Office Hours
Biography
My research focuses on communication about and within romantic and sexual relationships. Currently, I'm a Gratitude Fellow funded by The Love Consortium for a project that investigates cross-cultural expressions of love and gratitude.
I utilize both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to investigate my research questions. Primarily, I am interested in how people understand themselves within their interpersonal relationships and how technology mediates these experiences. For example, how do online spaces catalyze sensemaking about our relationships with close others? How do individuals communicate their sexual willingness through digital channels? I also use critical theory to research health disparities, inaccessibility, and disability.
Research Interests
mediated relationships, health communication, sex communication, interpersonal communication, critical theory, technology
Education
M.A., Communication, Baylor University
B.S., Business Analytics, Binghamton University
Grants
The Love Consortium, Graduate Student Research Grant, "A narrative analysis of expressions of love and gratitude in the United States, China, and Chile."
Awards and Honors
Illinois Distinguished Fellowship, University of Illinois Graduate College
Courses Taught
Instructor of Record
CMN 111: Oral and Written Communication I
CMN 112: Oral and Written Communication II
CMN 210: Public Communication in Everyday Life
CMN 338: Relationships and Technologies
Faculty Extender
CMN 502: Health Communication Research Methods I
CMN 503: Health Communication Research Methods II
External Links
Highlighted Publications
Mendelson, E. A. (2023). Sensemaking and public intimacy on TikTok: How viral videos influence interpersonal relationships offline. New Media & Society, OnlineFirst. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231163231
Recent Publications
Mendelson, E. A., & Smith, J. K. (2024). Mediated sexual and romantic learning on TikTok: The dating wrapped trend. Social Media + Society, 10(3), 20563051241279255. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051241279255
Thompson, C. M., Bishop, M. J., Dillard, T. C., Maurice, J. M., Rollins, D. D., Pulido, M. D., Salas, M. J., Mendelson, E. A., Yan, J., Gerlikovski, E. R., Benevento, S. V., Zeinstra, C., & Kesavadas, T. (2024). Healing health care disparities: Development and pilot testing of a virtual reality implicit bias training module for physicians in the context of Black maternal health. Health Communication, OnlineFirst. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2347000
Blog Posts on Sex and Psychology
Mendelson, E. (2024, August 29). What do camsite users learn about sexual consent? Sex and Psychology. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/8/29/what-do-camsite-users-learn-about-sexual-consent/
Mendelson, E. (2024, June 27). Navigating sex with paraplegia—Answering listener questions. Sex and Psychology. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/6/27/navigating-sex-with-paraplegia-answering-listener-questions/
Mendelson, E. (2024, June 19). Happy pride month! LGBTQ+ research roundup. Sex and Psychology. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/6/19/happy-pride-month-lgbtq-research-roundup/
Mendelson, E. (2024, May 22). Learning more about asexuality: “Sounds Fake But Okay.” Sex and Psychology. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/5/22/learning-more-about-asexuality-sounds-fake-but-okay/
Mendelson, E. (2024, May 1). What does it mean when people are “just talking?” Sex and Psychology. https://www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/5/1/what-does-it-mean-when-people-are-just-talking/