390
Li, J.-Y., Yin, Q., & Shen, X.-X. (2015). Effect of Sexual Objectification on Women’s Self-Objectification: Moderated Mediating Effect. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23, 1089-1093.
Liss, M., Erchull, M. J., & Ramsey, L. R. (2010). Empowering or Oppressing? Development and Exploration of the Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167210386119
Liu, J. J. (2006). Commentary on Impression Management and Its Relative Research. Advances in Psychological Science, 14, 309-314.
Liu, J. R., & Li, L. (2007). Preliminary Investigation on the Self-Centered Status of 93 High School Students in a School in Fuzhou City. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 21, 461-463.
Luo, Y.-J., Niu, G.-F., Kong, F.-C. et al. (2019). Online Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Experiences and Chinese Adolescent Girls’ Intuitive Eating: The Role of Broad Conceptualization of Beauty and Body Appreciation. Eating Behaviors, 4, 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2019.03.004
Mabe, A. G., Forney, K. J., & Keel, P. K. (2014). Do You “Like” My Photo? Facebook Use Maintains Eating Disorder Risk. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47, 516-523. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22254
Martin, J., & Sokol, B. (2011). Generalized Others and Imaginary Audiences: A Neo-Meadian Approach to Adolescent Egocentrism. New Ideas in Psychology, 29, 364-375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2010.03.006
Meghan, D. M., Gervais, S. J., Canivez, G. L. et al. (2013). A Psychometric Examination of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale among College Men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 239-250. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032075
Pellizzer, M., Tiggemann, M., & Clark, L. (2016). Enjoyment of Sexualisation and Positive Body Image in Recreational Pole Dancers and University Students. Sex Roles, 74, 35-45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-015-0562-1
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y. et al. (2003). Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879-880. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879
Ridgway, J. L., & Clayton, R. B. (2016). Instagram Unfiltered: Exploring Associations of Body Image Satisfaction, Instagram Selfie Posting, and Negative Romantic Relationship Outcomes. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 19, 2-7. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0433
Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Oleszkiewicz, A. et al. (2015). Selfie-Posting Behaviors Are Associated with Narcissism among Men. Personality & Individual Differences, 85, 123-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.004
Swim, J. K., Hyers, L. L., Cohen, L. L., & Ferguson, M. J. (2001). Everyday Sexism: Evidence for Its Incidence, Nature, and Psychological Impact from Three Daily Diary Studies. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 31-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00200
Visser, B. A., Sultani, F., Choma, B. L. et al. (2014). Enjoyment of Sexualization: Is It Different for Men? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 44, 495-504. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12241
Yang, P.-F., Song, Y.-H., & Lian, S.-L. (2018). Effect of Imaginary Audience on Sense of Alienation in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Social Anxiety. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26, 74-77.
Yang, X. J., Zhou, Z. K., Liu, Q. Q. et al. (2017). Narcissism and Social Networking Sites Use. Advances in Psychological Science, 25, 1552-1564.
Zheng, D., Ni, X.-L., & Luo, Y.-J. (2018). Selfie Posting on Social Networking Sites and Female Adolescents’ Self-Objectification: The Moderating Role of Imaginary Audience Ideation. Sex Roles, 80, 325-331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0937-1