Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan
About
L. Monique Ward is an Arthur F. Thurnau professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, where she teaches courses on developmental psychology, and on children, adolescents, and the media. She received her BA from Yale University and her PhD from UCLA and has been on faculty at the University of Michigan for more than 20 years.
Dr. Ward’s research focuses on media effects on gender development and sexual socialization, with particular attention to effects of sexual objectifying media, effects for young women, and effects for Black youth. She has published more than 65 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Developmental Psychology, Media Psychology, Journal of Adolescence, Psychology of Women Quarterly, Journal of Black Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin.
Dr. Ward served as a member of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls and currently serves on the editorial board of 5 scholarly journals. She is the 2017 recipient of The Distinguished Leader for Women in Psychology Award from the APA Committee on Women in Psychology.
Current Work:
Dr. Ward’s research currently focuses on effects of media use on the gender and sexual socialization of White and ethnic minority youth. Over the next few years her projects will address the following issues:
Sexual objectification of women in the media, and its impact on girls and women (sexual health, sexual relationships, body attitudes, mental health, self-perceptions).
Contributions of media use to the gender and racial attitudes of Black and Asian American youth; contributions of these beliefs to their academic engagement and academic outcomes.
Impact of gender and sexual stereotypes on the sexual health and relationship functioning of White women and Black women.
Impact of traditional media and social media on dysfunctional relationship attitudes and behaviors (dating violence, sexual violence, rape myth acceptance).
Contributions of media use (traditional media, social media, sexually explicit media) to men's understanding of masculinity, sexuality, and sexual relationships.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Media effects, sexuality, gender development, objectification, adolescence
