INVESTIGATING THE REASONS WOMEN WEAR CHOKER NECKLACES by HEATHER ANN WILLIQUETTE B.A., University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 2015 A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Psychology 2019 ii This thesis for the Master of Arts degree by Heather Ann Williquette has been approved for the Department of Psychology by Laith Al-Shawaf, Chair Michael A. Kisley Michelle J. Escasa-Dorne Date 7-31-2019 iii Williquette, Heather Ann (M.A., Psychology) Investigating the Reasons Women Wear Choker Necklaces Thesis directed by Assistant Professor Laith Al-Shawaf ABSTRACT Choker necklaces have been around for centuries, carrying with them different cultural and societal connotations. However, little to no research investigates the reasons why women continue to wear choker necklaces today. Three studies were conducted in an attempt to explain why women may choose to wear choker necklaces. The first study (N = 204) examined women’s self-reports pertaining to her physical appearance and behaviors, and men’s perceptions of a woman in a photo on various measures. For the photo evaluations, we manipulated three different photos of three different women to create two conditions of a woman either wearing a choker or not wearing a choker. Men were randomly assigned to one of these conditions and were asked to evaluate the photograph. Findings reveal that women who self-reported wearing chokers more frequently had higher sociosexual orientations than women who self-reported wearing chokers less frequently, and men perceived the woman in the Choker condition to have a higher sociosexual orientation than the woman in the Nonchoker condition. In the second (N = 103) and third studies (N = 99), we assessed other women’s perceptions of the women in the photo conditions. Women perceived the woman in the Choker condition to have a higher sociosexual orientation than the woman in the Nonchoker condition. Results indicate that choker necklaces may be a cue to women’s sociosexual orientation. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 Chokers May Indicate Submissiveness ....................................................... 2 Chokers May Cue Sexual Accessibility ...................................................... 3 Chokers May Advertise Femininity ............................................................ 4 Chokers May Accentuate Biological Features ............................................ 5 The Handicap Principle............................................................................... 8 The Present Study ..................................................................................... 11 II. STUDY 1.......................................................................................................... 13 Method ...................................................................................................... 13 Participants .................................................................................... 13 Materials ....................................................................................... 14 Procedure ...................................................................................... 18 Analyses .................................................................................................... 20 Female Participants ....................................................................... 21 Male Participants .......................................................................... 22 Results ....................................................................................................... 24 Female Participants ....................................................................... 24 Male Participants .......................................................................... 26 v III. STUDY 2 ........................................................................................................ 29 Method ...................................................................................................... 29 Participants .................................................................................... 29 Materials & Procedure .................................................................. 30 Analyses .................................................................................................... 30 Results ....................................................................................................... 31 IV. STUDY 3 ........................................................................................................ 33 Method ...................................................................................................... 33 Participants .................................................................................... 33 Materials & Procedure .................................................................. 34 Analyses .................................................................................................... 34 Results ....................................................................................................... 35 V. GENERAL DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 37 Chokers as a Function of Sociosexual Orientation ................................... 38 Chokers as a Function of Physical Attractiveness (Not Femininity) ........ 39 Chokers May Not Indicate Submissiveness .............................................. 41 Chokers May Not Be Evolutionary Handicaps ......................................... 42 Limitations & Future Directions ............................................................... 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 47 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX A: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL ................. 58 APPENDIX B: STUDY 1 MATERIALS ............................................................. 59 APPENDIX C: STUDY 2 MATERIALS ............................................................. 77 vi APPENDIX D: STUDY 3 MATERIALS............................................................. 88 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Women’s Self-Reports of Choker Frequency and SOI-R ......................................... 24 2. Women’s Self-Reports of Choker Interest and SOI-R .............................................. 25 3. Women’s Self-Reports of Choker Interest and Physical Attractiveness.................... 26 4. Men’s Perceptions of Choker Frequency and SOI-R ................................................ 27 5. Women’s Perceptions of Choker Frequency and SOI-R (I) ...................................... 32 6. Women’s Perceptions of Choker Frequency and SOI-R (II) ..................................... 36 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION From the broad collars of Ancient Egypt (Brovarski, 1997), to the bone necklaces of Native American warriors (Bucci, 2015; Garber, 2016), to the Austrian kropfkettes of the mid- to late-1800s (Graff, 2016), to the colliers de chien or “dog collars” of the 1940s (Bucci, 2015), to the resurgence of plastic tattoo chokers in America in the 1990s (Graff, 2016; McCarthy, 2016; Schiffer, 2016), the popularity of choker necklaces has fluctuated in and out of different societies for centuries (Garber, 2016; Graff, 2016; Komar, 2017; Schiffer, 2016). Choker necklaces, more commonly known as “chokers,” are necklaces worn snugly around the neck. Chokers carry with them a number of cultural connotations and purposes, including the physical/spiritual protection of its wearer or an indication of the wearer’s status or royalty (Garber, 2016; Komar, 2017). The admiration for chokers as a fashion trend boomed in the 19th Century with Princess Alexandra of Denmark. It is believed that Alexandra started wearing lavish choker necklaces to hide a small scar on her neck (Bucci, 2015; Graff, 2016; Komar, 2017). English women were nevertheless inspired by her grandiose style and chokers soon became part of the 19th Century vogue in Westernized society. Indeed, many women donned choker necklaces to conform with the fashion trends of that time period (Garber, 2016; Graff, 2016; Schiffer, 2016) and today, chokers have become a more modern trend in the United States (McCarthy, 2016). The history of 2 chokers reveals an abundance of information on the cultural and societal purposes of chokers. However, little to no information can be found on the possible biological or psychological significance of choker necklaces. Are choker necklaces just an arbitrary fad, or might they have a biological basis? To answer this question, we’ve explored several possible explanations for why women may wear choker necklaces. Chokers May Indicate Submissiveness Many internet searches reveal there is a prevalent connotation among laypeople that underlies wearing a “choker” or “choker necklace”. This connotation is that chokers indicate some degree of submissiveness. Top search results from Urban Dictionary, Google, and other search platforms include terms like collar and submission, many of which stem from both men’s and women’s definitions of chokers. From these terms, it seems that people may perceive choker-wearing to indicate some degree of submissiveness in its wearer (Bhattacharya, 2016). In traditional opposite-sex