Social Psychology & Health
Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University
Principal investigator: Dr. Rotem Kahalon
Our Focus
We study how social norms, stereotypes, and the ways people are perceived and treated shape their physical and mental health and well-being. We also examine how these processes sustain inequality and what motivates people to challenge it.
We are especially interested in subtle processes that often go unnoticed. Our research examines how appearance norms and objectification affect body image, sexuality, and well-being; how expectations about pregnancy and motherhood shape women’s mental health; and why childbirth-related trauma so often goes unrecognized. We also investigate how gender stereotypes, including seemingly positive ones, influence people’s choices and performance, and how gendered expectations shape the distribution of mental load in relationships.
Based at a faculty of medicine, we bring these questions into healthcare settings through collaborations with hospitals and health professionals. We study patients’ experiences and evaluate interventions aimed at improving psychological outcomes and the recognition of distress.
We use experimental, longitudinal, survey, and archival methods, and collaborate with researchers in Israel, Europe, and North America.
Ongoing projects
An Israel Science Foundation (ISF)–funded longitudinal study examining the psychological outcomes of objectification and self-objectification during the transition to motherhood.
This line of research investigates the underrecognition of childbirth-related PTSD among the general population as well as among healthcare and mental health professionals, with the goal of developing research-based interventions to improve awareness and identification.
This project examines how the distribution of mental load (the cognitive and emotional work of managing a household) in couples shapes relationship and sexual satisfaction.
A longitudinal experimental study conducted in collaboration with Ziv Medical Center, targeting women at risk for childbirth-related PTSD and evaluating the effectiveness of an early intervention following birth. Supported by the Strauss Family Research Grant.
Part of a large international collaboration, supported by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). The project takes a comprehensive approach to enhancing older adults’ preparedness for extreme heat.
Our Research in the Media
Unseen Trauma: Recognizing and Understanding Childbirth-Related PTSD
Photo credit: freepik www.freepik.com.
Lack of sample diversity: How biased is our research practice?
Photo credit: Annie Spratt, Unsplash
Self-objectification linked to increased sexual dysfunction among women
Photo credit: Ron Lach. Pexels.
I am a Senior Lecturer at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University. I hold an MA in social and clinical psychology and a PhD in psychology from Tel Aviv University. I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Zurich and later served as a Research Fellow at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
I am interested in the subtle ways social expectations shape people’s lives and sustain inequality. I am particularly drawn to processes that are easy to overlook: seemingly positive stereotypes that constrain people’s choices, appearance norms that influence how they experience their bodies, and expectations about motherhood that obscure women’s needs and distress.
My research examines these processes across contexts, including body image and sexuality, gender roles and relationships, pregnancy and parenthood, and medical care. I also investigate what helps people recognize others’ experiences and motivates them to challenge inequality.
I welcome students and collaborators from psychology, social work, healthcare, and related fields who share an interest in these questions and in investigating them through social psychological research.