Miriam Liss

Professor of Psychology University of Mary Washington

  • Fredericksburg VA

Dr. Liss is internationally known expert on parenting and work-family balance issues.

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University of Mary Washington

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2 min

#Experts in the Media – UMW’s Miriam Liss explains to BBC why 'quirky' people are attractive

What could make a face worthy of launching a thousand ships? For thousands of years, and likely long before Helen of Troy, beauty and what makes us attracted to others has been a mystery. There have been studies, theories and tons of experiments – and like a cure for the common cold, finding an easy answer or remedy for the riddle behind beauty is always illusive. However, University of Mary Washington’s Miriam Liss was recently featured on the BBC and explain how sometimes the small things – make the biggest impressions. Recumbent on her chaise lounge, peacock-feather fan in hand, the model casts her gaze over her shoulder towards the artist. It's the early 19th Century, and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres is painting La Grande Odalisque, a nude oil-on-canvas of a Turkish chambermaid. The painter has captured her allure, but something is not quite right. When it is shown to the public, the painting is heavily criticised – she has a weirdly long back and her body points in too many different directions. A 2004 analysis by French doctors, including one who specialises in vertebral pain, suggests that not only would it be impossible for her to contort her body in this way, she would have needed five extra lumbar vertebrae for her back to look as long as it does. The Romantic style of art from this period is filled with nude women, back to the observer, with tiny waists and wide hips. An "hourglass" figure was thought to be the height of beauty. Whether Ingres had intended to distort her proportions quite so much is debated – though no model could ever have posed like this. Maybe Ingres was exaggerating her slender back, narrow waist and wider hips to add a little more sexiness and slightly overdid it. 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. May 31 – BBC If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic or speak with an expert, then let us help. Miriam Liss is a professor of psychological science and international known expert in the areas of feminism, body image and objectification. She’s available to speak with media; simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.

Miriam Liss

2 min

Experts in the media: Two Mary Washington Professors study selfies and self-objectification

Psychological Science Professors Miriam Liss and Mindy Erchull’s research on selfie behaviors, self-objectification and depressive behaviors in women was recently published in the psychology journal, Sex Roles. Women are given the message that they are valued for their physical attractiveness above other qualities, and the study examines how self-objectification interplays with online behaviors. A study recently published in the journal Sex Roles sheds new light on the relationship between selfie behaviors, self-objectification, and depressive symptoms in women. Since women often receive the message that they are valued primarily for their physical attractiveness, the researchers were interested in exploring how self-objectification was related to online behaviors. “I have been collaborating with Mindy Erchull on issues related to objectification theory for several years. I had also begun to be interested in the effects of social media on people’s experiences and had recently taught a senior seminar on the topic,” explained the study’s lead author, Miriam Liss, a professor of psychological science at University of Mary Washington. “Mindy and I became interested in how objectification relates to experiences with social media — particularly Instagram, which is a platform that is based on posting visual images. Other studies on the topic had largely looked at how feelings of self-objectification can be a consequence of social media. We wanted to look at how self-objectification can change how one behaves when taking and posting selfies.” For their study, the researchers surveyed 164 female students from a public liberal arts university in the Southeastern United States. The survey assessed photo manipulation, average number of selfies, body surveillance, perceived social media deception, and depressive symptoms. Most of the participants reported taking 2-5 selfies before posting one to Instagram, while approximately 5 percent reported taking more than 20 on average. The researchers found that women who took a larger number of selfies before choosing one to post to Instagram tended to have higher levels of body surveillance and more symptoms of depression.  PsyPost, January 12 The article and details of the study are below. If you are a journalist looking to learn more about this topic or if you are interested in speaking with Professor Miriam Liss or Professor Mindy Erchull – simply click on either expert’s icon to arrange an interview today.

Miriam LissMindy Erchull

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Biography

Miriam Liss is a clinical psychologist who best known for her work on parenting and gender issues. An internationally known expert, Dr. Liss has been interviewed by the Washington Post, MSNBC.com, and Live Science. She is the co-author of an award-winning textbook “Psychology of Women and Gender” published by Norton Press. She is also the co-author of "Balancing the Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family and Life," published by Rowman and Littlefield press.

Dr. Liss has published in a wide variety of areas including autism and developmental disorders, sensory processing, self-injury, feminist self-identification, body objectification, intensive and helicopter parenting, work-family balance, social media, and mindfulness. She is the author of over 50 peer reviewed articles and has over 75 regional and national conference presentation.

Dr. Liss’ honors include election into Phi Beta Kappa and Psi Chi, where she was selected as the Regional Faculty Advisor Winner and supervised the chapter winning the National Chapter Award in 2006. She received the UMW Outstanding Young Faculty Member Award in 2005 and won the SCHEV Outstanding Faculty award in 2014. She also has been named one of Princeton Review’s Best 300 Professors. Her articles have been published in numerous journals including the Sex Roles, Psychology of Women Quarterly, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, Personality and Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. Many of Dr. Liss’ publications and presentations are with UMW student co-authors, and she enjoys mentoring students to do research that is of publishable quality.

