Current Research Projects

BODY IMAGE AND OBJECTIFICATION RESEARCH:

Sex Object, Athletes, Sexy Athletes: Media Images of Women Athletes

Investigator: Elizabeth Daniels

Media images play a key role in shaping and reinforcing societal standards of beauty. In general, media is full of idealized images of women and a strong focus on the need to change women’s bodies. A large body of psychological research has documented the negative effects of this media on females (e.g., American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, 2007). In contrast, we know little about how positive imagery impacts female viewers. Depictions of women engaged in sport suggest that women can be powerful and strong. Their bodies are, therefore, not for display but rather they are instrumental. However, women athletes are routinely sexualized in media. In this study, I examine the impact of sexualized versus performance-focused images of women athletes on adolescent girls and young women. I also investigate boys' and men's attitudes toward women after viewing these different images.

Images of Women Athletes: Do They Exist in Magazines Adolescent Girls Read?

Investigator: Elizabeth Daniels

Media generally portrays narrow and stereotypical representations of women and femininity that transmit unrealistic standards for physical appearance. In contrast to media focused on women’s physical appearance and body shape, some media portray women as active and athletic. We know little about how common such images are in popular teen magazines. Images of women athletes that center on their athleticism may counter pervasive media portrayals of women as sexual objects. In this study, I investigate the prevalence of images of physically active women in magazines popular among adolescent girls.

Sexual Objectification in the Workplace

Investigator: David Frederick, Andrea Niles, Elizabeth Daniels, and Janet Lever

This project looks at the women's feelings of being sexually objectified in the workplace. Most of the current research on objectification looks at individuals' tendency to self-objectify, i.e., evaluating oneself from a 3^rd-party perspective. In this study, we are shifting the focus to examine individuals' perceptions that others are objectifying them. Further, we are examining this phenomenon in the workplace which is an important context in the lives of most adults.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RESEARCH

Girl Empowerment through Physical Activity

Investigators: Elizabeth Daniels and Lauren Rauscher

Girls on the Run is an innovative extracurricular program designed for preadolescent girls. It pairs a running program with a positive youth development curriculum. The aim is to get girls active and teach them to feel good about themselves and their bodies in the process. Research aims with this program include: (1) a program evaluation to assess how effective the program is on particular outcomes, e.g., body image, levels of physical activity, and (2) investigate the mentoring relationships that develop during the course of the program. The program is run by women who model a number of positive qualities including being physically active and demonstrating positive body esteem and general self-esteem. We are studying the impact of these adult women role models on girls in the program.

Youth Development in Sports and Physical Activities

Investigator: Elizabeth Daniels

In the present study, I examine young adults’ retrospective accounts of their important experiences in physical activities during childhood and adolescence, and investigate their current levels of physical activity. The goal is better understand how experiences in physical activities are related to subsequent activity involvement.

Looking Back: The Effects of High School Activity Involvement

Investigators: Tara Scanlan, Elizabeth Daniels, Kim Kahn, Megan Babkes Stellino, Larry Scanlan

Youth involvement in organized activities is linked with positive development. However to date, little is known about the underlying mechanisms between activity involvement and particular outcomes, such as academic achievement. For example, we do not know why youth who are involved in organized activities do better in school than their non-involved peers. The main goal of this project is to investigate potential mechanisms in the form of personal qualities, defined as characteristics, traits, skills, or abilities, that individuals reported developing, nurturing, or reinforcing in high school organized activities. A related goal is detailing with a micro-level lens the specific pathways through which individuals develop, nurture, or reinforce personal qualities in activity contexts. Lastly, the final goal is to investigate the consequences of activity involvement across the lifespan. This project involves a unique cohort adult women who played interscholastic sports pre-Title IX. These women, now in their 50s, were also highly involved in a range of other extracurricular activities. They were interviewed about the relationships between their life accomplishments, personal qualities, and high school activities.

Title IX: Support and Opposition

Investigators: Elizabeth Daniels, Kim Kahn

Title IX is Civil Rights legislation that requires institutions receiving federal funding to provide equal opportunities for males and females in educational programs. This legislation created a sea change in girls’ involvement in sports. Before Title IX, only 1 in 27 high school girls played sports: today, the ratio is 1 in 2.5. Despite the law, there continue to be inequities in sport opportunities for girls and women. Further, media and university administrators frequently blame Title IX for the elimination of men’s sport programs. In this project, we examine how the ways in which Title IX is framed in media affect whether people support or oppose it.