PERCEPTUAL RESPONSES TO GENDERED ANTI-FAT STEREOTYPES: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION SOURCES AND TEXT CONTENT IN EYE MOVEMENT PATTERNS
Abstract
This study explores how textual information containing anti-fat stereotypes affects visual attention toward images of fat individuals, using eye-tracking methodology. Thirty-two stimuli paired short stereotype-based texts with images of a fat man and woman. Each text varied along three independent variables: stereotype topic (e.g., laziness, health risk), target gender (men or women), and information source (scientific vs. public opinion). A total of 22 university students (16 women) participated, and gaze data was collected using a Gazepoint GP3 eye tracker. Two eye-tracking indicators were analysed: fixation count and total viewing time. Significant effects were found for stereotype content on fixation count, F(7, 896) = 3.09, p = .003, and viewing time, F(7, 896) = 3.67, p < .001. A significant three-way interaction between topic, gender, and information source on fixation count was also observed, F(7, 896) = 9.01, p < .001. Follow-up tests showed that laziness elicited higher fixation counts for male stimuli, while heart attack risk led to longer viewing times for female stimuli. An interaction between topic and information source, F(7, 896) = 2.12, p = .040, revealed that public opinion increased attention to social stereotypes (e.g., laziness), while scientific sources drew more attention to job and health-related stereotypes. These findings suggest that both textual framing and information source shape how individuals attend to images of fat individuals. While eye-tracking cannot directly measure implicit bias, these perceptual patterns may reflect socially embedded stereotypes. The study highlights the utility of eye-tracking in examining gendered attention to fat-related content and encourages further research using combined measures of bias.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Allport, G. W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Doubleday. Addison-Wesley.
Altmann, G. T. M. (2011(2013). The mediation of eye movements by spoken language. Oxford Handbooks Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199539789.013.0054 In The Oxford Handbook of Eye Movements (pp. 979–1005). essay, Oxford University Press.
Arnold, J. E., Brown-Schmidt, S., & Trueswell, J. (2007). Children's use of gender and order-of-mention during pronoun comprehension. Language and cognitive processes, 22(4), 527-565.
Arnold, J. E., Eisenband, J. G., Brown-Schmidt, S., & Trueswell, J. C. (2000). The rapid use of gender information: Evidence of the time course of pronoun resolution from eyetracking. Cognition, 76(1), B13-B26.
Blackburn, G. L. (2011). Medicalizing obesity: individual, economic, and medical consequences. AMA Journal of Ethics, 13(12), 890-895.
Britton, M. K., & Anderson, B. A. (2021). Attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli. Psychological Research, 85(1), 82-90.
Brochu, P. M., & Morrison, M. A. (2007). Implicit and explicit prejudice toward overweight and average-weight men and women: Testing their correspondence and relation to behavioral intentions. The Journal of Social Psychology, 147(6), 681-706.
Brown, I. (2006). Nurses’ attitudes towards adult patients who are obese: literature review. Journal of advanced nursing, 53(2), 221-232.
Cao, J., & Banaji, M. R. (2016). The base rate principle and the fairness principle in social judgment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(27), 7475-7480.
Çelik, S., & Türker, M. V. (2022). Can eye movements be a predictor of implicit attitudes? Discrimination against disadvantaged individuals during the recruitment process. Istanbul Business Research, 51(2), 459-489.
Cialdini, R. B., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004). Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 55(1), 591-621.
Cooper, R. M. (1974). The control of eye fixation by the meaning of spoken language: a new methodology for the real-time investigation of speech perception, memory, and language processing. Cognitive psychology.
De Coninck, D., Van Assche, J., & Dhaenens, L. (2024). Right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation as mediators between news media consumption and perceived migrant threat. Mass Communication and Society, 27(1), 26-49.
Duchowski, A. T. (2017). Eye tracking methodology: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). Springer.
Etingen, B., LaVela, S. L., Miskevics, S., & Goldstein, B. (2013). Health information during the H1N1 influenza pandemic: Did the amount received influence infection prevention behaviors? Journal of Community Health, 38(3), 443–450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-012-9647-8.
Fiske, S. T., & Neuberg, S. L. (1990). A continuum of impression formation, from category-based to individuating processes: Influences of information and motivation on attention and interpretation. In Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 23, pp. 1-74). Academic Press.
