With naked skin, our empathy fades - with far-reaching consequences

Sexualized presentation with far-reaching consequences on perception

Sex sells - this is a motto many industries have exploited and the depiction of naked skin is almost ubiquitous. The effects of sexualized presentation, especially the emphasis on secondary sexual characteristics, on the perception of others has been investigated in a recent study. Empathic feelings and brain reactions are therefore reduced when we observe the emotions of sexualized women.

The research team led by Giorgia Silani from the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna has investigated the consequences of sexualised presentation. In the case of women, for example, it has been shown that as a result of the sexualized presentation, important social characteristics are denied to them by their fellow human beings. In the current study, the scientists were able to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to demonstrate that the brain also undergoes an altered activation of the brain areas underlying the empathy.

In the sexualized representation of women, the empathy of others changes, which is also associated with a reduced brain activity in the brain realm, which are responsible for empathic feelings. (Image: denisismagilov / fotolia.com)

Interpersonal perception changed

According to social psychologists, sexualization (or sexual objectification) clearly influences the way we perceive an individual. It is known from previous investigations that sexual characteristics of certain human characteristics, such as morals or responsibility, are sometimes denied. According to the researchers, the conclusion was obvious that the feelings of people who have been sexually represented are also perceived differently.

Examination of brain activity

In the current study, the research team led by Giorgia Silani from the University of Vienna in cooperation with Carlotta Cogoni from the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA-ISAS) in Trieste and Andrea Carnaghi from the University of Trieste investigated how the perception of emotions by the People in women who have been sexually altered have changed. For this purpose, they also analyzed the brain activity of the subjects by means of MRI images. The results of the study were published in the journal "Cortex".

Follow the sexualized representation analyzes

"The use of sexualized representations, especially in Western society, is common in causing emotions - especially lust -; this with the aim of increasing the hedonistic value of the represented object, as happens for example in advertising "; reports the University of Vienna. In other words "sex sells". The consequences of this sexualised presentation on empathic perception have been investigated in the current study by means of various experiments in which, in addition to the subjective sensation, the objective activation of the brain was also determined.

Clothes with considerable influence

The research team found out in his experiments that by simply modifying the clothing (with more or less visible body parts / skin), the empathic feelings towards the depicted women change. "Thus, the empathy for women who were presented sexually objectified, lower compared to personalized women," says University of Vienna.

Reduced activation of the empathy network in the brain

Study leader Giorgia Silani explains that the reduction of empathic feelings towards sexually objectified women has been manifested in a diminished activity of the brain areas underlying empathy. "This suggests that the viewing subjects had a diminished ability to share the emotions of sexualized women," Silani continued. The researcher suggests that "the underlying mechanism for this response is a reduced activation of the brain empathy network." (Fp)