The effects of age and group norms on self-objectification in women
Introduction
The aim of this research is to explore the role of age and group norms, on levels of self-objectification. This will be studied quantitatively and if hypothesises are supported, would provide evidence that the influence of injunctive and descriptive group norms may depend on what age group you belong to.
Self-objectification is a form of self perception in which one sees themselves as having the properties of an object and regards themselves from a third-person perspective (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). This is problematic for women for numerous reasons, ranging from increased likelihood of eating disorders (Noll & Fredrickson, 1998) and depression (Jones & Griffiths, …show more content…
For example younger women who self-objectify may be influenced by injunctive norms, as by engaging in body monitoring they are already making judgements on what their body should look like. However, descriptive norms may also play a role, as most people want to act in a way that is similar to their group. On the other hand, older women may not be as strongly influenced by injunctive norms, as they tend to engage in less body monitoring (Grippo & Hill, 2008). This is something that I will try and explore, and will aim to see whether the type of normative message (injunctive vs descriptive) effects levels of self-objectification in both young women and older …show more content…
Exploring the role of group norms therefore is important because it can provide us evidence on how the two groups differ in responses to norms, and most importantly show that older women are affected by normative messages about self-objectification. Future research on reducing self-objectification will then know which type of norm to target. Theoretically this research would provide a link between the role of group norms and age, on self-objectification. There has been very little research on the impact of group norms on self-objectification, especially in relation to age. It may be that older women react to such messages differently than younger women, however this has not been tested, and so this study would hope to fill that gap to some
Introduction
The aim of this research is to explore the role of age and group norms, on levels of self-objectification. This will be studied quantitatively and if hypothesises are supported, would provide evidence that the influence of injunctive and descriptive group norms may depend on what age group you belong to.
Self-objectification is a form of self perception in which one sees themselves as having the properties of an object and regards themselves from a third-person perspective (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). This is problematic for women for numerous reasons, ranging from increased likelihood of eating disorders (Noll & Fredrickson, 1998) and depression (Jones & Griffiths, …show more content…
For example younger women who self-objectify may be influenced by injunctive norms, as by engaging in body monitoring they are already making judgements on what their body should look like. However, descriptive norms may also play a role, as most people want to act in a way that is similar to their group. On the other hand, older women may not be as strongly influenced by injunctive norms, as they tend to engage in less body monitoring (Grippo & Hill, 2008). This is something that I will try and explore, and will aim to see whether the type of normative message (injunctive vs descriptive) effects levels of self-objectification in both young women and older …show more content…
Exploring the role of group norms therefore is important because it can provide us evidence on how the two groups differ in responses to norms, and most importantly show that older women are affected by normative messages about self-objectification. Future research on reducing self-objectification will then know which type of norm to target. Theoretically this research would provide a link between the role of group norms and age, on self-objectification. There has been very little research on the impact of group norms on self-objectification, especially in relation to age. It may be that older women react to such messages differently than younger women, however this has not been tested, and so this study would hope to fill that gap to some