Professor
Academic Degrees
Mindy J. Erchull, Professor of Psychological Science, earned a Ph.D. (2005) and an M.A. (2002) in social psychology from Arizona State University, after receiving a B.A. (1998) in psychology from Connecticut College. She was named a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2016.
Dr. Erchull's research interests include objectification and sexualization of women, feminism and feminist identity, psychological aspects of reproductive health, and attitudes about menstruation. She also has broad training in social psychology, health psychology, psychology of women, women’s health, social influence, and statistics and research methods. In addition to research and academic training in these areas, Dr. Erchull serves as a consulting editor for Psychology of Women Quarterly, Women’s Reproductive Health, and Gender Issues. She also regularly reviews manuscripts for other journals including Sex Roles, Health Care for Women International, and Basic and Applied Social Psychology. A recent publication includes "Objectification and system justification impact rape avoidance behaviors" in Sex Roles.
She has presented her work at numerous conferences including meetings of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Women in Psychology. She has also published articles on her research in such academic journals as Psychology of Women Quarterly, Sex Roles, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Health Psychology, most recently “Exploring perceptions of slut-shaming on Facebook: Evidence for a reverse sexual double standard” in Gender Issues.
In 2010, Dr. Erchull received the Mary Roth Walsh Teaching the Psychology of Women Award. The award, sponsored by the Society for the Psychology of Women, recognizes a young faculty member who employs innovative methods to address issues of diversity in teaching the psychology of women. In 2013, she was named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35 of the American Psychological Association) in recognition of her contributions to the field of psychology. She was subsequently named a fellow of the Society for General Psychology (Division 1 of the American Psychological Association) in 2015. In 2014, she received the Florence L. Denmark Faculty Advisor Award from Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, for being the one faculty advisor for the 2013-14 academic year who best achieves Psi Chi’s purpose through her ongoing service to the UMW chapter and having made contributions to the field of psychology at both local and national levels.
In addition, she received the 2014 Waple Faculty Professional Achievement Award from the University of Mary Washington and was recognized as an emerging leader for women in psychology by the American Psychological Association’s Committee for Women in Psychology. In 2014, she was also honored with an American Psychological Association Committee for Women in Psychology Leadership Award in recognition of being an emerging leader among women in psychology.
Dr. Erchull currently serves as member-at large on the executive committee of the Society for General Psychology and is a Board of Directors member for the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. She is also chair of the Faculty Advisor Support and Resources Committee for Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. Her professional memberships include the American Psychological Association (including divisions 1 [Society for General Psychology], 2 [Society for the Teaching of Psychology], 8 [Society for Personality and Social Psychology], 9 [Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues], 35 [Society for the Psychology of Women], 38 [Health Psychology], and 51 [Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity]), the Association for Psychological Science, the Association for Women in Psychology, the Council on Undergraduate Research, the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, and the Virginia Association for Psychological Science.