Psychology Research and Behavior Management

The Psychology of Appearance and Body Modification: Body Image, Identity, and Well-Being

Psychology Research and Behavior Management is pleased to announce a new Article Collection that explores the perceptions and modifications of the body through a psychological and behavioral lens.

Contemporary research increasingly recognizes physical appearance and its modification as important components of psychological functioning, identity, and social interaction. Body image, self-esteem, and perceptions of appearance may influence decisions to modify the body through cosmetic surgery, aesthetic medicine, cosmetological treatments, tattoos, piercings, and other forms of body modification. Although these phenomena have been investigated across psychology, medicine, and health-related disciplines, research remains fragmented across specific interventions or individual psychological outcomes. As a result, there is a need for a more integrated understanding of how appearance-related perceptions and concerns intersect with identity, self-expression, motivation, psychological well-being, and quality of life.

The increasing prevalence of aesthetic interventions and body modification practices reflects the growing significance of physical appearance in contemporary society. However, decisions to modify appearance are not solely aesthetic choices; they may reflect and, in turn, influence body image, self-esteem, identity, self-expression, and more. These processes are further shaped by social and cultural norms, social media, appearance ideals, and interpersonal influences.

This Collection is important because it will integrate these perspectives within a common psychological framework, bringing together research from clinical, health, and social psychology, behavioral medicine, and related disciplines. By examining motivations, psychological outcomes, potential risks and benefits, and factors associated with adaptive or problematic appearance modification, the Collection aims to advance a more comprehensive evidence base for clinical screening, patient counseling, risk assessment, and patient-centered care in aesthetic and body modification settings.

Particular attention will be given to submissions exploring the relationships among body image, self-esteem, identity and self-expression, as well as to psychological outcomes associated with aesthetic interventions and body modification practices. Contributions may also address cosmetic surgery, aesthetic medicine, cosmetological treatments, tattoos, piercings, and other forms of body modification as diverse contexts in which individuals negotiate appearance, self-perception, and identity, including but not limited to:

• body image concerns and dysphoria
• social and cultural influences, social media and appearance ideals
• psychological outcomes before and after aesthetic interventions or body modification
• individual motivations, clinical screening, and potential psychological risks
• excessive or compulsive appearance modification
• research informing psychological screening, risk assessment, patient counseling, and psychologically informed, patient-centered care

We welcome original research, surveys, brief reports, reviews, methodological and measurement studies, case reports, case series, commentaries, and expert opinions that provide theoretically grounded and empirically supported insights into the psychology of appearance and body modification.

Keywords: Body image and body dysphoria; Self-esteem and self-perception; Body modification and aesthetic interventions; Identity and self-expression; Psychological well-being and quality of life

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 18 June 2027.

Please contact Thalia Geiger at thalia.geiger@taylorandfrancis.com  with any questions or requests for discount codes relating to this Article Collection.

Meet the Guest Advisors

Prof. Aleksandra M. Rogowska

Aleksandra M. Rogowska, PhD, DSc, is Full Professor of Psychology, Director of the Institute of Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychology of Individual Differences at the University of Opole, Poland. Her research covers individual differences, health psychology, and the psychology of sport and physical activity, with a particular interest in body image, body appreciation, and appearance-related behaviours in relation to self-esteem, identity, and well-being. Her work includes studies on body appreciation as a moderator of the self-esteem to life satisfaction link, interoceptive awareness in pole dancers, orthorexia and fasting behaviour, and minority stress in gender-diverse populations, published in journals such as Scientific Reports, Journal of Affective Disorders, and Frontiers in Psychology. She is a reviewer for top scientific journals and editorial board member for Scientific Reports, BMC Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology, and Behavioral Medicine. She has been ranked among the top 2% of most cited scientists worldwide by Stanford/Elsevier. Trained also as a visual artist and percussionist, she brings an embodiment and aesthetics perspective to the psychology of appearance.

Assoc. Prof. Karolina Chilicka-Hebel

As an academic lecturer, she specializes in cosmetic equipment and technologies, while her scientific research focuses on the effects of modern cosmetic devices and treatments on the skin of individuals suffering from acne vulgaris. Together with her research team, she was the first in the world to investigate the effects of oxybrasion and hydrogen purification treatments on selected parameters of acne-prone skin. This research resulted in numerous publications in international scientific journals with high Impact Factors. She has completed numerous international scientific internships, which have enabled her to establish research collaborations with scientists from, among others, Bulgaria, Italy, and Latvia. She is a co-author of the monograph Cosmetic Equipment and Treatment Methodology (2013), as well as Rosacea Without Secrets (2025).