Media psychology.html



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. Psychology is fundamental to understanding the impact on individuals and groups of the integration of media technologies in our society. 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 ¹²³.

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. Media psychology also draws across disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, neuroscience, political science, rhetorics, and international relations.

The APA Media Psychology 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.

Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA, a world leader in distributed learning in doctoral education,established the initial Doctoral program in the field of Media Psychology in 2004. It is one of the most innovative new PhD programs in higher education. There are currently more than 75 matriculants in the program.

"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.