Centre for Appearance Research (CAR)

The world’s largest research group focusing on the role of appearance and body image in people’s lives.

We are a centre of excellence for psychological and interdisciplinary, person-centred research in appearance, visible difference (also referred to as disfigurement), body image and related studies.

Our research inform and support:

  • healthcare and education provision
  • social policy
  • media
  • corporate social responsibility agendas, and
  • other areas of society.

If you're interested in being kept up-to-date with opportunities to take part in research run by CAR, you can sign up to CAR's participant pool. Anyone aged 16 or above can sign up, whether or not you have a condition that affects your appearance.

Join CAR's participant pool

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About

Find out how our research transforms lives.

Research themes

Discover our themes, projects, publications and PhD research.

Members

Details of our centre's members, visiting academics, staff and PhD students.

Collaborations

Our partnerships support the needs of many individuals.

Resources

Online training, videos and media resources.

FAQs

Answers to your frequently asked questions.

News and events

Attend our Appearance Matters Conference and much more.

Publications

Publications from members of the Centre for Appearance Research.

Contacts

We welcome enquiries about our work - please get in touch.

Appearance Matters Podcast

Appearance Matters: The Podcast is all about appearance, featuring exclusive interviews with experts in the field. It is hosted by Dr Nadia Craddock, Dr Maia Thornton, and Abbi Matthews on SoundCloud.

Transcripts of the podcast episodes are now available to request. These are being updated on a regular basis. If there is a specific episode transcript you would like to access, please contact us (car@uwe.ac.uk).

Appearance Matters: The Podcast

Episode 101: Appearance, sexuality, and gender

In our latest podcast episode, Senior Research Fellow, Dr Maia Thornton, delves into a discussion with Associate Professor Virginia Ramseyer-Winter from the University of Minnesota, and PhD student, Savannah Roberts, from the University of Pittsburgh. Their rich discussion explores the role of appearance ideals and body image in the context of sexual health and relationships, as well as appearance norms across different sexualities and genders, whilst underscoring the importance of intersectionality. Tune in to learn more.

Changing how the world sees bodies

The esteemed British Psychological Society (BPS) has featured our podcast in their official publication, The Psychologist, as it approaches important milestones – our 100th episode and 10 years disseminating and discussing research and relevant topics surrounding appearance-related issues.

Read the article
Appearance Matters: The Podcast

Why we study appearance

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