Professor Viren Swami

Viren is a world-leading scientist whose expertise covers the psychology of body image, romantic relationships and love, and the benefits of spending time in nature.

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View Viren's ResearchGate profile

Background

Viren joined Anglia Ruskin University as a Professor of Social Psychology in 2015, having previously worked at the University of Westminster and the University of Liverpool. He leads the Wellbeing in Nature research hub, part of the ARU Research Centre for Better Living, and is director of the Centre for Wellbeing in Nature-Malaysia (WiN-MAS), a collaborative research centre between ARU and Perdana University in Malaysia.

Viren’s research is highly influential, and he ranks among the top 2% of the most-cited scientists worldwide. He is a prominent science communicator and author, with extensive experience in television, radio, and digital and print media work. He also frequently presents his research at science, literary, and music festivals, and is a member of various public-facing organisations. Viren’s most recent book, Attraction Explained (now in its second edition), has received critical acclaim, being praised as “beautifully written” while managing to be “scrupulously accurate”.

Spoken Languages

• English
• Malay

Research interests

Viren’s research is focused on understanding body image in different cultural, economic, and socio-political contexts. He is particularly interested in cross-cultural differences in body image and beauty ideals, and his research seeks to map changing patterns of body image across world regions. His related work applies psychometric theory and methods to understand how body image should be conceptualised across different national and linguistic groups.

The overarching aim of this research is to develop positivist, interventionist methods that can effectively promote healthier body image and well-being across diverse populations. For example, Viren’s recent research has highlighted the ways in which contact with nature can promote more positive body image and better mental health in diverse communities and across the lifespan. Separately, he is also interested in the study of mental health literacy, especially societal understandings of paternal postnatal depression.

Areas of research supervision

• Body image and physical appearance
• Promoting positive body image
• Nature contact and psychological wellbeing
• Connectedness to nature
• Embodying activities and influences
• Psychometrics, including the translation and validation of measures
• Postnatal depression

Find out more about our Psychology PhD.

Qualifications

• PhD in Psychology, University College London, 2005
• BSc (Hons) Psychology, University College London, 2002

Memberships, editorial boards

• Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow, British Psychological Society
• Fellow, Advance HE
• Editorial boards: Body Image, Eating and Weight Disorders, Routledge Open, Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology

Selected recent publications

Swami, V., Stieger, S., Voracek, M., … Tran, U. S. (2025). Life satisfaction around the world: Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. PLoS ONE, 20, e0313107.

Swami, V., Voracek, M., Furnham, A., Horne, G., Longhurst, P., & Tran, U. S. (2025). Is nature exposure in autistic adults associated with more positive body image? Body Image, 52, 101854.

Czepczor-Bernat, K., Modrzejewska, J., Modrzejewska, A., Bieńkowska, I., & Swami, V. (2024). Does a nature walk improve state body appreciation in children? Body Image, 49, 101707.

Landor, A. M., Ramseyer Winter, V. L., Thurston, I. B., Chan, J., Craddock, N., Ladd, B., Tylka, T. L., Swami, V., Watson, L. B., & Choukas-Bradley, S. (2023). The Sociostructural-Intersectional Body Image (SIBI) framework: Understanding the impact of white supremacy in body image research and practice. Body Image, 48, 101674.

Swami, V. (2024). Associations between nature exposure and body image: A critical, narrative review of the evidence. Acta Psychologica, 248, 104355.

Swami, V., White, M. P., Voracek, M., … Stieger, S. (2024). Connectedness to nature and exposure to natural environments: An examination of the measurement invariance of the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS) and Nature Exposure Scale (NES) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 99, 102432.

Swami, V., Maïano, C., & Morin, A. J. S. (2023). A guide to exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) and bifactor-ESEM in body image research. Body Image, 41, 101641.

Swami, V., Tran, U. S., Stieger, S., … Voracek, M. (2023). Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Body Image, 46, 449-466.