Areas of Expertise

Work-Life Balance
Feminism
Parenting
Social Media
Mindfulness

Accomplishments

2015 Outstanding Faculty Award

2014-12-11

Miriam Liss, professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington, has received a “2015 Outstanding Faculty Award” from the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia.
Liss joined the UMW faculty in 2001 and is a clinical psychologist.
Recently, Liss released a book with fellow UMW psychology professor Holly Schiffrin called “Balancing the Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family and Life.”...

Best 300 Professors

2009-01-01

Named to list of top 300 professors by Princeton Review.

Outstanding Young Faculty Member

2005-01-01

Awarded by the University of Mary Washington.

Education

University of Connecticut

Ph.D.

Psychology

2001

University of Connecticut

M.A.

Psychology

1998

Wesleyan University

B.A. (Honors)

Psychology

2005

Media Appearances

Atlanta in top 50 best cities for women, but Augusta is among worst

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)  online

2024-09-24

“Where to live is a very personal decision, and the choice will vary for each woman based on a wide range of factors (e.g., job, family, affordability),” Miriam Liss, chair of the Department of Psychological Science, College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Mary Washington, told WalletHub.

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Best & Worst States for Women 2024

WalletHub  online

2024-03-04

Women, like everyone else, should weigh various factors when deciding where to live. This may include employment opportunities for themselves or their spouses, proximity to family, cost of living including housing and childcare expenses, access to outdoor activities, walkability or access to bike paths, availability of a supportive community, and opportunities to form meaningful relationships.

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The happiest (and unhappiest) states in America may surprise you

Vox News  online

2023-10-06

"Increasing wealth does not increase a person's happiness, but experiencing poverty certainly makes you unhappy," says Miriam Liss, a professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

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Articles

Mindfulness as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression

Current Psychology

2021

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a variety of negative physical and psychological health outcomes. The mechanisms by which this occurs and potential protective factors present in this relationship are understudied. Mindfulness is a cognitive resource that may protect individuals against symptoms of psychological distress. It has five core facets and encourages a nonjudgmental acceptance of the present moment. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of mindfulness in the relationship between ACEs and depression, both as a mediator and as a moderator, or protective factor. We hypothesized that the aware, describe, and non-judgement facets of mindfulness would be key factors in both sets of analyses. Participants at a university (N = 279) were given the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACES), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) to measure depression. Results indicated that the describe CI [.02, .11], aware CI [.05, .17], and non-judgement CI [.06, .18] facets of mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between ACEs and depression. Additionally, the aware facet of mindfulness was also a significant moderator in this relationship, [t (interaction) = −3.22, p 

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Effects of a Meditation and Contemplative Practice Course on College Students’ Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Mental Health

The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry

2020

Objectives: Mindfulness-based practices have been shown to be effective in reducing depression and anxiety among college students. Less is known about whether coursework incorporating contemplative practices has similar beneficial effects. This study sought to investigate the benefits of a course focusing on contemplative practices that included mindfulness-based practice inside and outside the classroom. Methods: In Study 1, 42 students enrolled in Meditation and Contemplative Practice, a course taught through the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion, completed measures of mindfulness, self-compassion, depression, and anxiety at the beginning and end of the semester. In Study 2, 43 students in this course, and 65 students in an Introduction to World Religions course completed the same measures at the beginning and end of the semester. In Study 3, 15 students enrolled in the contemplative practices course completed a pre-test, a post-test, and a follow-up assessment six weeks later. Results: Across all three studies mindfulness and self-compassion rose over the course of the semester. In Study 1, anxiety significantly decreased. In Study 2, those in the religious studies course did not experience increased mindfulness or self-compassion over the course of the semester. Furthermore, there were significant interactions indicating that the religion students increased in depression and anxiety over the course of the semester while those in the contemplative practices class decreased. Study 3 indicated that the gains made during the semester continued after the course was over. Conclusions: Results indicate that coursework on contemplative practices is beneficial to the mental health of college students.

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Psychological inflexibility moderates the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating

Eating Behaviors

2020

Internalizing ideals of thinness has been related to disordered eating. Thus, it is important to identify potential protective factors that may allow someone to internalize this belief without developing an eating disorder. In this study, we explored psychological flexibility and inflexibility as potential moderators of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating. College women (N = 201) completed the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory, the thin-ideal internalization subscale of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire, and the Eating Attitudes Test. Psychological inflexibility, but not psychological flexibility, was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating. Further analyses found that the specific subscales which moderated this relationship were Fusion, Lack of Present Moment Awareness, Lack of Values, and Inaction. Contrary to our hypothesis, disordered eating was positively related to Acceptance. The results suggest that being psychologically inflexible is particularly problematic in the context of thin-ideal internalization. Additionally, increasing acceptance may not be effective if the accepted thoughts are about the importance of thinness.

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