title: Work and freedom? Working self-objectification and belief in personal free will.
abstract: The current work aimed to extend the burgeoning literature on working objectification by investigating the effects of particular job activities on self-perception. By integrating relevant theoretical reflections with recent empirical evidence, we expected that performing objectifying (i.e., repetitive, fragmented, and other-directed) tasks would affect participants' self-objectification and, in turn, their belief in personal free will. In three studies, we consistently found that performing a manual (Study 1 and Study 2) or a computer (Study 3) objectifying task (vs. a non-objectifying task and vs. the baseline condition) led participants to objectify themselves in terms of both decreased self-attribution of human mental states (Study 1 and Study 3) and increased self-perception of being instrument-like (Study 2 and Study 3). Crucially, this increased self-objectification mediated the relationship between performing an objectifying activity and the participants' decreased belief in personal free will. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baldissarri
authors.affiliation: Department of Education Science - Psychology Unit, University of Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Andrighetto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabbiadini
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Volpato
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D032981:Dehumanization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012649:Self Concept; D012938:Social Perception; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: belief in free will; instrumentality; mental states; self-objectification; work