Over the few months time we spent on our latest study on the objectification of women in the public eye, our lives as scientists played out normally:• Design the study — Which women should we use to be rated? Should we include this measure or that one?• Analyze the results — Yes, the results are significant and as hypothesized.• Publish the academic article — We got accepted!But then the media got hold of our findings and the subsequent reaction was always surprising — and often appalling. In his Psychology Today blog, Dr. Stanton Peele reviewed my ... Read More
Sex Appeal May Have Hurt Sarah Palin
March 4, 2009 • By • 28 Comments
In a Sept. 4, 2008 column, just after Sarah Palin accepted the Republican nomination for vice-president, Will Wilkinson wrote admiringly of her “sexual power,” adding: “I think she is a tremendously sexy woman. How this will affect the race, I have no idea, but it’s just got to.” New research suggests the Cato Institute research fellow was right. The Alaska governor’s attractiveness may indeed have affected the race — by making voters less likely to support the GOP ticket. In a paper just published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, psychologists Nathan ... Read More
Palin, Biden Both Winners
October 3, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
A CBS News survey of 473 uncommitted voters found that following the debate, 53 percent said they now have a better impression of Sen. Joseph Biden. Only 5 percent had a worse opinion, while 42 percent said the debate did not change their impression of the Delaware Democrat. Similarly, 55 percent said they now have a better impression of Gov. Sarah Palin. Fourteen percent said they had a lower opinion of the Alaska Republican, while 30 percent said their views were unchanged. The percentage of people who viewed Palin as knowledgeable on the issues increased from 43 percent before the debate to ... Read More