Flint, S. W., Čadek, M., Codreanu, S. C., Ivić, V., Zomer, C., & Gomoiu, A. (2016). Obesity discrimination in the recruitment process: “You’re not Hired!”. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 647. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00647
Frederick, D. A., Saguy, A. C., & Gruys, K. (2016). Culture, health, and bigotry: How exposure to cultural accounts of fatness shape attitudes about health risk, health policies, and weight-based prejudice. Social Science & Medicine, 165, 271-279.
Frederick, D. A., Saguy, A. C., Sandhu, G., & Mann, T. (2016). Effects of competing news media frames of weight on antifat stigma, beliefs about weight and support for obesity-related public policies. International Journal of Obesity, 40(3), 543-549.
Freeman, J. B., & Ambady, N. (2011). A dynamic interactive theory of person construal. Psychological review, 118(2), 247.
Greenleaf, C., Starks, M., Gomez, L., Chambliss, H., & Martin, S. (2004). Weight-related words associated with figure silhouettes. Body image, 1(4), 373-384.
Griffiths, L. J., & Page, A. S. (2008). The impact of weight‐related victimization on peer relationships: The female adolescent perspective. Obesity, 16(S2), S39-S45.
Guerra, E., Bernotat, J., Carvacho, H., & Bohner, G. (2021). Ladies first: Gender stereotypes drive anticipatory eye-movements during incremental sentence interpretation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 589429.
Hamilton, L. C. (2015). Conservative and liberal views of science: Does trust depend on the topic? Carsey Research, University of New Hampshire.
Hansen, B. C., Rakhshan, P. J., Ho, A. K., & Pannasch, S. (2015). Looking at others through implicitly or explicitly prejudiced eyes. Visual Cognition, 23(5), 612-642.
Harris, M. B., Harris, R. J., & Bochner, S. (1982). Fat, four‐eyed, and female: Stereotypes of obesity, glasses, and gender 1. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 12(6), 503-516.
Hegarty, M., & Just, M. A. (1989). Understanding Machines from Text and Diagrams. In Advances in Psychology (Vol. 58, pp. 171-194). North-Holland.
Hegarty, M., & Just, M. A. (1993). Constructing mental models of machines from text and diagrams. Journal of memory and language, 32(6), 717-742.
Heuer, C. A., McClure, K. J., & Puhl, R. M. (2011). Obesity stigma in online news: a visual content analysis. Journal of Health Communication, 16(9), 976-987.
Holmqvist, K., Nyström, M., Andersson, R., Dewhurst, R., Jarodzka, H., & Van de Weijer, J. (2011). Eye tracking: A comprehensive guide to methods and measures. Oxford University Press.
Jovančević, A., & Jović, M. (2021). The relation between anti-fat stereotypes and anti-fat prejudices: The role of gender as a moderator. Psychological Reports, 125(3), 1687–1713. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941211005123
Jovančević, A., & Milićević, N. (2020). Optimism-pessimism, conspiracy theories and General Trust as factors contributing to COVID-19 related behavior – a cross-cultural study. Personality and Individual Differences, 167, 110216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110216
Kaiser, D., & Nyga, K. (2020). Tracking cortical representations of facial attractiveness using time-resolved representational similarity analysis. Scientific reports, 10(1), 16852.
Kim, S. H., & Anne Willis, L. (2007). Talking about obesity: News framing of who is responsible for causing and fixing the problem. Journal of health communication, 12(4), 359-376.
Kite, J., Huang, B. H., Laird, Y., Grunseit, A., McGill, B., Williams, K., ... & Thomas, M. (2022). Influence and effects of weight stigmatisation in media: a systematic review. EClinicalMedicine, 48.
Luna Cortes, G. (2024). A systematic literature review of the stereotype content model in the fields of psychology and marketing: main themes examined in the literature and an agenda for future research in marketing. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1392629.
Macrae, C. N., Milne, A. B., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (1994). Stereotypes as energy-saving devices: A peek inside the cognitive toolbox. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 66(1), 37.
Mele, M. L., & Federici, S. (2012). Looking at What One Believes: Investigation of the Relationship between Eye Movements and Implicit Associations. ARHEIA ETAIREIAS PSUHOLOGIKES PSUHIATRIKES ENēLIKON KAI PAIDION, 19, 1-1.
Mele, M. L., Federici, S., & Dennis, J. L. (2014). Believing is seeing: fixation duration predicts implicit negative attitudes. PloS One, 9(8), e105106.
Monello, L. F., & Mayer, J. (1963). Obese adolescent girls: An unrecognized “minority” group?. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 13(1), 35-39.
O'Brien, K. S., Latner, J. D., Ebneter, D., & Hunter, J. A. (2013). Obesity discrimination: the role of physical appearance, personal ideology, and anti-fat prejudice. International journal of obesity, 37(3), 455-460.
