THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MEDIA AND POTENTIAL BUFFERS
ON FEMALE SEXUAL SATISFACTION, BODY DISSATISFACTION, SOCIAL
COMPARISON AND SELF-OBJECTIFICTION
Elizabeth A. Rowell
B.A., California State University, Sacramento, 2006
THESIS
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
PSYCHOLOGY
(Counseling Psychology)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2011
THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MEDIA AND POTENTIAL BUFFERS
ON FEMALE SEXUAL SATISFACTION, BODY DISSATISFACTION, SOCIAL
COMPARISON AND SELF-OBJECTIFICTION
A Thesis
by
Elizabeth A. Rowell
Approved by:
_______________________________________, Committee Chair
Lisa Harrison, Ph.D.
_______________________________________, Second Reader
Rebecca Cameron, Ph.D.
_______________________________________, Third Reader
Mayra Endriga, Ph.D.
__________________________________
Date
ii
Student:
Elizabeth A. Rowell
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Jianjian Qin, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
iii
______________________
Date
Abstract
of
THE INFLUENCE OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MEDIA AND POTENTIAL BUFFERS
ON FEMALE SEXUAL SATISFACTION, BODY DISSATISFACTION, SOCIAL
COMPARISON AND SELF-OBJECTIFICTION
by
Elizabeth A. Rowell
The role that exposure to different degrees of pornography impact women’s body
dissatisfaction, self-objectification, social comparison and sexual satisfaction with their
partners was investigated. Two hundred undergraduate women participants were
examined. Exposure to different types of pornography did not influence participants’
level of social comparison, body dissatisfaction, sexual satisfaction rewards, sexual
satisfaction costs and overall sexual satisfaction. Exposure to different types of arguments
concerning pornography did not influence participants’ level of sexual satisfaction
rewards, sexual satisfaction costs and overall sexual satisfaction. Participants who were
exposed to the Degrades Women Argument had lower social comparison and body
dissatisfaction than participants exposed to the Harm to Others Argument, p = .05. In
addition, participants who were exposed to the Degrades Women Argument had lower
body dissatisfaction than participants exposed to No Argument, p = .02.
________________________________________, Committee Chair
Lisa Harrison, Ph.D.
iv
DEDICATION
To
All of the sex-positive feminists who taught me that you can empower women while still
having a really good orgasm.
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My chair, Dr. Lisa Harrison, and my committee members, Dr. Rebecca Cameron and Dr.
Mayra Endriga.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………v
Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………vi
List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………ix
Chapter
1.
INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………….1
Social Comparison….. …………………………………………………3
Self-Objectification……………………………………………………..10
Body Dissatisfaction……………………………………………………16
Sexual Satisfaction….…………………………………………………..20
Pornography Overview………………………………………………….26
Positive & Negative Effects of Exposure to Pornography………………29
Arguments Against the Negative Impact of Exposure to
Pornography……………………………………………………………...32
Overview of Present Research and Hypotheses………………………….33
2.
METHOD ……………………………………………………………………….35
Participants ………………………………………………………...……35
Materials ………………………………………………………………...35
Design……………………………………………………………………41
Procedure………………………………………………………………...41
vii
3.
RESULTS……………………………………………………………………..…43
4.
DISCUSSION ……………………………………………………………….….54
Appendix A. Consent Form………………………………………………………….....64
Appendix B. Instructions………………………………………………………….…...65
Appendix C. Debriefing………………………………………………………………..66
Appendix D. Demographics……………………………………………………………67
Appendix E. Degrades Women Argument…………………………………………….69
Appendix F.
Harm to Others Argument……………………………………………….70
References…………………………………………………………………..……………71
viii
LIST OF TABLES
Page
1.
Table 1 Participants' Mean Responses on Measures of Social
Comparison, Body Objectification, Sexual Satisfaction Overall,
Rewards, and Costs by Type of Photograph………………………………….45
2.
Table 2 Mean Responses on Measures of Social Comparison,
Body Objectification, Sexual Satisfaction Overall, Rewards, and
Costs by Type of Argument…………………………………………………..49
3.
Table 3 Mean Social Comparison by Type of Photograph and
Type of Argument……………………………………………………………51
4.
Table 4 Mean Body Dissatisfaction by Type of Photograph and
Type of Argument…………………………………………………………….51
5.
Table 5 Mean Sexual Satisfaction Rewards by Type of Photograph
and Type of Argument……………………………………………………......52
6.
Table 6 Mean Sexual Satisfaction Costs by Type of Photograph
and Type of Argument……………………………………………..…………52
7.
Table 7 Mean Overall Sexual Satisfaction by Type of Photograph
and Type of Argument………………………………………………………..53
ix
1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The task of exploring and dissecting the field of woman body image in
conjunction with how that perspective impacts their sexuality has been documented and
examined for many decades. From the beginning researchers evaluated and attempted to
understand the impact that media and societal influences have had upon the psyches and
bodies of young women in America. Pornography, another form of media, has also been
examined for the possible negative effects that it can have on not just relationships
between men and women but specifically, how, by being exposed to it, it impacts one’s
psyche concerning other areas such as self-esteem and body attitudes. What was even
more frightening to discover is not just the fact that negative messages as to how
women/girls are “suppose” to look were being transmitted through movies, television,
music and advertisements but that these messages were striking a chord with girls who
had not even reached puberty and ingrained in minds that had not even realized that their
bodies or sexuality needed to be questioned in the first place.
In reviews of children’s body image literature, Ricciardelli & McCabe (2001)
reported specific estimates for the number of preadolescent girls who desired a thinner
body size as ranging between 28-55%. Although an emphasis on reducing body weight
may be necessary in some instances to improve health, in many cases those girls who
desired to be thinner were classified as normal weight, and even underweight, according
to age-appropriate body mass index (BMI) scores. Smolak et al. (2001) comprehensive
2
model for the development of body dissatisfaction among children places a focus on
weight and shape as its central variable. According to their theory, the extent to which a
child focuses on weight and shape is the result of individual (gender, BMI) and
sociocultural (i.e. comments about body shape and appearance from family and peers)
variables. Particular messages from parents, peers or the media (i.e. that being a certain
weight or appearance will increased their likability) has been shown to increase a child’s
focus on weight and shape, and in general, it is more likely that girls (and overweight
girls in particular) rather than boys will receive these messages.
When looking at this issue through the lens of the population that it is intended
for women and girls’ own reports clearly indicate that they hold the media at least partly
responsible for their negative feelings toward their bodies (Milkie, 1999; Tiggemann,
Gardiner & Slater, 2000; Werthiem, Paxton, Schutz & Muir, 1997). In addition, a number
of experimental studies have demonstrated immediate negative effects after brief
exposure to idealized media images (meta-analytic review see Groesz, Levine & Murnen,
2002). More recently, these negative effects have been shown to persist for at least short
periods of time (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003; Hausenblas, Janelle & Gardner, 2004).
The third line of evidence is provided by correlational research that has investigated the
association between independent measures of naturally occurring media exposure and
body image. Fashion magazine or television consumption have been found to be
correlated with body dissatisfaction (Jones, Vigfusdottir & Lee, 2004; Tiggemann, 2003)
and perceptions of being overweight (McCreary & Sadava, 1999). Thus, the purpose of
the following research is to explore the already established relationship between media
3
exposure and women’s self-esteem, especially in regards to her body, how she feels in
comparison to others and the rates of her self-objectification. In addition, there will be an
expanded exploration of the possible connection it may have when that media
imagery involves sexually explicit media and a woman’s sexual satisfaction with her
partner is also added to the mix.
Social Comparison
According to Festinger (1954), individuals are driven by a desire for selfevaluation, a motivation to establish that one’s opinions are correct and to know precisely
what one is capable of doing. Festinger believed that individuals generally prefer
objective information to evaluate their standing on a give attribute but will, when such
information is not available, turn to others for social information. He emphasized the
interpersonal consequences of social comparison, by suggesting, for example, that people
will seek out the company of others similar to themselves and will try to persuade others
who are dissimilar.
To breakdown this concept even more two types of social comparison have been
identified: Upward Social Comparison and Downward Social Comparison. Regarding the
former, this involves the comparison of abilities and research in this area has shown that
individuals generally prefer to be compared with others who are thought to be slightly
better off, providing support for Festinger’s well-known notion of “upward drive” (Miller
& Suls, 1977). However, subsequent research has suggested that the strength of this
upward drive depends on a number of factors. First experimental studies have shown that
the tendency to compare upward is stronger when the comparison can be made privately
4
than when one anticipates actual contact with the comparison other (Gibbons et al.,
2002a; Smith & Insko, 1987; Wilson & Benner, 1971; Ybema & Buunck, 1993). A
number of survey studies have also found that when social comparison does not require
people to reveal their inferiority to the other and does not involve the risk of the other
looking down on them, comparison preferences are more upward than when
one has to affiliate with the other (Buunk, 1995; Buunk, Schaufeli & Ybema, 1994).
Second, some studies in recent years have shown that the upward preference is found
only when the motive of self-improvement is salient, that is, when individuals have an
interest in doing better. Despite this potential adaptive function of upward comparisons, a
considerable body of research indicates that individuals may respond in a variety of
defensive ways when confronted with someone who outperforms them. Downward
Social Comparison, which was addressed empirically for the first time by Thorton &
Arrowood (1966) and Hakmiller (1966), demonstrated that individuals who are
threatened on a particular dimension prefer to socially compare with others who are
thought to be worse off on this dimension. Later on, Wills (1981) argued that individuals
who are experiencing a decline in well-being will often compare themselves with others
who are thought to be worse off in an effort to improve their well-being, especially when
instrumental action is not possible. Wills identified two versions of the downward
comparison process: 1. One in which the individual enhances subjective well-being by
comparing with a person who is worse off than the self, and 2. Another in which wellbeing may be enhanced by comparison with another person who is also experiencing
problems but is essentially the same level as the self (lateral comparison). Wills also
5
talked about two different types of downward comparison: 1. Active Downward
Comparison, which involves “creating” a downward target by derogating, or making fun
of, or even physically harming, another person, and 2. Passive Downward Comparison,
which involves responding to information indicating that another is worse off.
What is interesting to note, in applying the concept of social comparison to the
present study, is how this is used by young women to compare themselves to the woman
images they see in the media and the women present in their own lives. In addition, to
socially comparing oneself to another, ties in perfectly with the self-objectification that
has already been reported and enforced by the woman population and the culture at large
where women are delivered the message that not only are they meant to be on display but
that they should be continuously comparing themselves with others to ensure that they
match up. Bessenoff (2006) explored body image self-discrepancy as a moderator and
social comparison as a mediator in the effects on women from thin-ideal images in the
media. In previous research regarding the thin-ideal, Stromer & Thompson (1996) found
that women who were more likely to compare their body to others’ bodies had higher
levels of body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, when study participants engaged in social
comparison to thin models (upward comparison), both adolescent girls and college-aged
women suffered increase negative mood (Tiggemann & McGill, 2004), greater body
dissatisfaction (Field, Carmago, Taylor, Berkey & Colditz, 1999), as well as diminished
beliefs of their own physical attraction (Martin & Gentry, 1997). In Bessenoff’s (2006)
study with 112 women undergraduates, she found that exposure to thin-ideal
advertisements affected weight concerns, mood, self-esteem and depression. Social
6
comparison processes mediated the effect of exposure to thin-ideal advertising on
symptoms of depression, weight-related thoughts and weight-regulatory thoughts. In the
thin-ideal exposure condition, women with high body image self-discrepancy were
almost twice as likely to engage in social comparison as were women with low body
image self-discrepancy.
