Need suggestions for a suitable PhD research program (body image)

[onsight]

Hi there, first post here! I'm very keen on doing a PhD, but I'm a little unsure if there is a research program in the United States that will suit my research interests. The purpose for this post is to ask if anyone could advise or suggest a research program that might fit my research interests - assuming such a program does exist!

My research interests

Specifically, the center of my research interest is body image; the way people perceive the aesthetics of their own body. I am interested in understanding body image using the lens of the field of communications, psychology, sociology and neuroscience. Some research questions that come to mind are: 

• How do specific images and forms of mass media (social media, advertising, TV, movies) affect the way young men and women perceive their bodies? 

• What exactly is happening in the brain when a young woman feels empowered, confident and/or comfortable about how she looks, and how/why are these neural or psychological mechanisms mediated by environmental factors? 

• How has fashion evolved alongside shifting ideals of body shape/weight in both Western and non-Western cultures?

Potential programs

Some programs that I have considered:

• Tracy Tylka at Ohio State University (Psychology) 
• Suzanna Danuta Walters at Northeastern (Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Sudies) 
• Emily Falk at UPenn (Communications Neuroscience) 
• Deborah J. Borisoff at NYU (Media, Culture, and Communications) 
• Minh-Ha Pham at Pratt Institute (Humanities and Media Studies) 

Many of these advisors have research agenda that intersect between sociology/communications and gender/sexuality studies. Unfortunately, It has been difficult to find advisors that actually work on body image as a research agenda. Those that do often are often in Psychology/Psychiatry, but no one seems to study this topic from a communications/sociology perspective.

Some background about myself

Just to share my background: I'm about to start my undergraduate at Michigan State University, and will likely major in both communications and sociology. The reason for enquiring about a PhD research program at this stage is to provide myself with a direction to work towards for the next four years. I feel strongly about this topic (body image) enough to know that it is unlikely my research interests will change, unless practical circumstances (lack of suitable program, funding) make it difficult to pursue this topic. 

Conclusion

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who is aware of any suitable research programs that you think would suit my research interest in studying body image from a communications and sociological perspective. Thank you!

Edited April 23, 2021 by onsight
Added hyperlinks

[PsyDuck90]

You don't need an exact match. When the time comes for you to actually apply for grad schools, reach out to people who are doing similar research and ask if they have considered/would be open to integrating the ideas you have. In the meantime, just focus on your undergrad studies and try to get involved in research there to learn the basic skills. Continue to look for publications on your area of interest. I just did a quick Google scholar search on "media and body image" with a ton of results. Look at the authors of these studies and then see where they're at. 

[onsight]

38 minutes ago, PsyDuck90 said:

You don't need an exact match. When the time comes for you to actually apply for grad schools, reach out to people who are doing similar research and ask if they have considered/would be open to integrating the ideas you have. In the meantime, just focus on your undergrad studies and try to get involved in research there to learn the basic skills. Continue to look for publications on your area of interest. I just did a quick Google scholar search on "media and body image" with a ton of results. Look at the authors of these studies and then see where they're at. 

Thank you for replying. Could you share more on why an exact match isn't required? Are PhD advisors normally comfortable with letting graduate students develop their own research agenda, even if this veers away from their own? I'll definitely focus on doing well in undergrad and getting involved in research, but identifying the potential supervisors I would like to work with at this stage would give me some direction to work towards as well as identify the connections I need to succeed. 

[frazyfar]

Have you considered looking into cultural anthropology? I don't have any specific recommendations for professors but I do have a degree in anthropology, and I know from personal experience that body image as a function of culture is often discussed. My thought process is that you could package communications media as a reflection of culture. 

[PsyDuck90]

2 hours ago, onsight said:

Thank you for replying. Could you share more on why an exact match isn't required? Are PhD advisors normally comfortable with letting graduate students develop their own research agenda, even if this veers away from their own? I'll definitely focus on doing well in undergrad and getting involved in research, but identifying the potential supervisors I would like to work with at this stage would give me some direction to work towards as well as identify the connections I need to succeed. 

