A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss moderated a town hall meeting for the members of theSpotsylvania School Board on Sunday, Jan. 8. “The goal is for this to be a successful, positive opportunity to share … [and for] our board members to hear input into policies around public comments and budgetary priorities,” Liss said. The meeting was covered byThe Free Lance-Star and theMarietta Daily Journal.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss had a study featured in an article on USA News Hub, entitled, “Are you anxious, introverted or just a ‘highly sensitive person’?”
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss was interviewed for a WalletHub.com article entitled “2021’s Best & Worst States for Women’s Equality.”
The US is currently ranked 87th globally when it comes to the gender gap in health and survival. What is driving this? What should be done to close this gap?
One factor driving this is the fact that health insurance and access to healthcare are contingent on employment. If we had a universal health care system, women who are not working or are underemployed would have better access to healthcare and better health outcomes. Women are much more likely than men to live in poverty and often must make tough choices about paying for healthcare and paying for other needs such as food or diapers for their children. Thus, their own healthcare and well-being often get sacrificed. Other policies that would help close the gap would be universal childcare because women often cannot seek preventative care because they do not have adequate childcare. Read more.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss was quoted in a BBC.com article entitled, “Why ‘quirky’ people are attractive.”
Subtle differences in our appearance can make a big difference. Slight changes in dress make women seem more trustworthy, competent or attractive. As psychologist Miriam Liss of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and her co-authors found, to look honest and competent in a career setting, or even electable as a politician, a woman must dress conservatively and not sexily. Read more.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
Professors of Psychological Science Miriam Liss and Mindy Erchull will discuss their research on selfie behaviors and self-esteem on “With Good Reason” show on Saturday, May 1 through Friday, May 7. With Good Reason airs Sundays at 2 p.m. on Fredericksburg’s Radio IQ 88.3 Digital and at various times throughout the week on stations across Virginia and the United States. Check the website for show times.
Professor of Psychological Science Mindy Erchull
Entertain Us
More and more often, celebrities are home-grown in front of a ring light and iPhone. As viewers keep scrolling past these insta-celebs, they’re starting to see themselves differently. Miriam Liss and Mindy Erchull (University of Mary Washington) say we compare ourselves to what we see despite knowing all that glitters isn’t gold. And: Have you been running to Twitter to cope with the crazy news cycle over the past year? John Brummette (Radford University) says it’s a common coping mechanism.
Later in the show: Long before social media, there was cancel culture. Carolyn Eastman (University of Virginia) reminds us of Mr. O, the first “cancelled” celebrity you’ve probably never heard of. Plus: Matthew Turner (Radford University) says that all comedy is an inside joke, but some jokes span generations.
Audio files of the full program and its companion news feature will be posted the week of the show to our website: https://www.withgoodreasonradio.org.
After her first interview for an academic position – at Mary Washington – Miriam Liss knew right away she wanted the job.
Professor of Psychological Science Miriam Liss
“It was so much fun. I loved everything about it,” said Liss, who earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut. “The people were wonderful. The students were wonderful. The town was charming.”
That was 20 years ago. Since then, she has risen in rank from assistant to full professor in the Department of Psychological Science. This fall, she’ll take on the role of chair.
Along the way, her life has woven itself into her work, which always focuses on students. With them, and with many fellow faculty members, she’s explored and published on myriad topics, from feminist identity and body image to sensory processing and self-injury. When Liss became a mother herself – to Emily, 12, and Daniel, 14 – her research turned toward the subject of parenting.
More recently, she’s embraced the concept of mindfulness. The results of a three-year study – with UMW professors Mindy Erchull, Dan Hirshberg, Angela Pitts and David Ambuel – appear in the current issue of The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry. Their research, a collaboration between the departments of Classics, Philosophy and Religious Studies, along with Psychological Science, found decreased levels of depression and anxiety in students who take UMW’s Contemplative Practice course.
Miriam Liss has pursued a wide range of research at UMW, involving students every step of the way. Results of a recent study conducted with felllow faculty members were published in the current edition of ‘The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry.’
Liss hopes to instill the idea of mindfulness, and its effects on mental wellness, at an even earlier age, by collaborating with Mary Washington students and a social worker at Spotsylvania’s Riverview Elementary School to implement a first-grade curriculum. She’s guiding her research team to get the program off the ground and evaluate its effects, and to explore how mindfulness might protect against a variety of mental health outcomes in college students.
From the first course she taught, after that “fun” and fortuitous interview, to the classes she’s teaching, virtually, this semester – Psychology of Women, using the textbook she wrote with Erchull, and Abnormal Psychology – students have remained front and center.
“That’s one of the things I like so much about Mary Washington,” Liss said. “We’re allowed to develop our research agenda in any way we want as long as we’re involving students.”
Q: What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
A: Working with students, especially my research students, and allowing their interests, along with my own, to shape what I do. Over the years I’ve worked with so many amazing students.
Q: What’s most challenging?
A: Balancing everything. Sometimes I feel like I have so many balls in the air I’m afraid I’m going to drop one.
Q: Any big plans as department chair?
A: My colleagues and I have been working to develop a course through the Department of Psychological Science to prepare students for careers after college.
Q: What’s the one thing people would be most surprised to learn about you?
A: They might be surprised to know how involved I’ve been with theater. I made my Fredericksburg début in 2015 as the mother in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I love singing. I can do a mean show tune. My true fantasy is to retire and get on the stage.
Q: Any mottos you live by?
A: Don’t get so tangled up in your thoughts. Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it’s true. Also, I have a general motto of self-acceptance. We’re all going to mess up. It’s OK. We can still love all the parts of ourselves, not just the great parts.
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