However, in another study by Engeln-Maddox (2005), which explored women’s
cognitive processing of print advertisements featuring images of highly attractive woman
models and looked at the relationship of counter arguing (critical processing) and social
comparison in response to these images with a number of body-related variables, it was
found with 202 women undergraduates that generating social comparisons in response to
idealized media images did not always have a negative, contrast effect. Some women
may find themselves inspired by such comparisons, or even evaluate themselves more
favorable than the model as a result of social comparison.
How might positive effects be explained? Myers & Biocca (1992) suggested the
possibility of a “thinness fantasy” induced by media exposure. Instead of feeling worse
about herself after seeing slim media images, a girl or woman may engage in a fantasy of
believing herself to be thinner and more attractive. In a similar vein, Mills et al., (2002)
suggested that media-portrayed thin bodies may encourage fantasy and provide
inspiration for women for whom weight and shape are personally relevant by presenting
thinness as attainable. Other research (Evans, 2003; Engeln-Maddox, 2006) has indicated
that women associate looking like the thin ideal media image with a wider array of
psychological benefits and positive life outcomes, including confidence, happiness,
7
romantic attention and generally having a “successful life”. Thus, positive outcomes in
media experiments may be a function of viewing the media images with other
motivations than social comparisons, and consequently engaging in other forms of
processing involving fantasy or inspiration. Indeed, a few studies have begun to
investigate naturalistic motivations for voluntary exposure to media images. In particular,
evidence indicates that women and girls report buying fashion and beauty magazines for
entertainment (Thomsen et al., 2002) and self-improvement and inspiration. For example,
tips on style and grooming (Levine & Smolak, 1996; Thomsen eta l., 2002) can be used
for social learning, that is, to learn how people behave (Tiggemann, 2005b), in addition to
comparing themselves with the images (Tiggemann, Gardiner & Slater, 2000).
Tiggeman (2009) explored this very concept with 114 women undergraduates in
South Australia as she specifically investigated the role of processing in how women
respond to thin idealized images of beauty in the media and how their reactions can
include both positive and negative effects. She found that viewing thin ideal woman
images did lead to increased negative mood and body dissatisfaction. More importantly,
for specifically the thin ideal images, social comparison instructions led to relatively
greater negative mood and body dissatisfaction, while fantasy instructions led to greater
positive mood. In terms of predicting change, comparison processing predicted increased
negative mood, fantasy processing predicted increased positive mood, and both predicted
change (in opposite directions) in appearance self-esteem.
In addition, some women may create defense mechanisms in order to ward off the
negative effects that come with viewing idealized media images. Hafner (2008) examined
8
these mechanisms that people may conjure up in an effort to deal with threatening
information in three experiments. As a host of research inspired by Tesser’s (1988) SelfEvaluation-Maintenance-Model (SEM), people find ways to deal with negative
comparisons by engaging in all sorts of defensive behavior. That is, people may react to
threatening comparison information by strategically keeping up their self-value, for
instance, by stressing dissimilarities between the self and a comparison standard (i.e.
“The model may be beautiful and thin, however, I am much more athletic!”). Such
defensive strategies may involve shifts in the dimension of comparison. Stated
differently, an unthreatened part of the self can be activated and highlighted in order to
heal the wounded self. Then, however, there is a very simple explanation for why
defensive outcomes are not typically reported in research on comparisons to media
images. The defensive self evaluations were simply not measured as no questions
addressed them. Having the chance to defend the self by shifting the dimension of
comparison should in fact lead to a more positive overall evaluation of the self than
continuously focusing on the threatened dimension of comparison. Using women
undergraduates, Hafner found that defensive comparison processes can in fact take place
in comparisons to idealized media images (Experiment #1). More importantly, he
collected evidence that these self-reparative processes may take place at a minimal level
of conscious awareness (Experiments #2 and #3) and that relatively subtle changes in the
way a study dealing with exposure to media images is introduced may have dramatic
consequences: When there was no salient comparison context, the participants tended to
9
avoid potentially harmful comparisons to the media images they were presented with
(Experiment #2).
Thus, regarding how this variable can be impacted by the exposure to media, and
more specifically pornography, is that when an individual is bombarded with images that
are considered the cultural “norm” or what is deemed acceptable by said culture for how
each gender should appear physically then the mass majority tend to fall in line with that
expectation. In addition, for those that don’t fall in line with said expectations they are
held accountable by their peers comments or unspoken body language. Therefore, it
should then be expected that we witness self-reports of individuals constantly checking in
with their surrounding environments, and the people in them, to make sure that they
coincide with what is expected from them, lest they be ostracized or ridiculed. When
pornography is added to the equation then a woman may feel as though her partner is
holding her accountable as to how she should look and act in bed or the woman, herself,
may be constantly evaluating her looks and behavior based on what she has seen in
pornography.
Self-Objectification
Drawing upon Fredrickson’s (1997) Objectification Theory as a framework,
numerous studies have examined the experiential consequences of what it means to be a
woman in a culture that sexually objectifies the woman body. In her original work
Fredrickson noted that the common thread running through all forms of sexual
objectification is the experience of being treated “as a body” (or collection of body parts)
valued predominantly for its use (or consumption by) others. This sexualization occurs in
10
many forms, ranging from sexual violence to sexualized evaluation (Fischer, Vidmar &
Ellis, 1993; Hughes & Sandler, 1988; Kaschak, 1992; Quina & Carlson, 1989; Reilly,
Lott, Caldwell & DeLuca, 1992, Stoltenberg, 1989). The most subtle and deniable way
sexualized evaluation is enacted is through gaze, or visual inspection of the body
(Kaschak, 1992), and always present in contexts of sexualized gazing is the “potential”
for sexual objectification. Sexual objectification occurs whenever a woman’s body, body
parts or sexual functions are separated from her person, reduced to the status of mere
instruments, or regarded as if they were capable of representing her (Bartky, 1990).
Objectifying gaze is played out in three related areas: First it occurs within actual
interpersonal and social encounters. Studies have shown that: 1. Women are gazed at
more than men (Hall, 1984), 2. Women are more likely to feel “looked at” in
interpersonal encounters (Argyle & Williams, 1969), 3. Men direct more nonreciprocated gaze towards women than vice versa, particularly in public places (Cary,
1978; Fromme & Beam, 1974; Henley, 1977), and 4. Men’s gazing is often accompanied
by sexually evaluative commentary (Gardner, 1980). Moreover, Henley (1977) has
pointed out that our language provides specific verbs to connote men’s staring at
women’s bodies, such as “ogle” and “leer”, underscoring not only that this sexualized
gazing occurs, but also that it is disquieting for women. Second, sexually objectifying
gaze also occurs in visual media that depict interpersonal and social encounters. Analyses
of advertisements show that males are pictured looking directly at their woman partner
far more often than the reverse (Goffman, 1979; Umiker-Sebeok, 1981). The third, and
perhaps most insidious manner, is in people’s encounters with visual media that spotlight
11
bodies and body parts and seamlessly align viewers with an implicit sexualizing gaze
(Mulvey, 1975). One way that the visual media’s focus on women’s bodies has been
quantified is in terms of relative facial prominence (Archer, Iritani, Kimes & Barrios,
1983). Whereas men tend to be portrayed in print media and artwork with an emphasis on
the head and face, and with greater facial detail, women tend to be portrayed with an
emphasis on the body. Indeed, it is not uncommon for magazine photographs to portray
dismembered women, eliminating their heads altogether, focusing exclusively on their
bodies or body parts. Archer et al. (1983) refer to this as “face-ism” bias. In sum, the
“face-ism” of men actually reflects the “body-ism” of women – that is, the visual media
portray women as though their bodies were capable of representing them.
Perhaps the most profound effect of objectifying treatment is that it coaxes girls
and women to adopt a peculiar view of the self. Objectification Theory posits that the
cultural milieu of objectification functions to socialize girls and women to, at some level,
treat themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated. Unger (1979) goes so far as to
argue that physical beauty can translate to power for women: Attractiveness functions as
a prime currency for women’s social and economic success. The value of this currency,
however, may differ across subgroups of women. Thus, it behooves women to anticipate
the repercussions of their appearance, or as Berger (1972) puts it, to be their own first
surveyors. Therefore, women’s attentiveness to their own physical appearance, which has
often been interpreted as narcissism and vanity (Deutsch, 1944, 1945; Freud, 1933),
might more appropriately be viewed as women’s strategy for helping to determine how
others will treat them (Silberstein, Striegel-Moore & Rodin, 1987). This strategy need not
12
be conscious, or deliberately chosen. Instead, theories of socialization would predict that
with repeated exposure to the array of subtle external pressures to enhance physical
beauty, girls and women come to experience their efforts to improve their appearance as
freely chosen, or even natural (Costanzo, 1992).
A good portion of studies have directly tested Objectification Theory in an
attempt to connect it to the already established negative role that the media plays in
impacting how young women regard their bodies. One such study was conducted by
Aubrey (2006) who used the theory to predict the media’s practice of objectifying bodies
and how it socialized men and women to take an outsider’s perspective on the physical
self (i.e. self-objectify) and to habitually monitor their appearance (i.e. engage in body
surveillance) over the course of two years. Using 226 undergraduates (149 women, 77
men) she found that exposure to sexually objectifying television during Year 1 predicted
an increase in trait self-objectification during Year 2 for both men and women and that
exposure to sexually objectifying television shows was associated with an increase in
viewers’ definitions of their physical selves in terms of externally perceivable traits (i.e.
how the body appears) rather than internal traits (i.e. what the body can do). One
explanation for this process is that exposure to televised objectification cultivates a
particular view of the self, a view that emphasizes the importance of physical appearance.
Another way of thinking about this process is to think of exposure to sexually
objectifying television as activating self-objectification in the short term, much like what
one would expect from a priming process (Bargh, Chen & Burrows, 1996). Thus, the
most important question in judging the media’s influence on self-objectification is not
13
how long a media-induced state of self-objectification lasts, but how frequently it is
induced (Harrison & Fredrickson, 2003).
Calogero (2004) extended the research of Objectification Theory by examining
the effect of anticipating men or women gaze on appearance-related concerns. Using 105
women undergraduates, she found that the negative effects of self-objectification can be
experienced by women in non-body focused situations and without actual observers
present. It also supports the fundamental proposition of Objectification Theory, which is
that the internalized men gaze, and not just any gaze, negatively affects women. When
compared to participants who anticipated a woman gaze, participants who anticipated a
men gaze reported significantly greater body shame and social physique anxiety. The
women did not have to interact with a man; they merely had to anticipate interacting with
a man for negative effects to occur. In contrast, women who anticipated a woman gaze
reported the lowest means for body shame and social physique anxiety when compared to
the other experimental conditions. This suggests that anticipating the woman gaze
somehow acted to reduce the negative effects of self-objectification. One hypothesis that
can be derived from these results is that the men gaze is seen as more anxiety-inducing
due to the fact that the woman is being evaluated by someone of not just the opposite sex
but by the gender that is seen as having more power in American culture, which could
influence whether or not she gains a mate or becomes successful.
