I get a lot of questions about career paths in media psychology, particularly among those thinking of pursuing a degree in the field. I certainly empathize with that confusion–and the desire to make sure someone will give you a job if you do all that work. Media psychology, as a new field, doesn’t offer up any quick and easy answers. It’s helpful to think about how to define media psychology broadly and then make it relevant to individual interests and goals. It the largest sense, media psychology is using psychological theory to understand how people use, consume, and produce media. It has applications to groups and individuals as well as nations. The word media is often assumed to be mass media, but media psychology looks at communication that is mediated by technology. Needless to say, the field paints with a pretty broad brush.
Some people start with their current or hoped-for career and then target their approach to the degree in a way that supports their needs. Someone who works with teens, for example, may be looking for ways to effectively communicate with or educate teens and therefore choose to focus on topics such as issues of developmental psychology, such as cognition, identity development, how teens are using technology, what narratives resonate, and how physical perceptions impact motivation and emotion. A designer or producer of media may focus on things such as perceptions, cognition, and how those are supported and challenged in different applications such as large screen/small screen. An educator may choose to focus on how different media applications interact with learning styles, multiple intelligences, engagement, self-efficacy, and individual strengths.
Other people start with a passion for an area and then seek a job that requires that knowledge set. For example, if you are skilled in using media to deliver factual information, there are roles in education (teaching teachers as well as teaching students), business communications (training internally as well as educating clients/customers), and healthcare (developing and promoting health education through media). Media psychology is relevant to advertising (for profit as well as nonprofit), applications and game developers.
Media psychology, like many other fields, requires some focus and specialization within areas of expertise. Much like a degree in any subject, from English to Economics (and I can’t speak the the hard sciences here, as I just don’t know), it gives you a good theoretical toolkit to apply to types of uses/development. But unlike a degree that is more vocationally oriented, such as education and teaching, there is not obvious immediate next step (like get a credential and teach elementary school.) To me, it makes the field very exciting. At the same time, it demands more of you to set your direction.
I’d be happy to talk about how any specific interests fit with my own experience in media psychology, as will most of my colleagues. There are different perspectives from different people, but we are all passionate about understanding how people and groups interact with media technologies and how that molds society. My own background has involved visual design, marketing, branding, country perceptions, health education, teaching, media messaging, and research on things like websites and digital games for kids. I love that it is always changing.
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Hello Dr. Rutledge,
I wanted to get your view on Media psychology in the area of distance learning. How closely do you think the two are related and do you believe that an individual working in the e-learning industry would benefit from a degree in Media Psychology?
I am closing in on a Masters degree in Instructional Design (Online Specialization) and I am now ready to take the big step to a PhD program. As e-learning specialist working in a sales training department I am always looking for new ways that my internal clients can learn online.
One of my potential options is a PhD in Media Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. I am interested in media psychology because of the neurological aspect that is covered, something that is missing in a PhD program in Education. The field of neuroscience as it relates to our understanding of learning will be a growing and exciting field in the next 10 years and I want to a part of the field. Already there is evidence to support as humans we create internal simulations in our brain when experiencing new information.( http://www.physorg.com/news152210728.html ) How blended learning can support our own internal simulations by tapping specific raw emotions is an area I would like to research. What do you think?
Thank you for your thoughts.
-Mike
michael_gambale@merck.com
cyberspacemike@gmail.com
Hi Mike,
Thanks for taking the time to write. First, full disclosure, I am adjunct faculty at Fielding and an alum, so my remarks regarding that program will not be entirely objective.
To speak to your first question, media psychology is absolutely related to distance learning. I do not have to tell you that learning theory, multiple intelligence theory and information delivery are based on cognitive, developmental, and biological psychology. Effective teaching is in part based on the ability to package and deliver material. But I believe an even larger part is based on the educators understanding of their students, ability to create a meaningful connection, create a sense of relevance, provide positive reinforcement, create support and boundaries (aka scaffolding al la Vygotsky), and promote engagement and self-efficacy. These are the psychological factors that create the motivation to learn; without desire, no learning will happen. These are especially important in a distance learning process because the platform allows a wider range of delivery in terms of media, but takes more creativity and effort to achieve the sense of presence and connection.
