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For her honors thesis, Lora Nageli ’07 (Taylor, Pa.) is trying to determine how viewing professional models in the media influences women’s satisfaction with their own bodies.
“Women are under a lot of pressure from the media and society to conform to unrealistic and unnatural standards of beauty,” says Nageli, a psychology major. “I believe that it is important to determine what causes women to be unhappy with their bodies and want to change them, so that we can help women become satisfied with how they look. I am excited to see the results.”
Students who participate in honors thesis research spend two semesters conducting thorough literature reviews of existing research, designing an original empirical study, analyzing data, and writing a full-length article reporting the results of the study. Students also are required to give an oral defense of their theses at the end of each semester.
John Shaw, associate professor and assistant head of psychology, is serving as Nageli’s thesis adviser.
“Lora is examining a topic that is of particular interest to college students,” he explains. “Female college students are very susceptible to having eating disorders, and previous research has indicated that people with a distorted body image are at increased risk for developing eating problems such as anorexia and bulimia.”
To gather data for her project, Nageli has been interviewing fellow psychology students.
“Introductory psychology students are always very eager to participate in research and are very willing to share their personal experiences for the advancement of science,” she says. “They are also interested in gaining insight into their own behaviors.”
Nageli believes Lafayette maintains a supportive atmosphere for undergraduate research. She adds that Shaw has been an ideal mentor for her scholarly interests.
“Lafayette provides a good technological support system and has a strong research background,” she says. “I am very glad to be working with [Shaw]. He has taught issues similar to this in his advanced classes and is highly skilled in research techniques. He is always willing to make time to discuss my project with me and to help me in whatever way he can. He is very caring and just as excited about this project as I am.”
“Only the very best students qualify to conduct honors projects, and Lora is clearly one of our best,” Shaw adds.
Studying factors that influence body image will benefit Nageli, who plans to attend graduate school to become a high school guidance counselor.
“High school counselors deal with a wide range of social, emotional, and academic issues, among which are disordered eating and self-esteem issues associated with poor body image,” says Shaw. “Not only will Lora’s honors thesis help her prepare for graduate school, but it will also expose her to many of the issues and questions that high school counselors deal with on a daily basis.”
Nageli has served internships at the Scranton Counseling Center in Scranton, Pa. and Swiss Cottage School in London. A volunteer at Easton Hospital, she is a member of the cheerleading squad and Alpha Phi sorority. She is a graduate of Riverside Junior/Senior High School.
Honors theses are among several major programs that have made Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. The College sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year; 40 students were accepted to present their research at this year’s conference.