A final study that also focused on applying self-objectification to real-life
situations, more specifically the immediate and physical social environment that women
are in on an everyday basis, was conducted by Tiggeman (2008) who manipulated such
14
environments in an attempt to trigger such self-objectification. Using 96 women
undergraduates, she found that there clearly exist individual differences in the extent to
which women self-objectify (trait self-objectification). This perspective was associated
with the experience of shame about the body. Further, this study confirmed that certain
situations tend to trigger state self-objectification and enhances the external validity of
the components of Self-Objectification Theory because the experimental manipulations
were consistent with everyday life. Self-objectification was triggered in those participants
with a more subtle manipulation involving minimal demand characteristics: The mere
presence of scales, mirrors and fashion magazine covers presented as incidental aspects.
This was sufficient enough to induce state self-objectification in women with high trait
self-objectification, but not enough to induce body shame. When participants received a
compliment regarding their appearance, conceptualized as part of the social environment,
this resulted in improved mood for everyone. More interesting, however, for those
women with high trait self-objectification, the compliment was accompanied by an
increase in body shame. In some ways, this finding provides a very strong endorsement
of the propositions of Objectification Theory. Even a positive compliment about one’s
appearance, which made participants feel good in general, paradoxically led to increased
body shame – this supports Objectification Theory’s contention that anything that focuses
on external appearance, even a compliment, can produce negative consequences.
Thus, regarding how this variable can be impacted by the exposure to media, and
more specifically pornography, is that when an individual, more specifically a woman, is
raised in a culture where her physical appearance matters the most in how others evaluate
15
her worth then she comes to understand the importance of that. She may eventually figure
out that although this superficial view of who she is as a person exists she can also use it
to her advantage and that it would be imperative for her to tap into the ways in which she
can keep track of her appearance to ensure her success in said culture. By exposing
women to media and pornography where certain body parts on others are emphasized
over the whole person it would not be too farfetched for these women to evaluate and
objectify their own body parts, especially if by doing so assists her in getting farther in
life or with a sexual partner.
Body Dissatisfaction
In specifically studying how exposure to media in American culture can impact
how women regard their own bodies in a negative manner it is important to note that
much research has already been conducted that demonstrates a consistent positive
correlation between the two. The thin-ideal woman often portrayed in the media is
typically 15% below the average weight of women, representing an unrealistic standard
of thinness (tall, narrow hips, long legs and thin thighs) (Johnson, Tobin & Steinberg,
1989). This ideal stresses slimness, youth and androgyny rather than the normative
woman body.
The majority of studies examining connections between media use and women’s
body image and related issues have been experimental laboratory studies that examine
whether exposure to thin-ideal media increases body dissatisfaction or related concerns in
the short term (Tiggemann & Slater, 2003). These types of designs, in which participants
are randomly assigned to conditions, are often believed to offer the most conclusive
16
evidence regarding media effects on psychological outcomes (Anderson et al., 2003),
however these type of studies also include a level of artificiality that limits their external
validity. With few exceptions, correlational research appears to demonstrate a positive
relation between media consumption and body dissatisfaction among women (Cusumano
& Thompson, 1997). Other research suggests that the experimental effects of exposure to
the thin ideal are not universal. First, certain factors make some women more vulnerable
than others to the effects of media exposure (i.e. acceptance of societal attitudes towards
woman attractiveness) (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995). Second, other studies have found
little to no immediate effect of thin-ideal media portrayals on women’s body image or
related concerns (Halliwell, Dittmar & Howe, 2005). Similarly null effects have been
reported for exposure to thin-ideal ads and adult women’s body satisfaction (Irving,
1990) and endorsement of dieting attitudes and behaviors (Thorton & Maurice, 1997).
In addition, numerous meta-analyses have taken place in the last five years alone
that have expanded our knowledge on this topic to obtain a better understanding of the
precise indices that tweak this relationship. Grabe’s (2008) meta-analysis examined
experimental and correlational studies that tested the links between media exposure to
women’s body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal and eating behaviors and
beliefs. Gathering data from 77 articles and 15,047 subjects they showed consistent
associations across both experimental and corrleational designs and across multiple
measures of women’s body image and eating behaviors and beliefs. The findings from
the experimental literature in the study (57% of the studies) provides evidence of a link
between exposure to thin-ideal media images and body dissatisfaction in women, in
17
addition, similar outcomes were found in the correlational literature, which supports this
finding and suggests that this phenomenon also operates outside a laboratory context.
They also found that media exposure was related to multiple outcome measures,
specifically, the relationship between media and internalization of the thin ideal as well as
between media and women’s eating behaviors and beliefs. These findings suggest that the
thin-ideal media exposure is related to higher levels of body dissatisfaction, stronger
internalization of the thin ideal, and more frequent bulimic and anorexic attitudes and
behaviors. There was also evidence that the magnitude of the effect size between media
exposure and internalization was larger in the correlational literature, perhaps reflecting
the fact that internalization of the thin ideal develops over time and with massive
exposure, making it difficult to capture in a one-time laboratory setting.
On the other hand, though, one weakness of previous research on the impact of
thinness-promoting media has been the assumption that all women respond to thin-body
images in the same way. Botta (1999), for instance, argued that increased body
dissatisfaction as a result of encountering thin-body images should be confined to those
who endorse the thin ideal. Similarly, Wilcox & Laird (2000) proposed that only women
for whom body shape is salient compare themselves to thin-body images and
consequently experience negative feelings about their own bodies. Mills et al. (2002)
examined dietary restraint status as a moderator of the effect of exposure to thin-body
advertisements on women’s body image and found that in general, restrained eaters
reported lower total self-esteem and appearance self-esteem than did unrestrained eaters.
Their interpretation of these results, that thin-body images serve as a motivational
18
mechanism inspiring restrained eaters to believe that they can achieve their own weight
and body-shape goals, is based on the Myers & Biocca (1992) “fantasy effect”. They
argued that following exposure to thinness-promoting media images, women imagine
themselves in their ideal body. The result is a more positive mood and attenuated body
size overestimation; however, this fantasy effect should occur only if women believe that
they can achieve their body shape goal. Joshi (2004) examined this issue when he looked
at the effect of thin-body media images on mood, self-esteem and self-image ratings of
restrained and unrestrained eaters, in addition, whether these effects were influenced by
exposure duration. With 92 women the results indicated that restrained eaters did not
manifest an adverse reaction when exposed to thin-body media images. In fact, restrained
eaters’ self-image and social self-esteem improved after viewing pictures of thin women.
Unrestrained eaters, on the other hand, showed no positive effect and one negative effect
(appearance self-esteem). Although it was predicted that enhancement would occur only
to the extent that participants were confident that they could achieve their ideal
appearance, the results of the current study suggest that this is not necessarily the case.
Restrained eaters in this study exhibited self-enhancement (and unrestrained eaters did
not) even though restrained eaters and unrestrained eaters did not differ in attainability
scores. Another factor that did not moderate restrained eaters’ self-enhancement was the
duration of exposure to the thin-body images. Presenting the images for as little as 150
milliseconds was just as effective as was presenting them for a full 7 seconds. This
finding suggests that the self-enhancement effect does not require extended cognitive
19
processing of the image for the image to have a psychological impact. Another alternative
explanation for the self-enhancement that both Joshi and Mills et al. (2002) obtained,
however, hinges on the notion that the thin-body image acts as a threat more than an
inspiration. Perhaps, restrained eaters respond to these images with self-enhancement as a
way of actively denying the threat, thus, self-enhancement, then, may be the result of
overcompensating for the threat posed by thin-body images.
Thus, regarding how this variable can be impacted by the exposure to media, and
more specifically pornography, is that when a woman is consistently told through images
in the media and pornography that the women she is seeing is what is considered
“accepted” and “attractive” then she ingrains this in her own mind. She then understands
and conceptualizes that in order to be accepted and viewed as “sexually wanted” in her
culture she must look like the women who are presented to her in these mediums. By the
media constantly using the same type of women to represent the female population at
large it is sending the message that all women must reach this unattainable ideal. This
ensures that a majority of women will always be unsatisfied with how their own body
looks because of the slim possibility that they may actually meet that ideal.
Sexual Satisfaction
Sexual satisfaction is defined as a multidimensional experience involving
thoughts, feelings, personal and sociocultural attitudes and beliefs, combined with
biological factors (Gil, 2007). The sense of enjoyment with one’s sexual life varies given
that sexual satisfaction may be related to prior sexual experiences, current expectations
20
and future intentions. When one thinks about all of the variables previously discussed it
would be imperative to note how to recognize how a woman feels about her body in
general, especially in comparison to others, and when it’s constantly feeling objectified,
matters greatly as to how she acts and feels in the intimate confines of a sexual
relationship with a partner. At that point the sense of vulnerability is heightened as the
clothes come off and the woman is forced to face another person who may or may not be
receptive to what her body has to offer. Previous research has found that individuals
with higher body satisfaction have more frequent sexual experiences, engage in a wider
range of sexual activities, feel more sexually desirable, and report fewer sexual
difficulties than those with lower body satisfaction (Weaver & Byers, 2006). An
investigation by Leopold (2003) revealed body image self-consciousness was a
significant determinant of satisfaction with one’s sex life among women. Those with a
negative body image reported lower sexual satisfaction scores compared with women
who reported a positive body image.
To expand upon the concept of appearance schema is another form of selfschemas that can be seen through the lens of one’s sexuality, which is termed sexual selfschema or sexual self-concept. The self-concept is defined as individual’s perceptions of
themselves – who they are and how they feel and act (Vickberg & Deaux, 2005). The
sexual self-concept is one component of the self-concept. It is defined as “an individual’s
perception of his or her ‘qualities’ in the sexual domain” (Buzwell & Rosenthal, 1996, p.
490). Buzwell & Rosenthal (1996) defined three aspects of the sexual self-concept. The
21
first is sexual self-esteem – one’s self-evaluation of worth as a sexual being. The second
component is sexual self-efficacy or assertiveness, defined as perceptions of mastery of
one’s sexual world. The third component includes one’s beliefs about the sexual self,
including sexual interest and anxiety in sexual situations. There has been little attention
given to cognitive representations of sexuality (Simon & Gagnon, 1987; Whalen & Roth,
1987). For a woman with a clear schematic representation of her sexuality, it should not
only serve as a quick representation of one’s sexual history but also function as a point of
origin for information – judgments, decisions, inferences, predictions and behaviors –
about the current and future sexual self.
Schooler et al. (2005) found that body image self-consciousness (BISC) during
physical intimacy, which is the concern about appearing unattractive and/or fat to one’s
sexual partner, was strongly negatively correlated with sexual assertiveness and sexual
self-efficacy. In one study that examined whether television exposure shapes woman’s
sexual self-concept (this included their sexual self-esteem, sexual assertiveness, sexual
interest, sexual anxiety and BISC) from two different time exposures Aubrey (2007)
found in 149 women that exposure to soap operas, prime-time dramas and amount of
television viewed per day negatively predicted the sexual self-concept, suggesting that in
general, television viewing was damaging to the sexual self-concept. These results are
similar to previous research that found that television viewing predicted satisfaction with
one’s own sex life among both adolescents and college students (Baran, 1976a, 1976b;
Courtright & Baran, 1980).
