Media psychology emerged due to a social and commercial demand for the application of psychological theory and research into media impact in both academic and non-academic settings. This field encompasses the full range of human experience of media--including affect, cognition, and behavior--in activities, events, theories, and practices. Media include all forms of mediated communication, such as pictures, sound, graphics, content and emerging technologies. Media Psychology seeks an understanding of how people understand, use, and respond to our media-rich world to identify potential benefits and problems and promote the development positive media [1][2][3].
Division 46 of the American Psychological Association defines its purpose as focusing on the roles psychologists play in various aspects of the media, including traditional and new technologies. It seeks to promote research into the impact of media on human behavior and understanding media use; to facilitate interaction between psychology and media representatives; to enrich the teaching, training, and practice of media psychology; to encourage the use of psychological theory and expertise to the development of media across a wide array of applications such as education and healthcare; and to prepare psychologists to interpret psychological research to the lay public and to other professionals.
The field is personified by the term "pscybermedia," a blend of psychology, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and media. Both an art and a science, the emerging field represents significant opportunity to use media in new and creative ways by understanding how psychology and media work together. Psychological theories are applied to emerging e-Learning in pioneering ways. "Psychology is fundamental in the world of new media for understanding media impact on society and in developing media-centric products and services affecting our lives," according to Dr. Bernard Luskin, a pioneer in the field.
Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA established the initial Doctoral program in the field of Media Psychology in 2004. There are currently more than 50 matriculants in the program. Fielding's president Dr. Judith Kuipers says, "the response for the program has been extremely positive. The Media Psychology Program is one of the most innovative new PhD programs in all of higher education, and Fielding is a world leader in distributed learning in doctoral education," Kuipers said.
"This PhD program has been transformational for me," noted Rachel Bishar, PhD, who in July 2007 became the first doctoral graduate in media psychology from any university in the world. "Rachel is now qualified for the Guinness Book of World Records" noted Dr. Luskin.
References
- ^ Giles, D. (2003) Media Psychology, Lawrence Erlbaum
- ^ Rutledge (2007) "What is Media Psychology?" http://www.mprcenter.org/whatismediapsychology.html
- ^ Fremlin (2008) "Understanding Media Psychology" APS http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2287
- Giles, D. (2003) Media Psychology, Mahwah,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
- Rutledge (2007) "What is Media Psychology?", Media Psychology Research Center [1]
- Fremlin (2008) "Understanding Media Psychology" APS Observer [2].
Further reading
External links
- APA Division 46
- Media Psychology Research Center
- What is Media Psychology?
- Fielding Graduate University Doctoral Program in Media Psychology
- Media Psychology (academic journal)
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 6 April 2008, at 18:32.
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