New psychology professor already loves BSU

With eagerness and enthusiasm, Professor Keli Braitman has joined the BSU psychology department.

Braitman grew up in Frostburg, Maryland and also attended college at Frostburg University in her hometown. She then went to graduate school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where she received her Ph.D. in Applied Experimental Psychology.

“I was debating between psychology and sociology as my majors, because both of these fit with my love for talking to and being around other people. In the end psychology just seemed to correspond with all of my interests,” Braitman said.

She said that she has always enjoyed teaching as well, which is why she chose to become a psychology professor.

“I had the opportunity to guest lecture in my research methods class in college, and as soon as I was done I knew that I wanted to be a teacher,” she said.

After that, she spent time as a teaching assistant and then taught her own class in graduate school. She also spent a year at Frostburg University teaching, but BSU is her first position as a tenure-track professor.

Braitman’s research examines body image using theories from social, cognitive, and personality psychology. One of the main focuses of her research is understanding why individuals are affected differently by messages from society about physical attractiveness. She would like to use this information for treatment and prevention purposes.

Her two current lines of research are examining “the interaction between Appearance Schemas and the internalization of socially-accepted standards of attractiveness on a measure of body satisfaction, and examining differences between individuals who are satisfied with their appearance versus dissatisfied individuals.”

Braitman has had a variety of publications, and her professional activities include involvement in the American Psychological Society and others.

Students can take many courses from Braitman, including Psychological Testing, Social Psychology, and Introductory and Advanced Statistics.

Braitman said she came to Boise because she and her husband both liked the Boise area and thought it would be a nice place to live.

Outside of school, she enjoys spending free time with her husband, their dog and three cats.

“I love teaching at BSU so far and I love my colleagues and students too,” Braitman said. “There seems to be an amazing amount of support for new faculty. I am really glad I got the opportunity to come here.”

Ashley Gettings

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