22
In Fredrickson’s work on Objectification Theory that was presented earlier she
also mentioned the degree to which being objectified can impact women’s rates of sexual
dysfunction. Women report more sexual dissatisfaction and dysfunction in heterosexual
relations than do men (Frank, Anderson & Rubenstein, 1978; Heiman & Verhulst, 1982,
Morokoff, 1990). Moreover, Hyde (1991) had argued that the incidence of women who
have problems having orgasm (particularly in heterosexual sexual intercourse) is so high
that this problem is almost normative. Because research has shown that women and men
are equally “sexual” in terms of their capacity for arousal and orgasm, purely
physiological explanations for this difference are unsatisfactory (Heiman & Verhulst,
1982). Instead, several socialization theories have been offered; the most common and
compelling of which focus on cultural double standards and the enactment of gender-role
stereotypes in the sexual script that can limit the sexual experiences and expressions of
both men and women (Tevlin & Leiblum, 1983). Women are more often expected to be
passive, even asexual, saying either “yes” or “no” to men’s sexual requests, rather than
actively initiating sexual encounters. One consequence of these cultural attitudes, some
have argued, is that women’s role in the sexual script is to give rather than take. This
leads many women to fear appearing “selfish”, (that is, unfeminine) and hence to focus
not on their own desires and physical sensations, but rather on their male partner’s. As a
result, women are less likely to feel pressure to appear sexually experienced and skilled.
However, they may still be self-conscious in sexual situations because they are
attempting to regulate their sexual behavior so as to appear interested and responsive
23
without appearing overly skilled or expressive. This could lead to performance
monitoring of sexual behavior, but not necessarily of arousal.
Chronic attentiveness to one’s own visual image may consume mental energy that
might otherwise be spent on more satisfying and rewarding activity. Originally, this
concept was created by Masters & Johnson (1970), but they referred to it as “spectoring”,
which refers to the monitoring of one’s own sexual activity – or an intense self-focus
during sexual interactions – rather than an immersion in the sensory aspects of a sexual
experience. Sexual spectators become distracted by thoughts about their performance,
which, in turn, interrupt the normal flow of sexual functioning and can inhibit sexual
arousal and orgasm (Masters & Johnson, 1970). When cognitive interference occurs, it
leads to arousal of the autonomic nervous system, producing a negative emotional state
that is not usually synonymous with sexual arousal and pleasure. This distraction can
cause decrease abilities in sexual performance for the spectator (Barlow, 1986; CranstonCuebas & Barlow, 1990). The results of numerous laboratory studies have supported an
association between cognitive distraction and decreased sexual arousal (Adams, Haynes
& Brayer, 1985; Elliott & O’Donohue, 1997; Karafa & Cozzarelli, 1997; Koukounas &
McCabe, 1997; Przybyla & Byrne, 1984).
Steer (2008) specifically tested the Objectification Theory as it applied to
women’s sexual functioning when she examined 116 women undergraduates and found
that neither self-objectification nor self-surveillance was directly related to sexual
functioning, but they were both positively correlated with body shame and appearance
24
anxiety. Both body shame and appearance anxiety themselves were significantly
negatively correlated with sexual functioning when measured in general terms. Both selfobjectification and self-surveillance were significantly correlated with self-consciousness
during sexual activity, in addition, body shame and appearance anxiety were significantly
positively correlated with self-consciousness during sexual activity. A significant
negative correlation was found between self-consciousness during sexual activity and
both general sexual functioning among the broader sample, and current sexual
functioning among the sexually active participants. Self-consciousness during sexual
activity was shown to fully mediate the relationship between both body shame and
appearance anxiety, and general sexual functioning. Thus, the self-consciousness
experienced by women during sexual activity has been identified as the mechanism by
which their body shame and appearance anxiety affect their overall sexual functioning
(Purdon & Holdaway, 2006).
Thus, regarding how this variable can be impacted by the exposure to media, and
more specifically pornography, is that when an individual is exposed to even soft-core
pornographic images that are found in mainstream media or hard-core pornographic
images that are found in mainstream pornography, they will compare how they look and
perform sexually with what they see being done by others. Both men and women tend to
emulate what they see in mass media in general because not only are they exposed to it so
often but they see their peers copying the material themselves. Therefore, when it comes
to what is viewed through pornography it would not be difficult to assume that both
25
genders come to believe that the porn stars are the experts of sexuality and sexual
relations (because it is their job) and thus who better to emulate and be like in one’s own
bedroom? These couples, or individuals, then take what they see and learn from these
porn stars into their own sexual relations with their partners and may continually reflect
back on that material to keep track of what they need to improve upon in order reassure
themselves that they are like everyone else.
Pornography Overview
In the eighth edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English,
pornography is defined as “the explicit description or exhibition of sexual activity in
literature, films, etc., intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional
feelings” (R.E. Allen, 1990). The obvious difficulty with these definitions is the
subjective and relative nature of community standards of aesthetic value, morality and
acceptability. A distinction has sometimes been made between erotica and pornography.
Erotica can be described as sexually explicit material that depicts men and women
consensually involved in pleasurable, nonviolent, non-degrading sexual interactions
(Fisher & Barak, 1989; Marshall & Barrett, 1990). In contrast, pornography can be
described as depictions of sexual activity where one of the participants is objectified or
portrayed as powerless or non-consenting (Marshall & Barrett, 1990). Pornography can
further be divided into two broad categories, based on the presence or absence of physical
violence or threat of violence against an actor/actress. Violent pornography refers to
sexually explicit material portraying sexual aggression, typically enacted by against
26
women (Donnerstein & Berkowitz, 1981; Fisher & Barak, 1989. 1991; Malamuth, 1984;
Marshall & Barrett, 1990; Zillmann & Bryant, 1986), while degrading pornography can
refer to sexually explicit material that depicts people (usually women) as submissive or
hypersexual beings who experience sexual pleasure despite being in degrading or
humiliating circumstances (Fisher & Barak, 1991; Linz et al., 1987). Both violent and
degrading pornography depict sexual interactions that are impersonal, without affection
or consideration of the actors as individuals (Marshall Barrett, 1990). The identification
of degrading pornography is difficult because of the central role of subjective judgment
in the definition. Judgments of degradation, depersonalization and affection are likely to
depend on the context of judgments between actors (i.e. affectionate partners engaging in
bondage role-play), observer characteristics and observer inferences about the mental
states of the actors. Observer characteristics that may be relevant include gender, age,
previous exposure to sexually explicit materials and attitudes regarding sexuality and
depictions of sexuality.
The proliferation of pornography in the current lives of Americans is undoubtedly
linked to the changing technological context of modern society. The extensive
availability of personal computers (beginning in 1982-1985), the subsequent widespread
access of the Internet (beginning in 1995), and the advent of pay-per-view home movies
(beginning in 1990-1995) have changed the technological context for accessing
pornography (Buzzell, 2005a). Cooper et al. (2000) suggested that these technological
advances have created a “triple-A engine” that fuels and increased the trend of
pornography consumption, referring to the increased accountability (millions of
27
pornographic websites are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), affordability
(competition on the internet keeps prices low, and there are a host of ways to get free
pornography) and anonymity of sexually explicit materials (in the privacy of one’s own
home, people perceive their accessing of pornography to be anonymous). These
technological changes make questions about pornography particularly relevant to young
people, who are coming of age in a context where computers and Internet access are
ubiquitous in households and college campuses across America. In addition, this is also a
period in one’s life that is characterized by exploration in the areas of sexuality, romantic
relationships, identity and values, as well increased participation is risk behaviors (Arnett,
2006).
A small number of studies have examined pornography use in the general
population (Cooper et al., 2004; Cooper et al., 2000; Cooper, Galbreath & Becker, 2004;
Cooper et al., 1999) and have found that pornography use is highest among individuals
ages 18-25 (Buzzell, 2005b). Research conducted to date suggests that approximately
50% of college students report viewing pornography on the internet (Boies, 2002;
Goodson et al., 2001). Although men of all ages overwhelmingly report greater
pornography use than do women, Boies (2002) found that in younger samples, women
viewed pornographic material at a higher proportion to males (3:1) than in older samples
(6:1). Other studies have supported gender differences in the types of sexual images and
situations sought by men and women online, with men more likely to pursue sex-related
activity individually through seeking sexually explicit material such as pornography,
28
while women are more likely to engage in interactive activity such as “cyber” or erotic
chatting (Cooper, 2000a; Ferree, 2003; Mills, 1998, Young, 1999).
Positive and Negative Effects of Exposure to Pornography
Traditional heterosexual “mainstream pornography”, directed primarily at
heterosexual male audiences, in both its online and offline variants, is often suspected of:
1. Communicating a sexist portrayal of women, thus furthering sexist attitudes and
abusive behavior against them (Barak, Fisher, Belfry & Lashambe, 1999),
2. Communicating unrealistic body image standards of sexual performance, thereby
making the viewers insecure and unhappy with their own or their partner’s bodies and sex
lives (Albright, 2008), or 3. Of undermining traditional values of marriage, family and
monogamy by showcasing sexual freedom, thus setting the stage for sexual liberalism
and “amoral” or “irresponsible” sexual behavior. Claims of negative effects are often
based on simple stimulus-response or imitation models. Whether or not, and in what
manner, online pornographic images are imitated by its users depends on numerous
factors, though, particularly on the recipients’ evaluations of such practices and
interpersonal communication and consent.
Hald (2008) examined 688 Danish participants (36 men, 372 women) and their
reports as to how pornography has affected them personally in various areas of their life
including their sexual knowledge, attitudes towards sex, attitudes toward and perception
of the opposite sex, sex life and general quality of life. It was found that both men and
women generally reported small to moderate effects of hardcore pornography
29
consumption and little, if any, negative effects of such consumption. For both genders,
the report of overall positive effects of consumption generally was found to be strongly
and positively correlated in a linear fashion with amount of hardcore pornography
consumption. One reason why they experienced very little negative effects of
consumption could be the phenomenon of biased optimism. Similarly, it may also be due
to a response and attention bias whereby participants’ desire for and arousal by
pornography leads to negative effects of consumption being minimized or overlooked
and positive effects maximized or emphasized. Also, a cultural component may be at
play. Participants included in the study were all from a very liberal cultural background
where pornography is widely available and where attitudes toward pornography
traditionally have not been negative. However, with all of these potential biases in mind,
it may also be that participants’ reports are vertical and that, at least in the context of a
highly liberal and sex educated society, pornography’s impact is relatively positive and
that media and popular books’ reports of highly negative effects on consumers are
exaggerated or unfounded. In addition, the findings also demonstrated that men reported
significantly more positive effects from consumption of pornography than women,
however, they did not find that men would report significantly less negative effects of
such consumption compared to women. In fact, in the areas of negative effects on sex life
and life in general, men were found to report significantly more negative effects than
were women, although these levels were low. The fact that individuals’ self-perceived
effects of pornography consumption were generally found to be positive may be
30
interpreted in several ways. The proponents of pornography would argue that the
individuals themselves are in the best position to judge such effects (Abramson &
Pinkerton, 1995; Wilson, 1978) and that results taken from studies like this one should be
taken at face value, however, the critics of pornography would argue that the results
describe “desensitization”, which is a gradual acceptance of pornography as a result of
exposure; one of the most insidious effects of consumption. It was also found that both
genders’ sexual background factors predicted overall positive and negative effects of
pornography consumption. For positive effects it was found that consumers with higher
pornography consumption who believed that pornography was more realistic and who
masturbated more perceived more positive effects of pornography.
