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Jennifer Harriger Faculty Profile

Jennifer Harriger

Professor of Psychology
Social Science Division, Seaver College
AC 220
310.506.4128

Biography

Jennifer Harriger is a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University. She received her BS in biology, her MS in clinical and health psychology and her PhD in developmental psychology. She teaches Foundations of Psychology, Lifespan Developmental Psychology, Child Clinical Psychology, Psychology of Gender, and Body Image and Eating Disorders. Her research focuses on the relationship between body image and social media, and body image and disordered eating in children, adolescents, undergraduates, and athletes. She supervises the Body Project, a peer-led prevention program designed to challenge undergraduate women to challenge the beauty ideal in our society. Finally, Dr. Harriger enjoys supervising and mentoring undergraduate students interested in obtaining research and clinical experience.

 

Education

  • BS, West Chester University, 2000
  • MS, Drexel University, 2002
  • PhD, University of New Mexico, 2009

 

  • Cook-Cottone, C., Harriger, J.A., Tylka, T., & Wood-Barcalow, N. (2023). Virtually possible: Strategies for using telehealth in eating disorder treatment learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, 1-21.

  • Krumrei-Mancuso, E.M., Trammell, J., & Harriger, J.A. (2023). Affective, cognitive, and environmental inductions of humility and intellectual humility that center on self-transcendence. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-19.

  • Harriger, J.A., *Wick, M.R., * Sherline, C. M., & * Kunz, A. L. (2023). The body positivity movement is not all that positive on TikTok: A content analysis of body positivity videos on TikTok. Body Image, 46, 256-264.

  • Thompson, J.K., & Harriger, J.A. (2023). Body image and social media: The fault lines are clear- We need a seismic correction. Body Image, 45, 142-144.

  • *Weir, M.T., Trammell, J., & Harriger, J.A. (2023). The role of parental pressure and warmth in the relationship between parental involvement, parental expectations, and child academic success. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 28(2), 123-131.

  • Harriger, J.A., Thompson, J.K., & Tiggemann, M. (2023). TikTok, TikTok, the time is now: Future directions in body image and social media. Body Image, 44, 222-226.

  • Tylka, T.L., Rodgers, R.F., Calogero, R.M., Thompson, J.K., & Harriger, J.A. (2023). Integrating social media variables as predictors, mediators, and moderators within body image frameworks: Potential mechanisms of action to consider in future research. Body Image, 44, 197-221.

  • Harriger, J.A., *Wick, M.R., *Mendez, K., & *Barnett, B. (2022). With great power comes great responsibility: A content analysis of masculinity themes in superhero movies. Psychology of Men and Masculinities, 23(4), 353–361.

  • *Nelson, S., Harriger, J.A., Miller-Perrin, C., & Rouse, S.V. (2022). The effects of body-positive Instagram posts on body image in adult women. Body Image, 42, 338-346.

  • Harriger, J.A., & *Pfund G.N. (2022). Looking beyond Zoom fatigue: The relationship between video chatting and appearance satisfaction in men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 55, 923-932.

  • Rodgers, R., Wertheim, E., Paxton, S., Tylka, T.L., & Harriger, J.A. (2022). #BoPo: Enhancing body image through body positive social media- Evidence to date and future research directions. Body Image, 41, 367-374.

  • Harriger, J.A., *Evans, J., Thompson, J.K., & Tylka, T.L. (2022). The dangers of the rabbit hole: Reflections on social media as a portal into a distorted world of edited bodies and eating disorder risk and the role of algorithms. Body Image, 41, 292-297.

  • Harriger, J.A., & Trammell, J. (2022). First do no harm? Measuring weight bias beliefs in preschool-age children. Body Image, 40, 176-181.

  • Harriger, J.A., *Wick, M.R., *Travedi, H., & *Callahan, K. E. (2021). Strong hero or violent playboy? Portrayals of masculinity in children’s animated movies. Sex Roles, 85, 677-687.

  • Trammell, J., Joseph, N.T., & Harriger, J.A. (2021). Racial and ethnic minority disparities in COVID-19 related health, health beliefs and behaviors, and well-being among students. Journal of American College Health, 24, 1-7. 

  • *Barron, A.M., Krumrei-Mancuso, E.J., & Harriger, J.A. (2021). The effects of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram posts on body image and self-compassion in men and women. Body Image, 37, 14-27.

