Faculty research profiles
J. Robyn Goodman
Summary
Dr. Goodman’s research inquires into the way mass mediated gender messages, in particular visuals messages, influence individual and societal views of women, as well as how women read and incorporate these messages into their everyday view of the world. Often, her gender research is paired with health implications of the messages, specifically how images of female bodies in the media influence body image, eating disorders, and beliefs/attitudes/behaviors regarding cosmetic surgery. This research is unique among body image/eating disorder and media research in that it used qualitative data and addressed how cultural background influenced how the women read and incorporated the media texts and sociocultural messages of thinness.
Her second line of work inquires into environmental issues, mainly biosolids and how the mass media portray biosolids, the sources used in news stories, and the public’s perception.
Recent publications
“Eating Disorder,” (in press), in J.J. Arnett, J. Brown, K. Roe, M. Ward, & B. Wilson (eds.) Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media (1 page). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
“Beneficial or Biohazard?: How the Media Frame Biosolids. Public Understanding of Science.” Public Understanding of Science, vol. 15 (3)
“Mapping the Sea of Eating Disorders: A Structural Equation Model of How Peers, Family and Media Influence Body Image and Eating Disorders” (in press), Visual Communication Quarterly, vol 12 (3-4)
Keywords
feminist theory, social comparison theory, social cognitive theory, gender issues, womens studies, people of color, body image, body image disturbances, eating disorders, BDD, beauty, environmental, sex roles, semiotics, visual communication, qualitative research, quantitative research, womens health, health communication, sociology of sex & gender, influence (psychology), health attitudes, adolescent psychology, cosmetic surgery.
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