However, regarding women especially, there are reported experiences consisting
of shame, guilt or anxiety when they are not just exposed to, but aroused, by sexually
explicit materials; which can be hypothesized as relating back to how American culture
socializes young women to not be active participants in their sexual expression and that
only men should be the individuals that take pleasure from the process. One such study
that examined this very correlation between sex guilt, repression-sensitization, sexual
arousability and sex experience to sexual arousal during erotic stimuli was by Morokoff
(1985). Using 62 women undergraduates the data in that study support the previous
research by showing that sex guilt inhibits self-report of sexual arousal. Thus, the low
sex-guilt women reported being more aroused by the erotic stimuli than the high sex-guilt
women. However, in this study the opposite was found: high sex-guilt women were more
31
physiologically aroused than low sex-guilt women during explicit erotic exposure. The
same unpredicted pattern was found for sexual arousability - high sex-arousability
women reported being subjectively more sexually aroused and were physiologically less
aroused during the experiment than low sexual-arousability women.
Arguments Against the Negative Impact of Exposure to Pornography
For the groups and individuals who attempt to make the argument that exposure
to pornography does not have negative effects on individuals can be a difficult case to
make considering all the cultural discourse of the radical feminist movement in the 1970s
that has evolved to be the default response, especially in regards to the women half of the
population. Many women, either having been taught through their own family’s values
and beliefs that women who embrace and freely express their sexuality are sluts who will
not be good future wives for prospective husbands, or personal experiences with their
partners that involved a waning sexual intimacy between the two after pornography was
brought into the man’s world, women more often than not have been reared and enforced
with the common belief that no respectable woman likes pornography and that it garners
no positive effects.
Thus, in regards to the present study it shouldn’t be too farfetched to postulate
whether education and/or reflection on what scientific research has found to be the
impact of exposure to pornography could possibly alter the already established beliefs
and attitudes that women in our culture have towards the topic. Currently, there is no
research that has examined whether such an intervention could make an impact.
32
Therefore, it is imperative for this avenue to be researched in order to determine if the
possible negative psychological effects of exposure to pornography can be buffered by
education/reflection on the subject; especially due to the already established research that
touts how exposure to pornography effects woman self-esteem and the manner in which
women as a whole are regarded by the men who look at it.
Overview of Present Research and Hypotheses
The present study examined the role that exposure to different degrees of
pornography, or lack thereof, impact women’s levels of body dissatisfaction, selfobjectification, social comparison and sexual satisfaction with their partners. Participants
were exposed to one of three categories of photographs of a heterosexual couple (Neutral,
Soft-Core Pornographic, Hard-Core Pornographic). In addition, they were exposed to one
of three categories of arguments that they had to read through (Degrades Women
Argument, Harm to Others Argument, No Argument). Next, they completed the
Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, Social Comparison Scale, Body Attitudes
Questionnaire and the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction
Questionnaire.
There were four major predictions for this research concerning the influence of
exposure to increasingly graphic pornography on participants’ tendency to engage in
social comparison, their satisfaction with their body, their self-objectification, and sexual
satisfaction. However, no formal hypotheses were formed concerning the impact of the
exposure to different types of arguments supporting pornography because of the lack of
published research in this area.
33
Hypothesis 1. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would heighten social comparison in participants.
Hypothesis 2. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would heighten participants’ body dissatisfaction.
Hypothesis 3. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would heighten participants’ self-objectification.
Hypothesis 4. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would lower participants’ overall sexual satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction rewards
while increasing sexual satisfaction costs.
Research Question 1. Does exposure to different types of arguments supporting
pornography influence participants’ social comparison, body dissatisfaction, selfobjectification, and sexual satisfaction?
Research Question 2. Does exposure to different types of arguments supporting
pornography interact with type of photograph to influence participants’ social
comparison, body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and sexual satisfaction?
34
Chapter 2
METHOD
Participants
Participants were 250 women students from a northern California university, who
volunteered to participate in order to fulfill a research assignment for an undergraduate
psychology course. However, fifty participants were eliminated because they failed to
complete all of the dependent variable measures.
Thus, the sample contained 200 participants, (age M = 21.2, SD = 4.88). The
sample contained 103 White, 9 Black/African American, 18 Asian/Asian American, 33
Hispanic/Latina, 1 Native American, 3 Arab/Arab American, 1 Jewish, 4 Philippine, 25
Bi-racial/Multi-racial and 3 as race unspecified. For religious orientation, the sample
contained 64 Christian, 52 Catholic, 2 Jewish, 1 Hindu, 4 Muslim, 7 Buddhist, 25
Atheist/Agnostic, 1 Wiccan and 44 None. For sexual orientation, the sample contained
153 completely heterosexual, 34 primarily heterosexual, 8 bisexual, 4 completely
homosexual and 1 asexual. For socioeconomic status, the sample contained 43
lower/working class, 141 middle class and 16 upper class. For political orientation, the
sample contained 28 very liberal, 55 liberal, 92 moderate, 23 conservative and 2 very
conservative. Participants were randomly assigned to each condition.
Materials
Photographs
The thirty photographs (ten Neutral, ten Soft-Core Pornographic, and ten HardCore Pornographic) were collected by using Google search engine and entering terms
35
such as “heterosexual couple, activities”, “soft-core porn” and “hard-core porn”. The
Neutral photographs featured a heterosexual couple engaging in fun activities that did not
denote any sexual overtones or behavior (however they might denote romantic behavior).
The Soft-Core Pornographic photographs featured a heterosexual couple engaging in
obvious sexual behavior that was limited to full nudity for both the male and female,
however, no genitalia was shown or actual sexual acts depicted (thus, naked female
breasts were the common theme that were shown throughout the ten photographs). The
Hard-Core Pornographic photographs featured a heterosexual couple engaging in explicit
sexual behavior that included full nudity for both the male and female and involved
gratuitous displays of genitalia and explicit sexual acts being performed including vaginal
and anal intercourse and oral sex.
Written Arguments
The two written one-page arguments were developed to counter the beliefs that
pornography is harmful. These arguments focused upon negating the notion that
1) Pornography is degrading to women, and that 2) Pornography is generally harmful to
others. These arguments were developed from an article by Frederick (1996) in which he
presented and defended against the commonly held negative beliefs about the effects of
viewing pornography. I used the most common arguments (pornography degrades
women and pornography causes harm to others) by editing his original arguments to fit
on one typed, double-spaced page in a concise nature (See Appendix E and F).
36
Body Dissatisfaction
The 50-item Body Attitudes Questionnaire (Story, 1984) was used to measure the
degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with various parts or processes of a person’s
body. The BAQ used a Likert-type scale that included five response options ranging from
have strong negative feelings and wish change could somehow be made to have strong
positive feelings and desire no change to be made. Ratings on each of the 50 individual
body parts or processes ranged from 1-5 with higher-number responses indicating greater
satisfaction. Scores for each item were combined to form a body dissatisfaction index.
The internal reliability for the Expressiveness Index was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha =
.70). In addition, when the scale was first created, the test-retest reliability coefficient was
.91 (Story, 1984) and it was pilot tested using 65 midwestern university students where
comments were gathered that indicated that the questionnaire was “clearly written and
had content (face) validity”. Concurrent validity was tested using 68 midwestern
university students and a correlation coefficient of .88 was obtained between the mean
satisfaction/dissatisfaction ratings from all items on Second & Jourard’s (1953) Body
Cathexis Scale and from the 49 individual body parts or processes on the BAQ (Story,
1984). Reliability analysis was conducted in this study and it was found to be acceptable
(Cronbach’s alpha = .94).
Self-Objectification
The 24-item Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley & Hyde, 1996)
measured the degree to which a woman objectified her own body. The 24 items were
rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree, with a N/A
37
option) with higher-numbered responses indicating greater objectified body
consciousness. The scale was developed with three subscales consisting of body
surveillance (viewing the body as an outside observer), body shame (feeling shame when
the body does not conform to cultural standards), and appearance control beliefs (the
degree of control a woman feels she has over the appearance of her body). A higher score
on the body surveillance subscale indicated that the woman frequently watched her
appearance and thinks of her body in terms of how it looks rather than how it feels, for
body shame, a higher score indicated that the woman felt like she was a bad person if she
did not fulfill cultural expectations for her body, and for appearance control beliefs, a
higher score indicated that the woman believed that she could control her weight and
appearance if she tried hard enough rather than believing that her weight is controlled by
factors such as heredity. Knauss and Paxton (2008) used the scale in examining body
dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls and noted that the scale had been shown to
yield reliable and valid scores for young women (McKinley & Hyde, 1996). For their
study the internal consistency for the body surveillance subscale scores was acceptable
(Cronbach’s alpha = .76) for girls along with the body shame subscale scores
(Cronbach’s alpha = .82). However, the reliability analysis for this study was
unacceptable (Body Surveillance Cronbach’s alpha = .20; Body Shame Cronbach’s
alpha = .68; Control Beliefs Cronbach’s alpha = .26). Thus, these scales were not used in
the analyses.
38
Sexual Satisfaction
The 121-item Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire
(Lawrance, Byer & Cohen, 1992) comprised two measures that assessed the rewards and
costs of a woman’s sexual relationship with her partner in addition to an overall
assessment of their sexual relationship. The Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction
(GMSEX) assessed overall sexual satisfaction with women rating their sex life with their
partner on five 7-point dimensions: Good-Bad, Pleasant-Unpleasant, Positive-Negative,
Satisfying-Unsatisfying, and Valuable-Worthless. Ratings were summed such that
possible scores ranged from 5 to 35 with higher scores indicating greater sexual
satisfaction. The 116-item Rewards/Costs Checklist (RCC) involved presenting women
with a checklist twice (in counterbalance order). Women were asked to indicate whether
each item is a reward in their sexual relationship and whether each item is a cost in their
sexual relationship. The total number of sexual rewards and costs were determined by
summing the number of rewards and costs endorsed. Responses to individual items
indicated the types of rewards and costs experienced. Previous studies using married or
cohabiting respondents in mixed-sex relationships, married individuals in China and
sexual-minority women indicated that the GMSEX has high internal consistency, ranging
from .90 to .96 (Cohen, 2008; Lawrance & Byers, 1992, 1995; Peck, Shaffer &
Williamson, 2004; Renaud, Byers & Pan, 1997). Evidence for the validity is based on a
sample of university students (Lawrance & Byers, 1992) and construct validity for
GMSEX was supported by a significant correlation of -.65 (p < .001) (Hudson, Harrison
& Crosscup, 1981). Scores for the GMSEX and RCC items were combined to form a
39
sexual satisfaction index that was separated into three subscales: Sexual Satisfaction
Rewards (Cronbach’s alpha = .84), Sexual Satisfaction Costs (Cronbach’s alpha = .89)
and Sexual Satisfaction Overall (Cronbach’s alpha = .91). The internal reliability was
acceptable for all subscales.
