James K. Beggan

On the social nature of nonsocial perception: The mere ownership effect.

The assumption of the present research was that ownership of an object causes the owner to treat the object as a social entity because ownership creates a psychological association between the object and the owner. Three experiments investigated whether Ss would evaluate an object more favorably merely because they owned it, a bias analogous to other self-serving biases people display.

Association as a psychological justification for ownership

Abstract As noted by legal scholars (e.g., Saks, 1986), little research has been conducted on the psychology of ownership decision making. The present research examined this issue within a psychological framework which showed that an individuals judgments about a target can be affected by the presence of an association between the target and another entity. In three experiments, subjects were asked to resolve a dispute between two parties over possession of an object. In Study 1, subjects judged that the person pictured with an object had a stronger claim of ownership over it. Study 2 showed that prior use was a justification for ownership and that past investment in an object (in terms of working with it) was a justification for ownership, a finding replicated in the third study. In Study 3, the intentions of the disputants affected the strength of their perceived claim of ownership.

Sexism and Pornography Use: Toward Explaining Past (Null) Results

Abstract Empirical research has failed to provide a clear understanding of the relationship between pornography use and sexism. Study 1 showed an inverse correlation between modern sexism and pornography use, such that participants who used pornography more frequently displayed less sexist attitudes. Study 2 found a positive correlation between pornography use and benevolent sexism, such that participants who used pornography more frequently displayed more benevolent sexism. Our studies provide insight into the largely inconclusive findings of previous research on pornography use and sexist attitudes toward women.

What Do Playboy Playmates Want? Implications of Expressed Preferences in the Construction of the “Unfinished” Masculine Identity

Although the literature on mate preferences indicates that women prefer men with both stereotypic masculine traits, such as strength and assertiveness, and stereotypic feminine traits, such as nurturance and sensitivity, men are encouraged to adopt identities that include only stereotypic masculine traits. This discrepancy produces gender-based role strain for men caught between the desires of women and the demands of social convention. We suggest that the centerfold text published in Playboy magazine provides a useful social infrastructure to help men develop more broadly defined conceptualizations of masculinity. In our analysis of Playboy playmate centerfold texts, we found that playmates expressed a preference for men who included stereotypic feminine attributes in their identities. In the context of attempting to be more attractive to women such as Playboy playmates, the adoption of feminine attributes can be readily justified and help men experience less gender-based role strain.

Reflexivity in the Pornographic Films of Candida Royalle

Both conventional wisdom and prior scholarship indicate that women typically find pornography less appealing than men. Recently, researchers have suggested that the sexually explicit films of Candida Royalle represent a new form of pornography that is more attractive to women. We examined the films of Candida Royalle in terms of reflexivity, a film technique that draws attention to film conventions and the filmmaking process within the context of a film. We identify three reflexive processes that operate in Candida Royalle’s films and consider how they may contribute to the development of a subject space that makes her films more appealing to women, in comparison to traditional pornographic films. The benefits of this new subject space are considered.

Intended and Unintended Overconsumption of Physical, Spacial, and Temporal Resources

Two experiments investigated whether people overconsume nonpartitioned physical, spatial, and temporal resources; whether this overconsumption reflects intended or unintended processes; and whether these processes have adverse inferential and behavioral consequences. In Experiment 1, members of large groups overconsumed nonpartitioned resources of all types, especially nonpartitioned temporal resources. Moreover, these overconsumptions stemmed from both intentional motives as well as from an unintentional perceptual bias. Even when allocated their equal share of a nonpartitioned resource in Experiment 2, members of large groups judged it to be less than their equal share, a perceptual bias that produced pejorative trait inferences and retaliatory overconsumption choices. Theoretical and practical implications for resource management are discussed.

An Analysis of Stereotype Refutation in Playboy by an Editorial Voice: The Advisor Hypothesis

Recent accounts of the contact hypothesis have stressed the cognitive aspects of the phenomenon. On the basis of this call for reformulation, we propose the existence of the advisor hypothesis, i.e., the idea that third parties can use their influence to inhibit stereotyping about in-group and out-group members. We conducted an examination of this construct, with reference to gender stereotypes, using an archival data set of 38 years of the “Playboy Advisor” column. Evidence from both qualitative and quantitative analyses indicated that the Playboy Advisor carried out several actions to inhibit misogyny and discourage the application of stereotypes to both men and women. Implications and limitations of the present research are discussed.

Derogatory stereotypic beliefs and evaluations of male nurses

One reason for the severe short age of nurses is the un will ing ness of males to pursue the profession in great numbers. This article explores people’s negative stereotypic beliefs about males in the nursing profession. Participants were asked to provide evaluations and trait descriptions of both male and female nurses. The results revealed that both male and female participants harbored favorable impressions of female nurses but unfavorable impressions of male nurses. Male participants were especially likely to form negative evaluations of men who pursue the nursing profession. Exploratory multivariate analyses of trait descriptions revealed that male nurses are viewed as feminine, non traditional, intelligent, and caring. Additional results suggest that unfavorable stereo types of male nurses can be moderated by highlighting the masculine qualities of nurses’ job duties. Implications for the recruitment of males into nursing are discussed.

Viva Viva? Women's Meanings Associated with Male Nudity in a 1970s “For Women” Magazine

Little research has been conducted with regard to how women view male nudity. The purpose of this analysis was to present an historical case study of Viva, a 1970s womens magazine geared toward the presentation of male nudity. Implicit in Vivas editorial direction was the assumption that womens sexuality is socially constructed and, thus, modifiable but also homologous to mens sexuality. Using sexual scripting theory as a sensitizing concept, a content analysis of womens letters to the editor was conducted. Letters justified inclusion of male nudity on the basis of principles of fairness and equality with men. In addition, letters tried to demarcate boundary conditions for what constituted acceptable male nudity in terms of the presence of erection, size, shape, and coloring of the penis, and whether inclusion of the penis was contextualized by other physical traits such as body musculature. Despite an early effort to modify cultural scripts on the basis of a constructivist world view, it was found that, ultimately, Viva advocated an essentialist viewpoint that reified existing conceptualizations of female sexuality as both static and uninterested in the visual representation of sexually related material. This study explored whether Vivas essentialist final position may have reflected financial exigencies rather than ideologies.

The Playboy Rabbit is Soft, Furry, and Cute: Is This Really the Symbol of Masculine Dominance of Women?

Images presented in the mass media often contain subtexts that perpetuate gender stereotypes. We suggest that in some instances, underlying messages in mass media can operate to oppose, rather than reinforce, gender stereotypes. To examine this hypothesis, we used the first ten years of Playboy magazine as our data source. We provide evidence that the magazine attempted to broaden the conceptualization of masculinity by defining as the ideal an identity that incorporated a number of characteristics traditionally associated with women. We identify several processes by which Playboy accomplished this goal. These processes included co-opting the meaning of the word “playboy,” associating sexual success with the possession of traditionally feminine traits, and using a rabbit as Playboy‘s symbol.