Media psychology is first and foremost about psychology. It begins with understanding what is happening with an individual. That includes the neurophysiology, where tremendous advances have added to our understanding (or misunderstanding as the case may be) of cognitive processes. I agree that this is a fertile and important area and one we ignore at our peril in education.
Media is best interpreted as mediated communication. Media psychology is not about media content as many assume, except in so far as it is reflective of the psychology behind the media. It is also not about appearing in the media, another common stereotype. (This is not to say that some psychologists who appear in the media are not knowledgeable about the psychology of the media, but that is not a prerequisite for appearing in the media—we don’t call financial experts or scientists who appear as experts in the media “media bond traders” or “media biologists.” That’s just silly.) Media psychology is about the way humans interact with technologies that filter or media information. Communications is a fancy word for the act of sending information from one source to another, whether it is a YouTube video, magazine advertisement, or phone call.
While the path to a PhD is lengthy and arduous, I believe it is worth the investment as long as you are able to study what you feel will add value to your career path (and is also interesting to you because you think about it A LOT!) Fielding’s program is unique in a few ways.
• It is the only PhD currently offered in media psychology, although there are certainly ways of creating a similar course of study in other institutions.
• It is a distributed learning program, which means you can manage it more easily while having a life (i.e. family, job, lawn to mow.)
• There is a tremendous amount of flexibility to drive your coursework exactly where you want it. While there are requirements, (different areas of psychology, ethics, research methodology, etc.) you can target each of these to your goals. (i.e. for social psychology you could focus on the social psychological implications of distance learning—group dynamics in online learning, etc.)
• Fielding has good depth in neuropsychology and in fact offers a certificate track for clinicians who want respecialization. In addition, ALL psychology faculty is available to work with students in the media psychology program. It doesn’t matter if they are on the “clinical side” or the “media side.” You can arrange to work with faculty individually if you have specific interests or in a group course.
• You will find a lot of faculty interested in pursuing different aspect of the psychology of distance learning, given their experience at Fielding.
• Fielding is an adult learning model. This means you have to provide a lot of your own direction and motivation. It also means that your fellow students are grown-ups and come from a wealth of experiences and expertise that make the program a rich place to collaborate and connect. (My favorite part, personally.)
I hope this is helpful. Your area of interest (blended learning, internal simulations and emotion) is right over the plate in cognitive psychology and sounds fascinating. I love the idea of mapping mental simulations. Good link! Thanks for sharing it.
Best,
Pam
Hey, I’m a high school learner (ATHLONE HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS’). I really wana know wat subjects are expected in University when you wana study Media Psychology?
Dear Cynthia,
Thank you for your question. Athlone High School for Girls looks like a wonderful place to attend school. If you want to study media psychology, then it’s very good to learn some psychology, sociology, good communication skills, design, and get some experience with media applications. As you develop your personal interests, you will be better able to target the specific areas of study that are most relevant.
I recommend starting with a broad view of psychology. When you are thinking about how people use, develop or are impacted by media, developmental psychology helps you to understand how people develop, change, and mature and the differences that makes in how they perceive the world. Cognitive psychology looks at how people think–both the physical nature of processing information of all kinds (words, images, sounds) through the senses, how that gets our attention, persuades us, and influences how we learn. It also looks at the very important issue of how people interpret or make meaning out of all that information based on our individual experiences and culture. Social psychology and sociology examine different aspects of the behavior of individuals as they connect with groups, group behaviors, and the sense of self and place that are part of our social and personal identities. It also looks at broader social implications of society as groups, institutions, and nations.
Good communication skills are very important so that you know how to get your message across. The best understanding of psychology and media in the world won’t help if you can’t communicate your thoughts. As technology changes, we must be more innovative and creative. Design brings together disparate elements in new and exciting ways. And finally, learning how media is produced, how technology tools work, and how the technology influences content is helpful in important. The tools change often, but the fundamental issues of people and message construction will continue to apply.
Best,
Pam
I wanted to ask if post graduation in media psychology is possible without E learning?Does the Fielding Univ hold daily lectures for the course?
I’m about to graduate college. I will be graduating with a Bachelor In Science in Psychology and Spanish as my minor. I really want to get my masters in psychology but I have no idea what to study. What jobs can I get with a Media Psychology degree?