Social Comparison
The 11-item Social Comparison Scale (Allan & Gilbert, 1995) assessed how a
woman felt about herself in relation to others. It provided women with multiple
incomplete sentences followed by a series of bipolar constructs that they chose from.
These constructs measured different dimensions that they might use to compare themself
to others. For each item the woman was presented with a 10-point Likert-type scale in
which they were asked to circle the number that corresponds to how, in relationship to
others, they felt about themselves. The 11 dimensions include: Inferior-Superior,
Incompetent-More Competent, Unlikeable-More Likeable, Left Out-Accepted, DifferentSame, Untalented-More Talented, Weaker-Stronger, Unconfident-More Confident,
Undesirable-More Desirable, Unattractive-More Attractive, and An Outside-An Insider.
The items were summed for a total score from 11-110. Higher scores demonstrated that
the woman felt that she was better off and had more confidence in comparison to others.
In a study done by Troop et al. (2003) where they examined social comparison and
submissive behavior in eating disorder patients they noted that internal alpha reliability
was acceptable in both patients (Cronbach’s alpha = .93) and students (Cronbach’s alpha
=.91). Reliability analysis was conducted in this study and found to be acceptable
(Cronbach’s alpha = .89).
40
Design
Participants were randomly assigned to the 3 (Type of Photograph: Neutral, SoftCore Pornographic, or Hard-Core Pornographic) x3 (Type of Argument: Degrades
Women, Harm to Others, or No Argument) between participants design. The dependent
variables were participants’ scores on the Objectified Body Conscious Scale, the Body
Attitudes Questionnaire, the Social Comparison Scale and the Interpersonal Exchange
Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire. The latter involved two components, the
Global Model of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX) and the Rewards and Costs Checklist
(RCC).
Procedure
A female experimenter conducted the research in multiple sessions at a university.
Each session contained 1-4 participants. Participants were led to believe that the research
concerned pornography and personality variables involving women. Prior to the
beginning of the experiment, the experimenter spoke with each participant privately to
inform her that she might be exposed to sexually explicit materials and thus she had the
right to drop out of the experiment at any time without penalty. When each participant
entered the room she was asked to sit at a table and seat of her choosing. On top of the
tables and in front of each seat was a cardboard barrier that prevented any of the women
from viewing each other or what was placed in front of the other women. Each woman
signed a consent form that was collected by the experimenter. Next, they were informed
that when the experimenter left the room they could begin by opening the manila
41
envelopes that were placed in front on them on the table and removing all of the materials
inside. The women were also told that they must proceed through the materials in the
packet in the order that they found them. Once they are finished filling out that packet
they were asked to place all materials back inside, put the manila envelope in a box on
top of a filing cabinet in the room and exit the room. Lastly, they were provided with a
thorough debriefing about the nature of the study and thanked for their participation.
42
Chapter 3
RESULTS
Analyses were performed to examine the role that exposure to different forms
of pornography, or lack thereof, impact a woman’s levels of body dissatisfaction, social
comparison and sexual satisfaction with their partners. In addition, type of argument that
countered the arguments that pornography is harmful, or lack thereof, was also examined
and analyzed to investigate the impact that it would have on the above mentioned
dependent variables (body dissatisfaction, social comparison, sexual satisfaction).
Planned comparisons were conducted in order to investigate if Type of
Photograph influenced the dependent variables (See Table 1).
Social Comparison
Hypothesis 1. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would heighten social comparison in women. The data analysis found that women who
were exposed to the Hard-Core t (197) = .567, p = .57 and Soft-Core t (197) = .016, p =
.99 pornographic photographs did not have higher levels of social comparison compared
to women exposed to Neutral photographs. In addition, women who were exposed to
Hard-Core pornographic photographs did not score higher on social comparison than
women exposed to the Soft-Core pornographic t (197) = -.569, p = .57 and Neutral
photographs t (197) = .567, p = .57. Lastly, women who were exposed to Soft-Core
pornographic photographs did not score higher on social comparison than women
43
exposed to the Neutral photographs t (197) = .016, p = .99, nor did they score lower than
the women exposed to Hard-Core pornographic photographs t (197) = -.569, p = .57.
Body Dissatisfaction
Hypothesis 2. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would heighten women’s body dissatisfaction. The data analysis found that women who
were exposed to the Hard-Core t (197) = -.197, p = .84 and Soft-Core t (197) = -.340, p =
.73 pornographic photographs did not score higher on body dissatisfaction than women
exposed to the Neutral photographs. In addition, women who were exposed to the HardCore pornographic photographs did not score higher on body dissatisfaction than women
exposed to the Soft-Core pornographic t (197) = -.149, p = .88 and Neutral photographs t
(197) = -.197, p = .84. Lastly, women who were exposed to Soft-Core pornographic
photographs did not score higher on body dissatisfaction than women exposed to the
Neutral photographs t (197) = -.340, p = .73, nor did they score lower than women
exposed to Hard-Core pornographic photographs t (197) = -.149, p = .88.
Self-Objectification
Hypothesis 3. Since the scale used to assess this variable was unacceptable in its
reliability this hypothesis could not be addressed.
44
Table 1
Participants’ Mean Responses on Measures of Social Comparison, Self-Objectification,
Sexual Satisfaction Overall, Rewards and Costs by Type of Photograph
________________________________________________________________________
Neutral
Measure
Soft-Core
Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
6.47
1.52
6.46
1.27
6.32
1.52
3.50
0.67
3.53
0.60
3.52
0.56
0.70
0.14
0.74
0.13
0.73
0.10
0.26
0.16
0.23
0.17
0.22
0.12
5.73
1.21
5.97
1.07
5.72
0.96
Social
Comparison
Body
Dissatisfaction
Sexual
Satisfaction
Rewards
Sexual
Satisfaction
Costs
Sexual
Satisfaction
Overall
Note. Higher means indicate higher scores on the measure.
45
Sexual Satisfaction Rewards, Costs and Overall
Hypothesis 4. It was predicted that exposure to increasingly graphic pornography
would lower women’s overall sexual satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction rewards while
increasing sexual satisfaction costs. For sexual satisfaction rewards, the data analysis
found that women exposed to the Hard-Core t (187) = -1.62, p = .11 and Soft-Core t
(187) = -1.65, p = .10 pornographic photographs did not score lower on sexual
satisfaction rewards than women exposed to Neutral photographs. In addition, women
exposed to the Hard-Core pornographic photographs did not score the lowest on sexual
satisfaction rewards than women exposed to the Soft-Core pornographic t (187) = -.032,
p = .97 and Neutral photographs t (187) = -1.62, p = .11. Lastly, women exposed to the
Soft-Core pornographic photographs did not score lower on sexual satisfaction rewards
than women exposed to the Neutral photographs t (187) = -1.65, p = .10, nor did they
score higher than women exposed to Hard-Core pornographic photographs t (187) =
-.032, p = .97.
For sexual satisfaction costs, the data analysis found that women exposed to the
Hard-Core t (193) = 1.42, p = .16 and Soft-Core pornographic t (193) = .963, p = .34
photographs did not score higher on sexual satisfaction costs than women exposed to
Neutral photographs. In addition, women exposed to the Hard-Core pornographic
photographs did not score the highest on sexual satisfaction costs than women exposed to
the Soft-Core pornographic t (193) = -.465, p = .64 and Neutral photographs t (193) =
1.42, p = .16. Lastly, women exposed to the Soft-Core pornographic photographs did not
score higher on sexual satisfaction costs than women exposed to the Neutral photographs
46
t (193) = .963, p = .34, nor did they score lower than the women exposed to the HardCore pornographic photographs t (193) = -.465, p = .64.
For sexual satisfaction overall, the data analysis found that women exposed to the
Hard-Core t (197) = .059, p = .95 and Soft-Core t (197) = -1.23, p = .22 pornographic
photographs did not score lower on sexual satisfaction overall than women exposed to the
Neutral photographs. In addition, women exposed to the Hard-Core pornographic
photographs did not score the lowest on sexual satisfaction overall than women exposed
to the Soft-Core pornographic t (197) = -1.34, p = .18 and Neutral photographs t (197) =
.059, p = .95. Lastly, women exposed to the Soft-Core pornographic photographs did not
score lower on sexual satisfaction overall than women exposed to Neutral photographs
t (197) = -1.23, p = .22, nor did they score higher than the women exposed to the HardCore pornographic photographs t (197) = -1.34, p = .18.
Planned comparisons were conducted in order to investigate if Type of Argument
influenced the dependent variables (See Table 2).
Social Comparison
The data analysis found that there were no differences between participants who
were exposed to the Degrades Women Argument and No Argument t (197) = -.715, p =
.48 and the Harm to Others Argument and No Argument t (197) = -1.28, p = .20 for
social comparison. However, there was a significant difference in participants that were
exposed to the Degrades Women Argument and the Harm to Others Argument for social
comparison, specifically, participants who were exposed to the Degrades Women
47
Argument had lower scores of social comparison than participants exposed to the Harm
to Others Argument t (197) = -2.06, p = .04.
Body Dissatisfaction
The data analysis found that there were no differences between women who were
exposed to Harm to Others Argument and No Argument for body dissatisfaction t (197) =
.003, p = .99. However, there was a significant difference in women that were exposed to
the Degrades Women Argument and the Harm to Others Argument for body
dissatisfaction, specifically, women who were exposed to the Degrades Women
Argument had lower scores of body dissatisfaction than women exposed to the Harm to
Others Argument t (197) = -2.46, p = .02. In addition, there was a significant difference
in women that were exposed to the Degrades Women Argument and No Argument for
body dissatisfaction, specifically, women who were exposed to the Degrades Women
Argument had lower scores of body dissatisfaction than women exposed to No Argument
t (197) = -2.33, p = .02.
48
Table 2
Mean Responses on Measures of Social Comparison, Body Objectification, Sexual
Satisfaction Overall, Rewards and Costs by Type of Argument
________________________________________________________________________
Degrades Women
Harm to Others
No Argument
________________________________________________________________________
Measure
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
________________________________________________________________________
Social Comparison
6.17
1.36
6.67
1.40
6.36
1.52
Body Dissatisfaction
3.35
0.59
3.60
0.59
3.60
0.61
0.73
0.12
0.72
0.12
0.72
0.13
0.24
0.14
0.23
0.17
0.24
0.14
5.82
1.01
5.77
1.17
5.84
1.06
Sexual Satisfaction
Rewards
Sexual Satisfaction
Costs
Sexual Satisfaction
Overall
________________________________________________________________________
Note. Higher means indicate higher scores on the measure.
49
Sexual Satisfaction Rewards, Costs and Overall
The data analysis found that there were no differences between women who were
exposed to the Degrades Women Argument t (187) = .247, p = .81, Harm to Others
Argument t (187) = .461, p = .65 and No Argument for sexual satisfaction rewards t
(187) = .202, p = .84. In addition, there were no differences between women who were
exposed to the Degrades Women Argument t (193) = -.033, p = .97, Harm to Others
Argument t (193) = .319, p = .75 and No Argument for sexual satisfaction costs t (193) =
.348, p = .73. Lastly, there were no differences between women who were exposed to the
Degrades Women Argument t (197) = -.111, p = .91, Harm to Others Argument t (197) =
.245, p = .81 and No Argument for sexual satisfaction overall t (197) = .355, p = .72.
