THAT SWIMSUIT BECOMES YOU - SEX-DIFFERENCES IN SELF-OBJECTIFICATION, RESTRAINED EATING, AND MATH PERFORMANCE

Objectification theory (B. L. Fredrickson & T. Roberts, 1997) posits t hat American culture socializes women to adopt observers' perspectives on their physical selves. This self-objectification is hypothesized t o (a) produce body shame, which in turn leads to restrained eating, an d(b) consume attentional resources, which is manifested in diminished mental performance. Two experiments manipulated self-objectification b y having participants try on a swimsuit or a sweater. Experiment 1 tes ted 72 women and found that self-objectification increased body shame, which in turn predicted restrained eating. Experiment 2 tested 42 wom en and 40 men and found that these effects on body shame and restraine d eating replicated for women only. Additionally, self-objectification diminished math performance for women only. Discussion centers on the causes and consequences of objectifying women's bodies.