I am a PhD Student in Malaysia and my area of research is how can we use media psychology for improving instructional designing of user-interfaces in a web-based learning environment. Please can you refer me a good book that may help and provide relevant support information for my literature review. Since this field is comparatively new, I am unable to find relevant material, this worries me a lot even. Please guide, I shall be very very grateful.
Dear Sadia,
Thank you for your comment! Web-based interfaces are an area of study you describe will bring together a broad area that include cognitive psychology (agency, perception, attention, motivation), learning styles, and computer interface design. I doubt there will be one source that puts it together for you. I don’t know where you are in the process in terms of outlining the areas that are relevant for your specific work (age, platform, content), but I recommend searching for articles where the topic covers either close to what you are interested in researching or something relevant is a partial aspect and then following the references and weaving them together. There appears to be a education platform user-interface design scholar named Termit Kaur Ranjit Singh, PhD specializing in Educational Technology and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Her main interest in research is in the area of ICT in Education and the use of Peer Coaching in technology integration in teaching and learning. You might try contacting her. I don’t know if her orientation is on the psychology of the experience, but I find people are often more than happy to share their knowledge and references. Let me know what you find!
Dear Pamela,
Thanks for your quick reply. You said “broad area that include cognitive psychology (agency, perception, attention, motivation), learning styles, and computer interface design”. Well, I am in initial phase of my PhD where I have to narrow down my research area and proposal. I need your suggestions with regards to cognitive psychology (with special reference to media psychology) and its relationship or effect on web-based learning environments. I am interested in aspects of cognitive psychology that could be used in instructional designing of web-based learning environments, like you already mentioned a few, but I would appreciate further details or reference material for indepth study (please!!).
Could you suggest further areas within this domain that I should also explore and look into?
Please could you give me your email address so I may stay in touch with you, and if you are on facebook please let me know so I can add you there as well. I shall wait for your reply. Most regards, Sadia Riaz
I am lost. I am graduating with a degree in television production and I came across Media pschology. I thought this field seems very interesting. I would like to know would it be in my best interest to get a masters in this field. I’ve dealt with public relations, marketing, radio, internet and print while pursuing my degree in tv production. I just want to be versatile and be more marketable. I was thinking about applying to Walden University for my masters in media psychology. Is this right for me?
Please can you suggest media psychology tools and techniques that can be used for desigining multimedia based instructional material for distance or web-based learning.
dear sir i want to take admission in neurophysiology technology
Dear Pamela,
Human factors are investigated under the scientific discipline called Ergonomics, for comprehending human cognition or brain system, so as to design information systems within human factor limitations. I would like to know your detailed view on ergonomics and media psychology. How can they be related? Please give examples for my better understanding. Many thanks and regards.
Sadia Riaz
PhD Candidate
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia
Dear Sadia,
Human physiology and cognition are obviously central issues to ergonomics and they take into account human development across the lifespan from that perspective. Media psychology also looks at the experiential aspects of human interaction with objects and environments across the lifespan. It extends the usability to the perceptions of self and self-reflection, such as, identity, self-efficacy (competence), engagement and flow (in contrast to attention), persuasion, qualitative perceptions of aesthetics, and attribution or the meaning we give to our interactions. For example:
* did this experience make me feel competent or incompetent
* was I able to make a good decision as a decision-maker
* was I engaged at an appropriate level–not to hard or too easy–so that I feel effective and energized
* was the lay-out or design aesthetically pleasing contributing to my overall mood.
Since humans often attribute actions of others and situational context as reflecting back on themselves, these are important considerations that impact not just whether a person is able to use something, but if they will use it or be productive and effective using it. Media psychology will look how the physical usability impacts these types of experiences, drawing on positive psychology, social cognition, learning theory, multiple intelligences, individual strengths, developmental psychology, and cognitive mapping and schemas in addition to the cognitive and biological issues that ergonomics address.
best,
Pam
Dear Pam,
Many thanks for your quick response. It is indeed very helpful. My area of research in related to human cognition factors in ergonomics and media psychology, because implications of these two aspects lack sufficient research. I am applying and testing my findings on web-based interfaces. And since websites are a visual medium, therefore, visual attention is my focus of research.
