I am a media psychologist. Some people think being a media psychologist means that you are a clinical psychologist who appears in the media to give people information and advice. While I am happy to give people advice, I am a psychologist who specializes in how and why people interact with media technologies as users and consumers. I am the Director of the Media Psychology Research Center. The Media Psychology Research Center (MPRC) is a not-for-profit research center. Our mission is to understand the human experience of media in every aspect of life–work, play, school and everywhere in between. We believe that by understanding how media influences us and vice versa, we can create media that will be a force for positive social change. Our goal is put media and technologies to work fostering human potential. For a longer description of media psychology, see “What is Media Psychology?” on this site.
I am also part of the blog community on Psychology Today, writing the blog called “Positively Media.” It is just of the many ways I try to encourage proactive and positive uses and understanding of emerging technologies.
Communication technologies and media content are the rapidly growing and changing markets with implications for all fields and industries interested in media’s ability to influence and inform. Media psychology is an emerging field, one that is continually being redefined by the rapid evolution of technology. It is both an applied and research branch of psychology and part of a larger international and interdisciplinary trend in understanding the role of media in the lives of individuals and groups. At MPRC, we strive to bridge the gap between research and practice by applying expertise in research, psychology, and media to evaluate and develop media programs, applications, and curricula. With FableVision and in collaboration with faculty at Harvard University and Oxford University, MPRC is developing a blueprint for the next-generation, independent media lab.
I come from a background of communication design, business management, and media psychology. I am currently an adjunct faculty member at Fielding Graduate University, a media psychology instructor at UCLA Extension, and an instructor at UCI Extension Business and Law School in their new social media certificate program. I have experience as a manager, researcher, and producer of financial, economic and investment media working in the financial industry. I began my career founding Brown Design Studio specializing in brand and identity communications programs and media production for financial and educational institutions. For work then, I received a Gold Medal Award for Creativity from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and won awards for innovation in Alumni Magazine design.
I am trained as a therapist and worked for several years with eating disorders, mood disorders, and weight control. I also created and delivered a series of seminars in cross-cultural communication skills for American dorm residents in a Japanese school.
I received a BA from Pomona College in Studio Art, an MBA from the Drucker School of Business at Claremont Graduate University, and an MA and PhD in Media Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. My current research interests focus on the impact of media on measures of individual, group, and national identity and using the development of positive media applications by identifying individual strengths and learning styles.
Find me on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook as pamelarutledge or in Second Life as Media Writer.
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