  • Harriger, J.A., Joseph, N., & Trammell, J. (2021). Detrimental associations of cumulative trauma, COVID-19 symptoms and stressors, avoidance, and loneliness with sleep and negative emotionality in emerging adulthood during the pandemic. Emerging Adulthood, 9(5), 1-12.

  • *Pfund, G.N., Harriger, J.A., & Hill, P.L. (2021). Video chat usage and the Big Five during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 171, 110537.

  • *Zainal, L., Stevens, S.D., Harriger, J.A., & Herbozo, S. (2020). Internalization of the thin ideal and disordered eating in a community sample of Kuwaiti females. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 3110.

  • *Pfund, G.N., Hill, P.L., & Harriger, J.A. (2020). Video chatting and appearance satisfaction during COVID-19: Appearance comparisons and self-objectification as moderators. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53, 2038-204l

  • *Parker, L.L., & Harriger, J.A. (2020). Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors in the LGBT population: A review of the literature. Journal of Eating Disorders, 8(1), 1-20.

  • *Lazuka, R., *Wick, M.R., Keel, P.K., & Harriger, J.A. (2020). Are we there yet?  Progress in depicting diverse images of beauty in Instagram’s body positivity movement. Body Image, 34, 84-93.

  • Harriger, J.A., Schaefer, L.M., Thompson, J.K., Cao, L. (2019). You can buy a child a curvy Barbie doll, but you can’t make her like it: Young girls’ beliefs about Barbie dolls with diverse shapes and sizes. Body Image, 30, 107-113.

  • Harriger, J.A., Trammell, J., *Wick, M.R., & *Luedke, M. (2019). Gender and age differences in preschoolers’ weight bias beliefs and behavioral intentions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology 37(4), 461-465.

  • Harriger, J.A., *Serier, K.L., *Luedke, M.L., *Robertson, S., *Bojorquez, A. (2018). Appearance related themes in children's animated movies released between 2004 and 2016: A content analysis. Body Image, 26, 78-82.
  • *Serier, K.N. Smith, J.E. Lash, D.N., Gianini, L.M., Harriger, J.A., *Sarafin, R.E., & Wolfe, B.N. (2018). Obligatory Exercise and Coping in Treatment-Seeking Women with Poor Body Image. Eating and Weight Disorders, 23, 331-338.
  • *Wick, M., & Harriger, J.A. (2018). A content analysis of thinspiration text posts and images on Tumblr. Body Image, 24, 13-16.
  • *Schaefer, L.M., Harriger, J.A., Thompson, J.K., & Heinberg, L.J. (2017). The development and validation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4-Revised (SATAQ-4R). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50, 104-117.
  • Harriger, J.A. (2015). Age differences in body size stereotyping in a sample of preschool girls. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 23, 177-190.
  • Harriger, J. A., Witherington, D.C., & Bryan, A.B. (2014). Eating pathology in female gymnasts: Potential risk and protective factors. Body Image, 11, 501-509. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.07.007
  • Harriger, J.A. & Thompson, J.K. (2012). Psychological consequences of obesity: Weight bias and its relationship to body image in youth. International Review of Psychiatry, 24, 247-253. doi:10.3109/09540261.2012.678817
  • Harriger, J.A. (2012). Children's media influences. In T. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance. (pp. 314-319). Academic Press: Oxford.
  • Harriger, J.A., Calogero, R.M., Witherington, D.C., & Smith J.E. (2010). Body size stereotyping and internalization of the thin-ideal in preschool-age girls. Sex Roles, 63, 609-620. doi: 10.1007/s11199-010-9868-1
  • Witherington, D. C., Campos, J. J., Harriger, J. A., Bryan, C., & Margett, T. E. (2010). Emotion and its development in infancy. In G. Bremner (Ed.), Blackwell handbook of infant development. Cambridge: Blackwell.
  • Witherington, D.C. & Crichton, J.A. (2007). Frameworks for Understanding Emotions and their Development: Functionalist and Dynamic Systems Approaches. Emotion 7(3), 628-637.

