Body Image Thought Map and Research


Based off of my improved research question: How can experiential design concepts help young women in their 20's use behavioral modification to improve their perception of their body image?
I decided to create a thought map to kickstart the next phase of my research process. Based off of the trends I saw, there are two main components in each trend that I will further research as they relate to body image in young women in their 20's. Two of the three trends have to do with outside influences, but according to research concerning self talk and thought process, internal views and perspectives hold more weight, even though internal views and perspectives can be heavily influenced by external sources. This is one the main reasons I want to further investigate how to empower young women to take advantage of their personal thought processes to help them help themselves. 

 Social Media and Body Image: 
This strain of research will be exploratory, more open ended
- What is social media?
- Who views social media?
- How influential is social media?

 Celebrities and Body Image:
 This strain of research will be generative, however, I plan on using surveys and interviews to gather information about this topic. 
- Which celebrities are most influential to young women in their 20's right now?
- How do celebrities influence body image?

 Role Models and Body Image:
I plan on getting a solid foothold in my research of celebrities and body image before I start research on role models and body image, because I believe that they will be somewhat connected. This research will also be more generative. 
- What is a role model?
- Do young women in their 20's have role models?
- How influential are role models?

 Ideals and Body Image:
This strain of research will need to half generative and half exploratory. To find an answer for the second question, I believe I will need to conduct more interview and surveys.
- How are our ideals formed?
- Which ideals tend to be more influential, societal or personal?

 Mental and Physical Health and Body Image:
These strains of research will be more exploratory, more than likely informing me of how to go about the interviews and surveys that I will conduct for the other areas of research that I still need to do. I also want to consult my SME before I get too far into my research so that I don't go down a misguided path. 
- How is mental health connected to body image? 
- How is physical health connected to body image? 
- How does body image affect both physical and mental health?

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