Factorial ANOVA for Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Factorial ANOVAs were also conducted to determine whether Type of Argument
and Type of Photograph interacted to influence the women’s responses on the four
dependent variables. The analyses yielded no significant results for the social comparison
measure, F (4, 191) = 1.64, p = .16, MSE = 2.03 (See Table 3), the body dissatisfaction
measure, F (4, 191) = 1.34, p = .25, MSE = .35 (See Table 4) or the sexual satisfaction
rewards measure F (4, 191) = 69, p = .59, MSE = .02 (See Table 5), the sexual
satisfaction costs measure F (4, 191) = .98, p = .41, MSE = .02 (See Table 6) or the
sexual satisfaction overall measure F (4, 191) = 1.32, p = .26, MSE = 1.17 (See Table 7).
50
Table 3
Mean Social Comparison by Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Neutral
Soft-Core Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
Type of Argument
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Degrades Women
12.64
2.88
12.63
2.63
12.49
2.88
Harm to Others
13.14
2.92
13.13
2.67
12.99
2.92
No Argument
12.83
3.04
12.82
2.79
12.68
3.04
Note. High means indicate higher social comparison.
Table 4
Mean Body Dissatisfaction by Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Neutral
Soft-Core Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
Type of Argument
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Degrades Women
6.85 1.26
6.88
1.19
6.87
1.15
Harm to Others
7.10 1.26
7.13
1.19
7.12
1.15
No Argument
7.01 1.28
7.13
1.21
7.12
1.17
Note. High means indicate higher body dissatisfaction.
51
Table 5
Mean Sexual Satisfaction Rewards by Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Neutral
Soft-Core Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
Type of Argument
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Degrades Women
1.43
0.26
1.47
0.25
1.46
0.22
Harm to Others
1.42
0.26
1.46
0.25
1.45
0.22
No Argument
1.42
0.26
1.46
0.26
1.45
0.23
Note. High means indicate higher sexual satisfaction rewards.
Table 6
Mean Sexual Satisfaction Costs by Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Neutral
Soft-Core Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
Type of Argument
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Degrades Women
0.50 0.30
0.47
0.31
0.46
0.26
Harm to Others
0.49 0.30
0.46
0.34
0.45
0.29
No Argument
0.50 0.30
0.47
0.31
0.46
0.26
Note. High means indicate higher sexual satisfaction costs.
52
Table 7
Mean Overall Sexual Satisfaction by Type of Photograph and Type of Argument
Neutral
Soft-Core Pornography
Hard-Core
Pornography
Type of Argument
M
SD
M
SD
M
SD
Degrades Women
11.55
2.22
11.79
2.08
11.54
1.97
Harm to Others
11.50
2.38
11.74
2.24
11.49
2.13
No Argument
11.57
2.22
11.81
2.13
11.56
2.02
Note. High means indicate higher overall sexual satisfaction.
53
Chapter 4
DISCUSSION
The present study examined the role that exposure to different degrees of
pornography impact women’s body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, social
comparison and sexual satisfaction with their partners. In addition, the impact of
argument, which counter the notion that pornography is harmful, was also explored. In
summary, exposure to different degrees of pornography did not influence women’s social
comparison, body dissatisfaction and sexual satisfaction rewards, costs and overall. In
addition, exposure to different arguments concerning pornography did not influence
women’s sexual satisfaction rewards, costs and overall. However, exposure to the
argument that pornography is not degrading to women led to lower social comparison
and body dissatisfaction than exposure to the argument that pornography is generally not
harmful to others. In addition, exposure to the argument that pornography is not
degrading to women also led to lower body dissatisfaction than exposure to no argument
concerning pornography.
These current results do not coincide with much of the previous research that has
been conducted in the area of media exposure and how it impacts women’s body
dissatisfaction, self-objectification, social comparison and sexual satisfaction with their
partners. With regards to Hypothesis 1, which predicted that exposure to increasingly
graphic pornography would heighten social comparison in participants, research suggests
that exposure to thin-ideal images affect weight concerns, mood, self-esteem and
54
depression and that social comparison processes mediate the effect of exposure to thinideal images on symptoms of depression, weight-related thoughts and weight-regulatory
thoughts. Bessenoff (2006) found that in their thin-ideal exposure condition, women with
high body image self-discrepancy were almost twice as likely to engage in social
comparison as women with low body image self-discrepancy. The fact that after being
exposed to either soft-core pornographic or hard-core pornographic images women in the
present study did not report an increase in social comparison could be explained by the
“thinness fantasy” proposed by Myers & Biocca (1992) where instead of feeling worse
about herself after seeing slim media images, a girl or woman may engage in a fantasy of
believing herself to be thinner and more attractive.
With regards to Hypothesis 2, which predicted that exposure to increasingly
graphic pornography would heighten women’s body dissatisfaction, meta-analytic
research by Grabe (2008) showed consistent associations across both experimental and
correlational designs and across multiple measures of women’s body image and eating
behaviors and beliefs. The findings from the experimental literature in the study (57% of
the studies) provide evidence of a link between exposure to thin-ideal media images and
body dissatisfaction in women. In addition, similar outcomes were found in the
correlational literature, which supports this finding and suggests that this phenomenon
also operates outside a laboratory context. The fact that after being exposed to either softcore pornographic or hard-core pornographic images women in the present study did not
report an increase in body dissatisfaction could be explained by other previous research
55
that has found that not all women respond to thin-body images in the media in a similar,
negative manner. Botta (1999), for instance, argued that increased body dissatisfaction as
a result of encountering thin-body images should be confined to those who endorse the
thin ideal. Similarly, Wilcox & Laird (2000) proposed that only women for whom body
shape is salient compare themselves to thin-body images and consequently experience
negative feelings about their own bodies. Thus, it is possible that body shape was
immediately salient for a significant portion of the participants in this research.
With regards to Hypothesis 4, which predicted that exposure to increasingly
graphic pornography would lower women’s overall sexual satisfaction and sexual
satisfaction rewards while increasing sexual satisfaction costs, previous research has
found that individuals with higher body satisfaction have more frequent sexual
experiences, engage in a wider range of sexual activities, feel more sexually desirable,
and report fewer sexual difficulties than those with lower body satisfaction (Weaver &
Byers, 2006). In addition, an investigation by Leopold (2003) revealed body image selfconsciousness was a significant determinant of satisfaction with one’s sex life among
women. Those with a negative body image reported lower sexual satisfaction scores
compared with women who reported a positive body image. The fact that the women in
this study did not report a decrease in sexual satisfaction rewards, overall sexual
satisfaction, or an increase in sexual satisfaction costs after being exposed to either softcore pornographic or hard-core pornographic images may be explained by the lack of
differences found in the other dependent variables examined. Both body dissatisfaction
56
and social comparison showed no differences in women, regardless of which type of
pornographic images they were exposed to, and thus, if those variables were not impacted
by the images then why would sexual satisfaction? If a woman is exposed to a half-naked
or fully naked woman performing sexual acts and she does not socially compare herself
with the model, or feel less satisfied with her body afterwards, then it may be possible
that her beliefs about the sexual satisfaction she experiences with her partner would not
be significantly impacted as well; especially since previous research has demonstrated
that issues such as body dissatisfaction are related to how women feel and perform in the
bedroom (Schooler et al., 2005).
One purpose of this research was to explore whether exposure to arguments that
challenged the notion that pornography is harmful would influence social comparison,
body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and sexual satisfaction. In addition, the research
explored whether exposure to these arguments interacted with exposure to pornography
to influence the variables of interest. The research did find that exposure to the argument
that pornography is not degrading to women did influence women’s social comparison
and body dissatisfaction. However, exposure to different types of arguments did not
significantly interact with exposure to pornography to influence the variables of interest.
Because of the scarcity of previous research to draw upon when examining how
the type of argument would be impacted, if at all, one can only speculate as to why there
were only significant results found for social comparison and body dissatisfaction. It may
be that women who were exposed to the Degrades Women Argument had lower levels of
57
social comparison and body dissatisfaction compared to women exposed to the Harm to
Others Argument because the former argument spoke specifically to a certain population
that the participants could identify with, namely women. By reading an argument that
argued against the notion that women are degraded and viewed as sex objects in
pornography participants may no longer have felt a need to socially compare themselves
to the models that they were then exposed to after the reading. This finding would be
more pronounced than when reading the Harm to Others Argument because the
populations that were being discussed (“others” compared to “women”) were widened.
Regarding the body dissatisfaction finding with the comparison between the Degrades
Women Argument and No Argument the same notion could be applied in that women
who were exposed to an argument that focused on a specific population that the
participants could identify with (other women) they would be less likely to be dissatisfied
with their body than when receiving no argument at all.
With regards to Research Question 2, which asked if exposure to different types
of arguments supporting pornography interacted with type of photograph to influence
women’s social comparison, body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and sexual
satisfaction it was found that there were no significant interactions between the two
independent variables that would make a difference upon the above listed dependent
variables. This could be due to the fact that since there were barely any significant
findings for either independent variable alone then it would be unlikely that any would be
found when examining the interactions between the two.
58
The strengths of this research is that it was an experimental study and not
correlational, which increases the research’s internal validity. However, the research
should be replicated in general, not to mention with larger and more diverse populations.
The limitations of this research have much to do with the methodology that was used,
mainly the fact that the research sessions took at least an hour for each woman to
complete and a majority of the scales were quite long in length and thus it may be
possible that the women grew tired after some time and their answers did not reflect their
true feelings or beliefs. Another aspect of the methodology that should be mentioned is in
regards to the scale that was used to measure sexual satisfaction (Interpersonal Exchange
Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire). At least three to four out of all 200
participants would step out of the room while in the middle of a research session to ask
the experimenter questions regarding how to answer questions on this specific scale. It is
important to note that the manner in which the questions were asked involved the
participant reading a statement about the sexual relationship with their partner (for
example: “Level of affection you and your partner express during sexual activities”) and
then they were asked to circle whether or not that statement was a Reward in their sexual
relationship or Not A Reward (these same questions and process were done for sexual
satisfaction costs). Essentially the questions were asking the women to report that if they
liked what they were receiving from their partner pertaining to the topic of the statement
then it would be considered a Reward or Not A Cost. However, when the women
questioned the experimenter about how to answer they all thought that the questionnaires
59
were listing activities or sexual topics and they were being asked to report if they liked
doing it (Reward) or not (Not A Reward). Thus, it may be possible that there were no
significant findings for this variable because the scale that used was too confusing for the
women or that the experimenter should have explained the directions for each scale prior
to the beginning of the experiment. Another limitation may be the type of medium that
was used to expose the women to pornography, namely using photographs instead of
video. Considering the fact that video offers both visual and audio effects for the viewer
it would not be surprising if there were different results, specifically more significant
results, if video of soft-core and hard-core pornography was used instead of photographs.