*denotes a student author

  • Frank R. Seaver Professor, Endowed Professorship Award, Pepperdine University, 2021-2026

  • Howard A. White Teaching Award, Pepperdine University, 2022

  • Seaver Fellow in Social Science, Pepperdine University, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, 2013-2014
  • Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year, University of New Mexico, 2007-2008
  • Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year, West Chester University, 2003-2004

Presentations Since 2015

  • *Xia, M.S., Kim, L., Harriger, J. & Bui, K. (2023, June). Ethnic identity, body appreciation, and intuitive eating in a national sample of US adults. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Washington, D.C. 
  • Trammell, J.P., Harriger, J.A., & Krumrei-Mancuso, E. (2023, May).  The relationship between ability to access nature, attitudes towards nature, and affect. Poster presented at the Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.
  • Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., Harriger, J., & Trammell, J. (2023, May). Exploring causal antecedents of general and intellectual humility. Paper presented at the Interdisciplinary Workshop on Intellectual Humility, Florence, Italy
  • *Cho, L., *Roh, H., & Harriger, J. (2023, May). Sexualization and objectification themes in Anime: A content analysis. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association. Riverside, CA
  • *Chung, H.G., *Joo, C., & Harriger, J.A. (2023, May). Appearance-related messages in YouTube workout videos: A content analysis. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association. Riverside, CA
  • *Sullivan, E., Trammell, J., Harriger, J. (2022, May). The effects of appearance-focused and non-appearance focused body positivity content on men and women. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Science Organization, Chicago, IL.
  • Trammell, J., Krumrei-Mancuso, E., & Harriger, J. (2022, April). The effect of green exercise on affect and emotion. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Seattle, WA.
  • *Nelson, S., Miller-Perrin, C., & Harriger, J. (2021, August). The effects of diverse body-positive Instagram posts on body image in adult women. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, virtual meeting.
  • *Barron, A., Krumrei-Mancuso, E., & Harriger, J. (2020, August). The effects of appearance-related Instagram posts on male and female body image. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, virtual meeting.
  • Harriger, J, Brown, T., Moretti, L., Gorrell, S., Nikols, R., & Becker, C. (2019, March). Risk factor reduction and treatment of body image and eating disorders in athletes. Moderator of panel discussion presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, New York, NY.
  • *Luedke, M., *Wick, M., & Harriger, J. (2018, April). Gender differences in weight bias attitudes in preschool children. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Chicago, IL.
  • *Robertson, S., *Luedke, M., Rinehart, J., & Harriger, J. (2018, April). The relationship between weight bias internalization, fat talk, and body satisfaction in undergraduate females. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Chicago, IL.
  • *Wick, M., & Harriger, J. (2018, April). A content analysis of Thinspiration messages on Tumblr. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Chicago, IL.
  • Herbozo, S., *Stevens, S. D., & Harriger, J. (2017, October). Social media use and eating pathology in young adult women and men with overweight/obesity. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, Washington, DC.
  • *Wick, M., Miller-Perrin, C., & Harriger, J. (2017, August). The relationship between Instagram photo editing and body dissatisfaction in undergraduate women. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
  • Mensinger, J., Bazzi, K., Calogero, R., Harriger, J., & McGilley, B. (2016, May). Rethinking and Restoring Exercise for Health at Every Size: New Integrative Approaches for Eating Disorder Treatment and Recovery.  Panel discussion presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, San Francisco, CA.
  • *Martin, A., *Serier, K., *Parker, L., & Harriger, J. (2016, May). Appearance Related Messages in Children's Animated Movies: A Content Analysis. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Academy for Eating Disorders, San Francisco, CA.
  • * Martin, A., Mancuso, L., & Harriger, J. (2015, May). Systemizing, empathizing and autistic traits in relation to eating disorder symptomatology. Poster presented at the annual American Psychological Science convention, New York, NY.

*denotes a student author

  • Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Teaching Grant, Internal grant, Pepperdine University, 2017-2018

  • Seaver Research Council Grant, Internal grant, Pepperdine University, 2015-2016, 2021-2022

  • Student Mentor Grant, Internal grant, Pepperdine University, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

  • Dean’s Research Grant, Internal grant, Pepperdine University, 2011, 2012, 2020

  • AYURI Research Project Funding, Internal grant, Pepperdine University, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 

Select Interviews:

Select Research Coverage:

Areas of Expertise

  • Social Media
  • Weight Bias
  • Body Image
  • Disordered Eating
  • Child Clinical Psychology
  • Psychology of Gender

Topics

  • Relationship Between Social Media and Body Image
  • Body Image and Disordered Eating in Children, Adolescents, and Adults
  • Development of Weight Bias in Young Children

Courses

  • Child Clinical Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Foundations of Psychology
  • Body Image and Eating Disorders
  • Psychology of Gender