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About Media Psychology:
Media Psychology discusses the relation of human behavior with media and technology and how the interaction between man and media influences each other. Given the inception of media happened a long time ago, this field is relatively new and heavily involved with the advancement of technology. There are experts (media psychologists) in the field who critically analyze the perception, cognition and other humanistic emotions or components that respond to the media experience an individual is exposed to. Multiple theories have been proposed in media psychology and many studies/research have been conducted to create theoretical links with the results of the experiment.
First Reference (January): ‘Understanding Media Psychology’, Gayle S. Stever, David C. Giles, J. David Cohen, Mary E. Myers, Routledge, September 2021
Reason: Although the solo books by David Giles have been published in the first decade of the 21st century, this latest contribution by David Giles along with Stever, Cohen and Myers is the most apt choice for a beginner in the field of media psychology. It is an introductory text to familiarize one with the basic concepts, definitions and theories about media psychology. Published in 2021, it covers the influence of gaming, violence, advertising, fake news and deepfaking during the COVID-19 pandemic, hence becoming more relevant to and necessary in the present time and technology.
Second Reference (February): ‘Media Psychology “is not yet there”: Introducing Theories on Media Entertainment to the Presence Debate’, MIT Press, August 2003
Reason: This particular article is concerned with the entertainment media and its reception by the users by taking the states of fascination, delight, enjoyment, astonishment, etc as the objects of investigation and therefore empirically evaluating the involvement and presence felt by the users. In the process, it also discusses three main theories to compare with the empirical studies: Affective Disposition Theory (Zillmann, 1996), Simulation Theory (Oatley, 1994) and The Psychological Theory of Play (Oerter, 1999). The article, although published in the early 2000s, is very elaborate in describing the overlaps in the states of involvement of the user and illuminates the theoretical links with the empirical study as required.
Third Reference (March): ‘Why Do People Watch News They Do Not Trust? The Need for Cognition as a Moderator in the Association Between News Media Skepticism and Exposure’, Yariv Tsfati & Joseph N. Cappella, Routledge, June 2010
Reason: This article discusses the factors shaping the news exposure and to associate this exposure to the trust that the user has in the news media is moderated by the psychological construct of “Need for Cognition” (NFC). Most of the discussion is about NFC and the determination of the association between news media skepticism and exposure by forming a 3-fold hypothesis. The results are supported by the method of data collection through internet surveys and political discussions which came under a project called “Electronic Dialogue”. This is a detailed example of how the need for cognition as a moderator arises to assess the interaction between man and media. The topic also addresses one of the most influential media (news) and the very valuable virtue of “trust”.
Fourth Reference (April): ‘Unregulated Internet Usage: Addiction, Habit or Deficient Self-Regulation?’, Robert LaRose, Carolyn A. Lin and Matthew S. Eastin, Routledge, November 2009
Reason: An excellent example on the subject of media psychology that discusses the internet influence which has “captured” the users, both positively and negatively. This particular text works on the redefining of “Internet Addiction” as “Deficient Self-Regulation” by taking college students as the subjects of the research. It examines the behavioral patterns and focuses on the cognitive aspects by building a social cognitive model for the addiction mentioned. The article has a very well-structured hypothesis and has strong mathematical background to support the results, along with its relevance intact till today’s date. Starting with the fundamentals from Giles’ book, matching theoretical links with empirical studies and the emphasis on NFC, this example will serve as a final case study to analyze the human psychology associated with the internet (media) usage.
Multimedia Resources:
Links to Videos/Articles:
- The Psychological Tricks Keeping You Online – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3TJPyHqadY
- The Upside of Social Media Narcissism – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iryLv3FMKsM
- The Disturbing Psychology “The Social Dilemma” Didn’t Tell You – https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zhYbhoMmrPQ
- Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg_9C7gw0o
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