Very attractive and very unattractive men show the highest hostility towards women

by Vladimir Hedrih October 19, 2024

Study author Jiewen Zhang and her colleagues wanted to better understand the factors associated with men’s hostility towards women. While it has been well-established that hostility toward women is deeply rooted in certain political ideologies, such as right-wing authoritarianism, the researchers sought to examine whether other factors—such as loneliness, sensitivity to rejection, perceived attractiveness, and romantic relationships—also play a role in shaping these attitudes. Until now, it was unclear how these personal characteristics might influence hostility toward women in a general male population.

The research involved 473 single, heterosexual men living in the United Kingdom, aged between 18 and 35, with an average age of 26. Participants were recruited through Prolific, an online platform that helps researchers gather survey data, and each participant was compensated £8 for completing the survey. The survey included a variety of validated psychological assessments to evaluate factors such as hostile sexism, misogyny, self-perceived attractiveness, sensitivity to rejection, loneliness, gaming habits, gaming addiction symptoms, and right-wing authoritarianism.

For measuring hostile sexism, the researchers used the Hostile Sexism subscale of the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, while misogyny was assessed using the Misogyny Scale. Sensitivity to rejection was measured using the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, and loneliness was assessed through the Short-Form UCLA Loneliness Scale. The study also examined the participants’ time spent gaming and any potential symptoms of gaming addiction, as well as their levels of right-wing authoritarianism, measured using the Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale.

Results showed that the strongest link was between right-wing authoritarianism and hostility towards women, both in the form of hostile sexism and misogyny. This suggests that men who hold authoritarian beliefs—characterized by a preference for strict social hierarchies and traditional gender roles—are more likely to express hostility toward women. The study highlights that right-wing authoritarian attitudes contribute significantly to the development of misogynistic views.

More:
https://www.psypost.org/very-attractive-and-very-unattractive-men-show-the-highest-hostility-towards-women/