Staff Profile
Dr Ruth Knight
Lecturer
I joined the Department of Psychology as a Lecturer in the Summer of 2022, after finishing my postdoctoral role as part of the Converge Evaluation Project at the University. Before this, I completed my PhD in Psychology at the University of York (exploring risk factors for the development of disordered eating), where I also gained an MPsych in Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. My current research considers the mental health experiences of minoritized communities using mixed methods approaches informed by coproduction with communities and individuals with lived experience.
- School – School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Email – r.knight1@yorksj.ac.uk
- Research - View my work in RaY
Teaching
I teach across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules broadly related to mental health and social psychology. I also supervise students in projects in my research area, and those focussed on issues in mental health more generally.
I teach on the following:
Courses
- BSc Psychology
- MRes Psychology
- MSc Psychology of Child and Adolescent Development
Modules
- PSY6024M - Critical Approaches to Mental Health
- PSY4001M - Exploring Social Psychology
- PSY5007M - MRes Thesis
- PSY6001M - Dissertation
- PSY4007M - Personality and Individual Differences
Research
My research focuses on the mental health experiences of minoritized and marginalised communities, such as the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities. I use both qualitative and quantitative approaches, informed by coproduction with the communities in question. I am especially interested in making research accessible to underrepresented groups.
Publications and conferences
Journal articles
Knight, R. & Lambley, R. (in press) Using a novel autoethnographically-informed research design to explore participants’ experiences of an educational arts programme at a UK university. QMiP
Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2023). Do selfies make women look slimmer? The effect of viewing angle on aesthetic and weight judgments of women’s bodies. Plos one,18(10), e0291987.
Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2023). Exploring the effects of gender and sexual orientation on disordered eating: an EFA to CFA study of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 1-14.
Knight, R., Carey, M., Jenkinson, P., & Preston, C. (2022). The impact of sexual orientation on how men experience disordered eating and drive for muscularity. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 1-23.
Carey, M., Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2019). Distinct neural response to visual perspective and body size in the extrastriate body area. Behavioural brain research, 372, 112063.
Carey, M., Kupeli, N., Knight, R., Troop, N. A., Jenkinson, P. M., & Preston, C. (2019). Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q): Norms and psychometric properties in UK females and males. Psychological assessment, 31(7), 839.
Book chapters
Knight, R. (in press) The disordered disabled body: disordered eating in a disabled body. Voices of Eating Disorders
Hamilton, L. & Knight, R. (in press) Bridging double empathy gaps in the higher education classroom. PARC Double Empathy Reader
Other publications
Knight, R. (2019) How summer increases the pressures of body image. The York Mix.
Knight, R. (2018) Male eating disorders. Attitude
Conference presentations
ISTP 2024: Do selfies make women look slimmer?
CREW Research Showcase, King’s College London, November 2023: invited talk delivered ‘Disordered eating inmarginalised communities: how can VR help us explore these experiences’
NCACE The Power of Collaborative Action III, March 2023: invited panelist ‘Role of communities in leading andshaping knowledge exchange.’
BACP Research Conference 2022: Workshop delivered “Using creative research methods with your own clients”
BPS Sexualities Division Conference 2021: Talk delivered “How does sexuality influence disordered eating and drive for muscularity in men?”
