Disrupting objectification: transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) enhances the inversion effect toward sexualized women

Sexual objectification is associated with viewing women in an object-like manner, often indexed perceptually by a reduced inversion effect for sexualized women relative to men. Prior research has shown that this index can be attenuated through social manipulations; here we investigated whether it can be modulated through neuromodulation. Using a double-blind, between-subjects design, participants (N = 76) completed a recognition task involving upright and inverted sexualized targets while receiving either anodal transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) (10-mins, 1.5 mA, anode at Fp3) or sham/control stimulation (30-secs, 1.5 mA). The sham group exhibited a significantly reduced inversion effect for sexualized women relative to men, a finding interpreted as an index of objectification. Critically, this pattern differed between groups (Orientation × Target × tDCS interaction) and was not observed in the anodal tDCS group: the inversion effect for sexualized women was larger than under sham and did not differ significantly from that for men. This modulation was accompanied by improved recognition of upright sexualized women. These findings provide initial evidence that objectification, as indexed by the inversion effect, can be modulated through neurostimulation. More broadly, the results suggest that the perceptual processes captured by this index are modifiable.