Overview and Definition of Media Psychology

1. What is Media Psychology? Pamela Rutledge, PhD, MBA September 2015

2. Defining Narrative 1 The last half century has seen an explosion of new media that has transformed our society

3. How do we understand human experience in a media-rich, globally-networked world?

4. Biological Imperative: Born to Communicate From early man to present, people have invented ways to communicate and connect

5. + Media + psychology = ?

6. How Do We Define It? • Psychology is the study of human behavior, emotions, and cognitions • Media includes all forms of mediated communications and technologies • Multi-disciplinary • Continually changing

7. Why Do We Deﬁne Media Psychology? • Set the compass and standards of a field • Frame the work of its practitioners • Create an intellectual basis for exchange and integration • Inform the public

8. Cognitive Positive Constructivist Social Narrative Developmental Psychologists Often Disagree Complex Systems NeuropsychIndividual Differences

9. 5 Major PerspecDves Biological • EvoluDonary • Neuroscience Psycho-‐ dynamic • Freud Behavioral • Skinner CogniDve •  Piaget HumanisDc •  Carl Rogers Diﬀerent views on the roots of human development and behavior

10. Theory Changes Questions We Ask •  Narrative •  Social •  Developmental •  Positive •  Personality •  Emotions •  Attitudes/Beliefs •  Preferences •  Perception

11. Psychology is Really Old

12. Phineas Gage 1848

13. Neuropsychology & Evolutionary Psychology §  Biological and evolutionary explanations for behaviors and emotions §  Triune brain theory §  Implications for research on attachment style, relational style, attention, fear, persuasion, addiction as related to media use and influence

14. Psychoanalytic Theory þ Focus is on understanding conscious and unconscious processes þ Developed by Sigmund Freud þ Theorists: Horney, Adler, Erikson, Jung, Fromm, Rank, Klein, Sullivan þ Basis for understanding personality and elements of media effects tradition, uses and gratifications, parasocial relationships

15. Behaviorism þ People respond to environmental sDmuli without his/her mental state being a factor þ People learn behaviors through condiDoning þ Operant – making a connecDon through reinforcement of posiDve or negaDve rewards þ Classical – naturally occurring sDmulus paired with learned response þ Pavlov, Skinner, Watson, Hull (drive reducDon), Bandura (social learning)

16. Humanistic Psychology þ Holistic view that focus is on the human context for motivations, attitudes and needs þ Rogers, Fromm, Maslow, Sullivan þ People select media experiences that satisfy cognitive, social and emotional needs

17. Cognitive Psychology þ Cognitive Revolution þ  Reaction to Behaviorism þ  Perception, Language, Attention, Memory, Problem Solving, Decision Making and Judgment, Intelligence þ Among the theorists: þ Early: Gestalt Wertheimer, Wundt, þ Chomsky, Broadbent, Gardner, Piaget þ Bruner, Beck, Seligman þ Applicability for media psychologists includes: þ Usability, developmental appropriateness of technology and content, Information comprehension, schemas, categorization, belief formation, perception and learning styles

18. Social Learning/Social Cognition • Bandura • Learning in a social context • People can learn by observing from others • Behaviorist perspective vs. Cognitive perspective • Learning can occur without a change in behavior • Basis for research on violence, stereotype emulation, media framing

19. Evolved into Social Cognition Overt Behavior Environment Individual Factors þ Roots in social psychology þ Theorists have moved toward this perspective from other schools of thought þ  Bandura þ  Bruner þ  Allport þ  Festinger þ Reciprocal Determinism

20. Social Constructionism • Shifts emphasis to social dimension • People construct beliefs about the world from their interactions with other people, environments, and culture • Learning is most successful when people provide “scaffolding” to help learners reach the next level • Basis for most research on identity development, multiple intelligences • Major theorists: Vygotsky, Gergen, and Mead

21. Social Psychology þ Social idenDty þ Group affiliaDon þ Group behaviors þ Stereotypes þ Social influence þ CogniDve dissonance þ Sherif –summer camp/ group conflict þ Tajfel – social idenDty þ Asch – social influence þ Cialdini – persuasion, social influence þ FesDnger

22. Narrative: The Storied Nature of Life þ Narrative provides • Meaning and identity • Sharing of narratives • Basis for organizing, making meaning and sharing of experience • Universal themes, archetypes and myths • McAdams, Josselson, Polkinghorne, Bruner, Jung, Campbell • Related theories: •  Presence •  Narrative transportation •  Mirror neurons

23. Developmental Psychology •  Maturation across the lifespan where development progresses through stages, transitions, relational skills, or life tasks •  Many draw from psychoanalytic theory and identified stages that must be successfully mastered for healthy development •  Names to know: Erikson, Piaget, Bowlby, Ainsworth

24. Positive Psychology •  Focus is on the empirical study of •  Positive emotions •  Optimism •  Resilience •  Self-Efficacy •  Trust •  Strengths–based traits •  Healthy institutions and systems •  Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi, Deiner, Fredrickson, Lyubomirsky •  Relevant to development of prosocial media including public service messaging, learning technologies, gaming, usability

25. What Does a Media Psychologist Do? •  Many specializations combine the knowledge of psychology and media applications •  Design and production •  Assessment and evaluation of technology, interfaces, usability, and content, developmental and cognitive fit •  Industry specific solutions: education, media literacy, healthcare, marketing, entertainment, public policy, social support

26. Media Psychology: Psychology for the 21st Century þ Ability to evaluate and anticipate impact: þ Individual and social interaction þ Access to information þ Content production and distribution þ Disruption þ Dissolving boundaries

27. Why media psychology? Media and technology have inherent moral issues Psychology is unique in its focus on the health and wellbeing of individuals and society

28. Pamela Rutledge, PhD, MBA prutledge@fielding.edu Twitter: @pamelarutledge Blog: www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media Thank you!!