Moreover, I am in process of writing and publishing conference papers. And your and Mr. Bernard Luskin’s work is very helpful. I have always referred and cited your blogs and papers on media psychology in my research work. I shall continue to do so in future.
At present I am in process of designing a survey based experiment on grounded theory. In this regard, your paper “What is Media Psychology? A Qualitative Inquiry” caught my attention recently. I am very interested to see and understand the whole mechanics of your research where at the end you derived emerging themes. I know Emergent Themes Analysis approach is a distillation concept where broad themes across different studies are identified. It is also based on grounded theory. I would request you to kindly share your practical approach towards doing this survey and if possible send me whatever relevant material (on my email) you have when you conducted this survey, for building my understanding of the research survey. I ensure to acknowledge and cite your work in my research work and whatever information you will share will be purely for education purpose.
Many regards,
Sadia Riaz (PhD Candidate)
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
Malaysia
Hi Pam. Thank you for the information above. I am interested in developing a career centered around the psychological implications of media message on the individual as well as society. Marketing and advertising, but also public policy. A big part of what I want to learn/do is to understand the relationship between public policy, public psychology and societal health/prosperity. It looks like Media Psych is the way to go. Or do I have a misconception? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks again. Jeff
Dear Dr. Rutledge,
Please can you tell me how can we use schemas for aesthetic designing of (web-based interfaces? Please give examples for my better understanding.
Thanks in advance & regards,
Sadia Riaz (PhD Candidate)
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia
Hi Jeff,
I absolutely think that media psychology is a great path for you to consider. While you will need to have an understanding of the media technologies you target, i.e. mass media, social media, etc., but the fundamental ways that humans make meaning of information is central to its persuasive potential. Think about how people organize what they experience so it makes sense–we organize information into models and narratives to contextualize new information so it links to what we already know. Understanding the ways that happens, what factors contribute to message delivery and processing, and attitude change are–to me–more fundamental aspects of your interests that should be the driver of both message construction, media choice, and marketing strategy. (Remember, though, I am biased because this is my area of expertise and passion.)
best,
Pam
Hi Sadia,
This is really something I can answer quickly, so I will try and give you more information when I can. A schema is a cognitive model that we unconsciously use to organize and interpret information. You can think of using schemas in different ways. Schemas give us shortcuts to interpreting information–essential to our ability to navigate in the world. Using shortcuts also mean that we miss certain information in favor of both efficiency and also information that is consistent with our current beliefs and expectations. Schemas, therefore can reinforce our mental shortcuts and stereotypes. It’s important to remember that stereotypes are a cognitive model that facilitates information processing and decision-making and not, by definition, negative or positive. It is the content and the resultant decisions and behaviors that can be viewed as good or bad depending upon one’s perspective, cultural norms, and functional (or not) behaviors and thoughts. This can also make it harder to learn new information or understand experiences that does do not fit with our existing schemas. One way is using the concept of a schema as a mental model that creates an contextual interpretation or gestalt understanding and use that as a lens to view the interface. Another approach is to use a schema as a process or rules about how the world works–if I do this, then that happens.
Dear Dr. Rutledge,
I hold a BA in psychology and I am a working television producer that is very interested in how the media can manipulate human behavior, and more specifically, the motivating power of a well constructed, “story.”
Basically, my career goal is to create content that promotes positive social change. Would media psychology be an appropriate field of study to help me reach my goal? Thank you!