In addition, the fact that the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale was found to be
unreliable, and thus, it could not be used for analysis, it should be noted in our limitations
what this could mean for the influence of the independent variables on the dependent
variables under study. More specifically, the question still remains as to what, if any,
impact the type of pornography or type of argument would have upon the self-reports of a
woman’s self-objectification levels. Finally, another limitation was the sample only
included college students. Although there were a few females that were older than the
typical college-age individual the vast majority of the sample were around age 22, were
White, Catholic or Christian and identified as completely heterosexual. Thus, it would be
interesting to investigate if different findings would occur if this study was examined
among a more diverse population that included older adults, non-White individuals who
have a variety of religions and fall all along the sexual orientation spectrum. In addition
60
to the topic of a representative sample, considering the fact that the research topic
focused on such a sensitive subject as pornography one must also keep in mind the type
of volunteers that choose to participate in such research. For example, this area of
research may be missing a wealth of information from individuals who would choose to
not expose themselves to pornography either due to personal/religious beliefs or because
they already have a negative opinion of the issue.
Overall, this research has demonstrated that for this sample exposure to different
degrees of pornography does not have a negative effect on college-aged women. It does
not cause them to have higher levels of body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, social
comparison and lower levels of sexual satisfaction with their partners. Future research
needs to explore why exactly this is; for example, is it because as technology progresses
and pornography becomes more mainstream women are becoming more immune to the
previous generations beliefs that it is detrimental to women? Or are women just
becoming more comfortable with their sexuality and thus they would prefer outlets, like
the ones men have, that allow them to explore and be voyeurs in the sexual lives of
others? In addition, future research could explore the possible impact that various
personality variables may contribute to this equation. Previous research has already
demonstrated that increased body dissatisfaction as a result of encountering thin-body
images can only be confined to those who endorse the thin ideal (Botta, 1999). Thus, are
there certain personality variables found in women who experience an easier time
endorsing and internalizing the messages from the media concerning her appearance?
61
Furthermore, there exists the occurrence of the “fantasy effect”, which posits that instead
of feeling worse about herself after seeing slim media images, a girl or woman may
engage in a fantasy of believing herself to be thinner and more attractive (Myers &
Biocca, 1992). One hypothesis is that certain personality factors contribute to these
differences; for example, are neurotic women more likely to buy into the media messages
about the thin ideal for fear of not fitting in with the larger culture? Or, are women who
are high in conscientiousness more likely to pay attention to the details of how to present
themselves and thus be painfully aware at all times of how they should look to fit in? It
would be wise for future researchers to keep in mind that the most likely equation that
answers the above questions involves the inclusion of a multitude of variables that make
up an individual and that what may be true for some is not true for others. The fact of the
matter regarding the presence of pornography in American culture and how that impacts,
or does not impact, women is the much needed recognition by mainstream culture and
researchers alike that women are innately sexual creatures just as much as men are and
that even though they may not present their libidos, desires or wants in a similar manner
as men does not automatically invalidate their sexuality as a whole. Keep in mind that
men have had the luxury of many generations to freely express their sexuality and spread
the message of what they prefer in the bedroom to turn up their arousal, whereas many
women are still in the process of figuring out what exactly they like, let alone building up
the courage to actually ask for it from a partner. Sometimes a little extra patience and
62
time is needed to figure out what women really want, we just have to ask for them from
both sexual partners, researchers and the world at large.
63
APPENDIX A
Consent Form
I hereby agree to participate in research which will be conducted by Elizabeth Rowell,
which may involve viewing photographs that are sexually explicit in nature, reading a
short article and filling out a series of questionnaires relating to personality constructs.
The research will take place in Amador Hall and will require 60 minutes of my time.
I understand that I will receive 1 hour of credit toward satisfying the Psychology
Department’s research participation requirement by participating in this study.
I understand that this research may help me learn more about myself and the research
process in general.
I understand that this research may have the following risks: exposure to material that
may generate aversive emotions, emotionally painful recollections, or provision of any
personally sensitive information from the participant (i.e. information about drug use,
sexual orientation, etc.).
I understand that my anonymity will be maintained and my data will be kept confidential.
My name on this consent form cannot be connected to the answers I provide in the
questionnaires. In addition, the results will be reported at the group and not the
individual level. I will also be able to answer the questionnaires with borders surrounding
my workspace so that other participants will not be able to view my responses.
This information was explained to me by the researcher. I understand that the researcher
will answer any questions I may have now or later about this research. Elizabeth Rowell
can be reached at liz_rowell@yahoo.com.
I understand that I may discontinue my participation at any time without any penalty
other than the loss of research credit, and that the researcher may discontinue my
participation at any time.
Print Name:____________________________________________________
Signature:______________________________________________________
Date:__________________________________________________________
64
APPENDIX B
Instructions
Please read through the following directions thoroughly:
Step 1.
Open the manila envelope and keep the contents in the order that
you find them. Please do not move on to the next page of the
packet until you have completed the prior page.
Step 2.
Look at each of the 10 photographs for a couple of seconds/minutes
until you feel that you have thoroughly reviewed them.
Step 3.
On the blank piece of paper provided write a few sentences
describing your initial reaction(s) to the photographs.
Step 4.
Read the one page article that is provided. If there is no article
provided then move on to the next page.
Step 5.
Finally, fill out the 4 questionnaires and the demographics sheet.
Step 6.
When finished with the entire packet, place all materials back into
the manila envelope and place the envelope in the basket that is
placed in the room.
Step 7.
Leave the examination room to be debriefed by the researcher who
is outside in the hallway.
65
APPENDIX C
Debriefing
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of three categories of
photographs, each containing different forms of interactions between a heterosexual
couple (neutral, soft-core pornographic or hard-core pornographic) and female’s reports
of the sexual satisfaction that they experience with their partners along with their levels
of self-objectification, body dissatisfaction and social comparison. In addition, after being
exposed to one of the three categories of photographs, I was interested in the role that
different arguments against the hypothetical negative effects of viewing sexually explicit
material have on participant’s responses to the above dependent variables.
Hypotheses and Supporting Research
Prior research by Aubrey (2007) found in college women that exposure to
sexually objectifying media was positively correlated with body surveillance and trait
self-objectification, both of which were positively correlated with body shame and
appearance anxiety. In addition, Steer & Tiggemann (2008) found that both selfobjectification and self-surveillance were significantly positively correlated with selfconsciousness during sexual activity and that with this feeling of self-consciousness came
body shame and appearance anxiety. Bessenoff (2006) explored how the media affects
social comparison and the thin-ideal concept in college females and found that women in
the thin-ideal exposure condition who had high body image self-discrepancy were almost
twice as likely to engage in social comparison than the females with low body image selfdiscrepancy.
Therefore I hypothesized that as the photographs increased in their degree of
sexual explicitness participants would then report having lower sexual satisfaction, but
higher levels of self-objectification, body dissatisfaction and social comparison.
Regarding the exposure to one of the arguments against the negative effects of exposure
to sexually explicit material, due to the fact that there is no previous research in this area
this component of the research is exploratory in nature.
Contact Information
The results of this study will be available by summer 2011. If you would like
further information about the study or have questions regarding the experiment, please
contact Elizabeth Rowell at liz_rowell@yahoo.com at your convenience.
Psychological Services
If this study evoked any painful memories or negative emotional responses that
are troubling you, please contact the Student Health Center’s Psychological Services at
916-278-6416. The counselors there will be happy to provide assistance to you.
66
APPENDIX D
Demographics
1. Did anyone, other than the researcher, tell you anything about the study before you
participated in the study today?____________________
If yes, what had you been told?
2. What do you believe is the purpose of this study?
3. How old are you?______
4. Check the term that you would use to label/define the photographs that you were
exposed to in the study.
Neutral_______
Soft-Core Pornographic______
Hard-Core Pornographic_______
5. Check the ethnicity/race that best describes you.
White______
Black/African American______
Asian/Asian American______
Hispanic/Latino/Latina______
Native American______
Arab/Arab American______
Jewish______
Philipino______
Bi-racial; Multi-racial______
Other______
6. Check the religious affiliation that best describes you.
Protestant/Christian______
Catholic______
Jewish______
Hindu______
Muslim______
Buddhist______
Atheist/Agnostic______
67
Wiccan______
None______
Other______
7. Check the sexual orientation that best describes you.
Completely heterosexual______
Primarily heterosexual______
Bisexual______
Primarily homosexual______
Completely homosexual______
Asexual______
Other_______
8. Check the socioeconomic status that best describes you and/or your family.
Lower class/working class______
Middle class______
Upper class______
Other______
9. Check the political orientation that best describes you.
Very liberal______
Liberal______
Moderate______
Conservative______
Very conservative______
68
APPENDIX E
Article
Some individuals believe that pornography should be outlawed due to the theory
that pornography degrades women by portraying them as subservient to, or inferior to,
men.
First, suppose the contention of this argument was true. It could not justify
prohibition or censorship of pornography. For – given that harms to women could fall
under a broader argument of “harming-others in general” – the objective of the
prohibition or censorship would be purely to suppress an opinion (i.e. that women are
subservient to, or inferior to, men). Such an objection could not be entertained by the
government of a free society. And it could not be achieved simply by prohibiting or
censoring pornography, since the opinion in question could still be expressed in nonpornographic representations.
Second, this belief about pornography and its view of women is incoherent if
interpreted as a criticism of the medium (i.e. the notion that the alleged negative effects of
pornography arise purely through it being sexually explicit material which is intended to
sexually arouse). For heterosexual pornography involves both women and men, either
separately or together. Lesbian pornography only involves women, and gay pornography
only involves men. Sado-masochistic (S&M) pornography may involve men being
subservient to women. In short, there is no asymmetry between the sexes which is
inherent to pornography. So, if the medium of pornography degrades women, it degrades
men too.
Third, the degrades-women argument should be interpreted as a criticism of the
message contained in pornography. But even this is not true. While pornography may
portray women as sexual creatures, the bulk of it portrays them as independent people in
control of their lives who engage in sex because they enjoy it.
69
APPENDIX F
Article
Some individuals believe that pornography should be outlawed due to the theory
that the consumption (and perhaps also production) of pornography makes those who
engage in it more likely to commit sexual offenses or that it could cause harm to children,
if they are used in the production or are exposed to it.
First, suppose the contention of this argument was true. It could not justify
prohibition or censorship of pornography. For the reason behind such a prohibition or
censorship would be to reduce the incidence of sexual offenses. This is an objective that
can be pursued through other measures. A preventative measure would be to improve
education (i.e. better sex education or better teaching of the importance of respect for
people and property). A more obvious measure would be better law enforcement and
stiffer penalties for such offenders. Surely, everyone but the criminals would agree that
tougher action against offenders is preferable to suppression of a fundamental human
right?
As for the argument regarding harm to children, there is no empirical evidence
that exposure to pornography causes harm to children (for obvious reasons experiments
have not been conducted). Given that sex is an everyday and pleasurable activity that the
vast majority of children will eventually voluntarily engage themselves in, it is difficult to
understand how representations of such activity could affect them adversely (unless there
was something unusual or disturbing about the messages contained in the material, or
about the circumstances in which they were introduced to it).
There is empirical evidence, though, that has been noted in numerous books and
articles relating to childhood sexuality, that even during infancy and early childhood
young children are sexual creatures by nature. They have a desire to masturbate, play and
explore other people’s bodies in an effort to not necessarily arouse themselves but
because they are curious and want to do things to their bodies that just feel good.
70
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