Faculty may shift foci over time, so what someone is studying now is not necessarily the exact thing they will be studying in 4 years. Just something to keep in mind. Also, faculty are often not looking for carbon copies of themselves. If your research interests align 90% but you want to add in the body image variable, it is most likely not a nail in the coffin. Typically, you do work on their projects, but the idea is that you will, via your dissertation at the minimum, be developing your own research study. 

[Psyche007]

On 4/23/2021 at 8:35 AM, onsight said:

Hi there, first post here! I'm very keen on doing a PhD, ...

You could look at Brochu, a social psychgoligist that's part of the faculty in the Clinical Psych dept for PsyD and PhD:

https://psychology.nova.edu/faculty/profile/brochu.html

However, NSU doesn't offer tuition waiver or stipend, so it's frequently dismissed as a valid option, which I can appreciate.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Psyche007

[MaryQofS]

I'm trying to find Master's Programs in Counseling Psychology, and I stumbled across one at Texas Woman's University recently (there is also a PhD Program), which takes a very feminist perspective. There were a couple of faculty members with specific research interests in body image. Shannon Scott is one:

https://apps.twu.edu/my1cv/profile.aspx?type=twa&id=bcq1SWg3l%2bQJCpxBPvFxfg%3d%3d&dept=psychology

 

I just re-read your post and saw that you were actually interested in researchers working in a more cross-disciplinary fashion, but maybe you will still find my post helpful. 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by MaryQofS

[SendMeAnEmailPlz]

Check out Aaron Blashill's research at San Diego State! They have a great clinical program.

[onsight]

On 4/23/2021 at 11:12 PM, frazyfar said:

Have you considered looking into cultural anthropology? I don't have any specific recommendations for professors but I do have a degree in anthropology, and I know from personal experience that body image as a function of culture is often discussed. My thought process is that you could package communications media as a reflection of culture. 

Yes! Anthropology has come to my mind before, and studying body image as a function of culture sounds seems like another plausible (and exciting) way to study it. Thanks for sharing. 

On 4/24/2021 at 12:35 AM, PsyDuck90 said:

Faculty may shift foci over time, so what someone is studying now is not necessarily the exact thing they will be studying in 4 years. Just something to keep in mind. Also, faculty are often not looking for carbon copies of themselves. If your research interests align 90% but you want to add in the body image variable, it is most likely not a nail in the coffin. Typically, you do work on their projects, but the idea is that you will, via your dissertation at the minimum, be developing your own research study. 

Thank you for shedding more light into this matter! This is definitely reassuring. 

On 4/26/2021 at 3:08 AM, Psyche007 said:

You could look at Brochu, a social psychgoligist that's part of the faculty in the Clinical Psych dept for PsyD and PhD:

https://psychology.nova.edu/faculty/profile/brochu.html

However, NSU doesn't offer tuition waiver or stipend, so it's frequently dismissed as a valid option, which I can appreciate.

Its exciting to know there's someone like Prof Brochu researching into body image, specifically those with excessive weight gain. She will definitely be one of the researchers I will look into furuther. Thank you so much for sharing. 

On 4/27/2021 at 12:58 PM, MaryQofS said:

I'm trying to find Master's Programs in Counseling Psychology, and I stumbled across one at Texas Woman's University recently (there is also a PhD Program), which takes a very feminist perspective. There were a couple of faculty members with specific research interests in body image. Shannon Scott is one:

https://apps.twu.edu/my1cv/profile.aspx?type=twa&id=bcq1SWg3l%2bQJCpxBPvFxfg%3d%3d&dept=psychology

 

I just re-read your post and saw that you were actually interested in researchers working in a more cross-disciplinary fashion, but maybe you will still find my post helpful. 

 

Thank you for sharing! Though Prof Scott is studying body image through her position as a psychologist, its exciting to see someone who is looking at it from adolescent development with similar research into bullying at schools. Both topics are close to my heart. Prof Scott is definitely someone I will look into further. 

22 hours ago, SendMeAnEmailPlz said:

Check out Aaron Blashill's research at San Diego State! They have a great clinical program.

I definitely will! His research seems geared towards the health implications of body image, which I think is a really important topic to study as well. Thanks for sharing.