Congratulations, Dr. Whisenhunt!
Dr. Brooke Whisenhunt, professor of psychology, researches body image ideals among women in the media.
Along with Dr. Danae Hudson, professor of psychology, and students, Whisenhunt studied the changing ideal figure. For women today, it’s a contradictory tall, thin and muscular.
“We expect women to restrict eating to get really thin, but now we also expect them to build muscle, which is very contradictory,” Whisenhunt said. Beyond it being unrealistic, she said, “the real kick is that it’s touted as healthier, making it harder for women to reject the notion.”
Congratulations, Dr. Echols!
Dr. Leslie Echols, assistant professor of psychology, along with her colleague Dr. Sandra Graham from University of California – Los Angeles, received a grant of approximately a half million dollars from the National Science Foundation to establish an antibullying program. They will create a positive peer mentoring program and implement friend building exercises, while also developing curriculum to improve the coping techniques for victims.
Echols discusses the antibullying program, adolescent friendships and cross-race relationships in a recent feature in Mind’s Eye.
“My two cents has always been: If you can see someone as a human, you’re much less likely to mistreat them,” Echols said.