Pingitore, R., Spring, B., & Garfieldt, D. (1997). Gender differences in body satisfaction. Obesity research, 5(5), 402-409.
Prike, T., Butler, L. H., & Ecker, U. K. (2024). Source-credibility information and social norms improve truth discernment and reduce engagement with misinformation online. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 6900.
Puhl, R. M., & Heuer, C. A. (2010). Obesity stigma: important considerations for public health. American journal of public health, 100(6), 1019-1028.
Puhl, R. M., Andreyeva, T., & Brownell, K. D. (2008). Perceptions of weight discrimination: Prevalence and comparison to race and gender discrimination in America. International Journal of Obesity, 32(6), 992–1000.
Puhl, R. M., Latner, J. D., O'Brien, K., Luedicke, J., Danielsdottir, S., & Forhan, M. (2015). A multinational examination of weight bias: predictors of anti-fat attitudes across four countries. International Journal of Obesity, 39(7), 1166-1173.
Puhl, R., & Brownell, K. D. (2013). Bias, discrimination and obesity. Health and human rights in a changing world, 581-606.
Research guides: FYS 101: Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Syracuse University Libraries. (n.d.).
Roddy, S., Stewart, I., & Barnes-Holmes, D. (2010). Anti-fat, pro-slim, or both? Using two reaction-time based measures to assess implicit attitudes to the slim and overweight. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(3), 416-425.
Rowland, J., Estevens, J., Krzewińska, A., & Warwas, I. (2022). Trust and mistrust in sources of scientific information on climate change and vaccines: Insights from Portugal and Poland. Science & Education.
Runner, J. T., Sussman, R. S., & Tanenhaus, M. K. (2003). Assignment of reference to reflexives and pronouns in picture noun phrases: evidence from eye movements. Cognition, 89(1), B1-B13.
Saguy, A. C., Sandhu, G., & Mann, T. (2016). Effects of competing news media frames of weight on antifat stigma, beliefs about weight and support for obesity-related public policies. International Journal of Obesity, 40(3), 543-549.
Sattler, K. M., Deane, F. P., Tapsell, L., & Kelly, P. J. (2018). Gender differences in the relationship of weight-based stigmatisation with motivation to exercise and physical activity in overweight individuals. Health psychology open, 5(1), 2055102918759691.
Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2011). The implicit nature of the anti-fat bias. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 5, 23.
Scott, G. G., Pinkosova, Z., Jardine, E., & Hand, C. J. (2023). “Thinstagram”: Image content and observer body satisfaction influence the when and where of eye movements during instagram image viewing. Computers in Human Behavior, 138, 107464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107464
Sekerina, I. A., Stromswold, K., & Hestvik, A. (2004). How do adults and children process referentially ambiguous pronouns?. Journal of child language, 31(1), 123-152.
Tan, A., Dalisay, F., Zhang, Y., Han, E. J., & Merchant, M. M. (2010). A cognitive processing model of information source use and stereotyping: African-American stereotypes in South Korea. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54(4), 569-587.
Tanenhaus, M. K., Spivey-Knowlton, M. J., Eberhard, K. M., & Sedivy, J. C. (1995). Integration of visual and linguistic information in spoken language comprehension. Science, 268(5217), 1632-1634.
Troop‐Gordon, W., & Ladd, G. W. (2005). Trajectories of peer victimization and perceptions of the self and schoolmates: Precursors to internalizing and externalizing problems. Child development, 76(5), 1072-1091.
Vasić, A., Vasiljević, Z., Mickovski-Katalina, N., Mandić-Rajčević, S., & Soldatović, I. (2022). Temporal Trends in Acute Coronary Syndrome Mortality in Serbia in 2005-2019: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis Using Data from the Serbian Acute Coronary Syndrome Registry (RAACS). International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(21), 14457. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114457
Vučković, J., & Lučić, S. (2023). Hate speech and Social Media. TEME, 191–207. https://doi.org/10.22190/teme221006012v
Wedel, M., & Pieters, R. (2008). Eye tracking for visual marketing. Now Publishers Inc.
Wertgen, A. G., & Richter, T. (2020). Source credibility modulates the validation of implausible information. Memory & Cognition, 48, 1359-1375.
World Health Organization. (n.d.-a). Obesity and overweight. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/TEME241114042P
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
© University of Niš, Serbia
Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-ND
Print ISSN: 0353-7919
Online ISSN: 1820-7804