The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 64 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
More than a body: Mind perception and the nature of objectification.
Abstract
According to models of objectification, viewing someone as a body induces de-mentalization, stripping away their psychological traits. Here evidence is presented for an alternative account, where a body focus does not diminish the attribution of all mental capacities but, instead, leads perceivers to infer a different kind of mind. Drawing on the distinction in mind perception between agency and experience, it is found that focusing on someone's body reduces perceptions of agency (self-control and action) but increases perceptions of experience (emotion and sensation). These effects were found when comparing targets represented by both revealing versus nonrevealing pictures (Experiments 1, 3, and 4) or by simply directing attention toward physical characteristics (Experiment 2). The effect of a body focus on mind perception also influenced moral intuitions, with those represented as a body seen to be less morally responsible (i.e., lesser moral agents) but more sensitive to harm (i.e., greater moral patients; Experiments 5 and 6). These effects suggest that a body focus does not cause objectification per se but, instead, leads to a redistribution of perceived mind.
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Citations
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“This is consistent with the ideas of Haslam and colleagues, who suggested that we can dehumanize people either by likening them to robots, involving a loss of experience, or likening them to animals, involving a loss of agency (Haslam, 2006; Haslam et al., 2008; Loughnan & Haslam, 2007).”
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“Alternatively, ascriptions of moral rights are linked to perceptions of experience (H. M. Gray et al., 2007; Regan, 1985), so if a body focus increases perceived experience, it should also lead to a greater perceived entitlement to avoid harm.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation
Cited by
Mind Perception Is the Essence of Morality
Gray, K., Young, L., & Waytz, A. (2012) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2012.651387 · Cited by 1,008
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Gray, K., & Wegner, D. M. (2012) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2012.06.007 · Cited by 941
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Media and sexualization: State of empirical research, 1995–2015
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Rethinking people’s conceptions of mental life
Weisman, K., Dweck, C. S., & Markman, E. M. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1704347114 · Cited by 182
Metadata
- Authors
- Gray, K., Knobe, J., Sheskin, M., Bloom, P., & Barrett, L. F.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 101
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1207-1220
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2087683740
- Cited by
- 277
- References
- 64
- FWCI
- 37.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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- Gray, K., Knobe, J., Sheskin, M., Bloom, P., & Barrett, L. F. (2011). More than a body: Mind perception and the nature of objectification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025883
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