Comparing Group Dehumanization and Intra-Sexual Competition Among Normally Ovulating Women and Hormonal Contraceptive Users

Abstract

Two studies address the role of hormonal shift across menstrual cycle in female dehumanization of other women. In Study 1, normally ovulating women (NOW) and women who use hormonal contraceptives (HCW) are compared in terms of how much they dehumanize other women and two other control targets (men and elderly people). In NOW, the level of dehumanization of other women, but not of men and elderly people, increases as the conception risk is enhanced. HCW do not show this pattern of results. In Study 2, we investigate the level of dehumanization of other women and of intra-sexual competition. Findings concerning dehumanization replicate those of Study 1. Intra-sexual competition increases with the rise of conception risk only in NOW. In addition, dehumanization is significantly associated with intra-sexual competition in NOW but not in HCW. Together, these studies demonstrate that dehumanization of women is elicited by menstrual cycle-related processes and associated with women's mate-attraction goals.

Automatic female dehumanization across the menstrual cycle

“…Moreover, women who are more motivated to look attractive to men are also more prone to dehumanize sexualized women (Puvia & Vaes, ). In contrast, research on the relationship between the menstrual cycle and appearance demonstrates that increased levels of LoC are associated with enhanced levels of intra‐sexual comparison along physical‐attractiveness dimensions (Fisher, ; Piccoli et al ., ). Specifically, during ovulation women are more likely to bolster their desire to dress more appealingly (Durante et al ., ; Röder, Brewer, & Fink, ) when primed with pictures of attractive but not unattractive women (Durante et al ., ).…”

“…In this study, we address this issue by taking advantage of previous work by Piccoli et al . (). Specifically, we tested whether increasing levels of Loc led normally ovulating women to automatically dehumanize other women, but not men.…”

“…Contextual (e.g., pictures of naked vs. clothed female targets) and individual (e.g., gender perceivers) factors which stress the relevance of female appearance have been shown to promote explicit and implicit dehumanization of other women (i.e., viewing others as less than human; Bernard, Gervais, Allen, Campomizzi, & Klein, ; Gray, Knobe, Sheskin, Bloom, & Barrett, ; Puvia & Vaes, ; Vaes, Paladino, & Puvia, ). In the current study, we recast the analyses of women's dehumanization of other women within the mate‐attraction goal perspective (Fisher, ; Piccoli, Foroni, & Carnaghi, ). Specifically, we test whether higher levels of LoC, which have been demonstrated to enhance the relevance of female appearance, are associated with stronger automatic dehumanization of women, but not men.…”

“…Taking advantage of these results, Piccoli et al . () argue that the enhancement of LoC is associated with a stronger focus on female attractiveness – the core process of intra‐sexual comparison – which acts as a proxy of the dehumanization of other women. This hypothesis has been confirmed in two experiments in which female participants were asked to select words that best match their representations of women and men from a list containing 10 words pertaining to animals (e.g., instinct) and 10 words pertaining to humans (e.g., culture; see Fasoli et al ., ).…”

Female Gaze Behaviour, Status and the Menstrual Cycle: An Exploratory Study

“…The relationship between gaze behaviour and status disparity in human females is rendered more difficult to interpret when menstrual cycle effects and oral contraceptive use are considered. Several parameters of female behaviour and cognitions have been shown to alter with menstrual phase (Buser, 2012;Gangestad et al, 2004;Lübke & Pause 2014;Mastaka, & Shibasaki, 2012;Piccoli, Foroni, & Carnaghi, 2013). Although evidence regarding the effects of menstrual phase on female competitiveness is equivocal Buser (2012) intrasexual competition appears to be related to levels of circulating testosterone (Hahn, Fisher, Cobey, et al, 2016) and this hormone fluctuates across the menstrual cycle (Al-Dujaili & Sharp, 2012).…”