- A University of Exeter study found that applying a mild electrical current to the scalp for ten minutes temporarily removed a visual bias linked to the sexual objectification of women.
- The brain stimulation improved participants' recognition of upright sexualised images of female models, eliminating the visual processing gap previously observed between images of men and women.
- Published in the journal Social Neuroscience, the experiment involved 76 student participants split between active brain stimulation and a placebo group.
- Lead author Professor Ciro Civile said that while the findings are no cure for sexism , they demonstrate that gender-based perceptual biases can be altered directly via the brain.
- Sexual objectification is predominantly experienced by women and is linked to psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and greater tolerance of harassment .
IN FULL
Electric shocks to the brain stop people objectifying women, study finds