– Josh (Aspen, CO)
Dear Mrs.Pam,
Hello. I am a senior in high school (Bradwell Institute) and have always been an overplanning goal seeker. I plan on attending Ga State in fall 2011 and have come acroos this field of study. I have always been interested in psychology, but switched me mind set to psychiatry about a year and a half ago. I am now semi-freaking out in my mind because I was well prepared in my original career track and am now realizing that I may have a real passion for marketing or media psychology. I have a career track in television broadcasting/producing at my highschool. Honestly, I do love giving advice so I am thinking that persuing a b.s. degree in psychology with a minor in marketing will be the way to go. I say this because with that degree (which I will continue until eventually becoming a phd) will allow me the versatility to do marketing psychology and have a fall back to become a liscenced psychologist. Lastly, a business I want to do in during my mid life is open up a franchised clothing store (probably a Forever 21). Therefore it sounds like the type of degreee mentioned previously plus experience I wil gain from it will help unmeasurably with that later venture. I am very nervous/scared/uncomfortable with this new idea that will encompass my life. Ultimately, I want to be engaged in a career that I enjoy and will live in abundant comfort with. I don’t know if this consists of becoming a marketing psychologist or taking that medical route and do psychiatry. I had a professional psychiatrist that I’ve gotten advice from and ha says he’s confident in me and this has given me an infinite amount of comfort/cofidence in my previous selection of careers. Now, I find myself stuck in a rut and it would be a blessing to me if I had some continuing guidance on this crazy journey. Basically Dr. Pam, not only do I need your advice, I need a mentor that I can trust to help guide me along this path and answer all of these question marks that linger in my brain. Thank you for the time you put in reading my reply and for being an outlet of wisdom.
Sincerely,
Shantice L. Edwards
Dear Shantice,
Thank you for your comment. I love your enthusiasm. I would encourage you, however, not to think you need all the answers to a career path right now. The world is changing so fast that you will be able to do things you haven’t heard of yet. Rather than be anxious or fearful, rejoice in the abundance of interests and choices you have. It is more likely that you will have multiple careers than just one. This is a time for celebration of possibilities, not feeling the woes of uncertainty.
One thing that is important to factor in your thinking, however, is to understand the difference between a clinical degree and an academic of professional degree. A degree in media psychology is not a clinical degree; you would need to get a degree in either clinical psychology (or follow the medical path to psychiatry through med school) in order to be licensed. This requires many different courses, such as psych testing, case and treatment development and management, and applications of psychological theory such as psychopathology, as well as an internship. Working as a mental health professional is regulated at both the Federal and state level and requires meeting those hurdles and taking licensure exams. Any advanced degree is a serious time commitment, but working in health fields at the MD or PhD level has the added commitment of interning, post doc hours, and other types of supervised practice.
Be careful thinking about careers of any kind as “giving advice.” Careers are about applying expertise to doing the work. In much the same way as psychiatry/clinical psychology involve understanding the patient, the treatment options, the illness or problem, and how to develop and apply and assess the chosen treatment, careers in marketing and advertising psychologies are about researching the market, understanding the audience, understanding the distribution channels (technologies) and what they do to message interpretation, the study of persuasion, attitude change, developing a goal, and applying all that to the development of a strategic plan to accomplish that goal and a metric standard to assess how successful the plan is. Don’t be confused by the idea that a media psychologist is someone who dispenses advice on the radio or TV. While there are certainly psychologists who aspire to that level of notoriety, that is a psychologist who appears in the media. The heart of media psychology is using psychology to understand how people interact with technology to meet their goals, how it interacts with the environment and how the technology impacts messages, meaning, and communication patterns.
No choice you make in education will keep you from, for example, opening a franchise clothing store. However there are areas of business knowledge that would help make a venture such as that a success, (i.e. Accounting, budgeting, managing people) in addition to marketing. These are good skills for anyone who runs a business, works for themselves (such as a clinician in private practice), and even have many applications in day to day family life. I always advise students, especially women, to take accounting. It is a very empowering tool in your arsenal.
Psychology is an important lens for viewing the world and can be applied to many fields. Be aware of how you feel when you are doing different things and that will help guide you to the right path. Don’t be afraid to change, or to mix fields. The world is too complex to keep in little buckets. Keep your mind OPEN to possibilities and listen to how you feel on your path (your “gut feelings” or intuition). With enthusiasm and a willingness to work hard in pursuit of something you love, you will always succeed.
Best regards,
Dr. Rutledge
Dr. Rutledge:
The cognitive and psychological impact of messages delivered through various media, targeting populace in unstable or conflict areas of the world, must be informed by local “shared memories” and cultural narratives in order to be effective. Our adversaries do this very well. But U.S. organizations (USAID, Civil Affairs, MISO [formerly PSYOP]) that attempt to influence behavior (e.g. encourage locals to resist extremist/terrorist recruiting) rarely frame their messages in a way that corresponds to local sensitivities, and thus either do not achieve the desired impact, or in some cases achieve exactly the opposite (a backlash).
In all the discussions around media psychology, I do not see this important dynamic addressed.
Please comment.
Dear Leslie,
You raise a very important point. Whether we call something a narrative, a cultural meaning, a schema, mental model, or cognitive map, we need to understand that these are created and defined by the individual receiver in the context of their own biases, experience, and environment. Many cultures, the U.S. among them, assume that their way is the right or only way. Sometimes this is out of hubris, sometimes lack of understanding that others have a different perspective for a multitude of reasons. This is one of the reasons that my colleague Bonnie Buckner and I (http://www.athinklab.com) develop workshops on “Learning to See” that helps people develop the ability to see from another person’s, culture’s, or group’s perspective. We can think of it as empathy or cognitive flexibility. People often make the mistake of thinking that empathy means agreeing with someone rather than being able to see the world through another set of eyes.
Thanks for emphasizing this critical issue.
best,
Pam
I’m a recent graduate in psychology and was trying to figure out a field where I can deal with technology and peopleI recently came across media psychology and ever since, I have been endlessly researching it. Can media psychology be considered applied psychology such as human factors? I want to focus on technology and making products usable. Is this field a good fit for some sort of career in usability?
Media psychology is definitely fits as applied psychology in human factors. It adds a different dimension, I believe, because it gets at intrinsic motivation and experiential aspects (efficacy, emotion) that human factors doesn’t always consider.
Hi, Pamela.
First off, I am a psychology student at the University of North Florida. We are having to do a project, as a group, on media psychology. I was assigned the education needed for media psychology to research.
Do you have any information that could help? Any specific places I should research this?
Thank you,
Ashley
HI Ashley,
I’m not sure what you mean by “education” needed. Defining it will be a good first step because media psychology is a very broad field. You can read the articles on the Media Psychology Research Center site. I am contributing a chapter on the need for media psychology to the Handbook of Media Psychology that Oxford is publishing in a few months, but in the meantime, The Handbook of Internet Psychology has some very good material. David Giles has recently published “The Psychology of Media” which would give you an overview as well. Good luck!
Good Evening Dr. Pamela,
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I appreciate you being willing to answer the questions that us thriving students are longing to know.
I just recently found the field of Media Psychology and was immediately intrigued. I am currently a Senior at William Jessup University and will be graduating this coming May with a BA in Psychology. The concept of Psychology fascinates me and I thrive off of learning about people and how they work and what affects human beings. I first was passionate about finding a way to help those who were lost and looked into Clinical Psychology, but as I started to take more Psychology classes, I realized that my passion was more focused on helping people, but to be more of a mentor or motivational coach for people. So I have been looking for a direction to head into where I could use my passions and still be able to use my degree in Psychology.
From the Psychology classes I have taken, they have covered the areas of media and how the media has impacted the society and friends of mine as well as myself and have always become so passionate about that and want to know how I could change that or at least encourage and motivate others to be that change. Being able to know that there is a way I can study both and gain the insight that truly catches my attention has me on the edge of my seat!
I have also been intrigued by communication and was looking into getting my masters in communication to gain the insight of what communication is and the impacts it has on us when we use it and abuse it. Yet, seeing how communication as well as psychology is such a broad subject, it didn’t help narrow down a career path for me so I have always debated the idea of getting my masters in communication but still wanted to pursue it and research it and be able to gain enough insight on it to inform others of the importance of it as well as how it can be the foundation of so many things in our lives. Media Psychology is more of a narrow area in Psychology and Communication, but is still a broad area from what I’ve read.
With communication, I wanted to study relationships, which is something that truly is something I get so excited for, and want to help others in that area of confusion and how they can succeed in their relationship with the knowledge of communication and the psychological side of it.
I do hope to go for my doctorate, but I’m taking it one step at a time and want to focus on getting my Masters first and am truly looking into Media Psychology as that future path for me. So my questions that I have for you are, is Media Psychology right for me with the small preview I gave you of my heart and desires? What school do you recommend when wanting to pursue a Masters in Media Psychology? Can I use Media Psychology with what I want to do? Should I continue to look into Communication Studies? What would you suggest I look for when considering what area to go into for my doctorate degree?
Thank you for your time!
Anxious and Thriving!
Amanda