Pamela Rutledge, PhD, MBA
Rutledge LLC
Director, Media Psychology Research Center
Professor Emerita, Fielding Graduate University, Media Psychology
Advisory Board Member, UC Irvine Extension Social Media Certificate
Blogger, Psychology Today
Dr. Pamela Rutledge is a media psychologist–a social scientist who applies expertise in human behavior with 20+ years as a media producer–to media and technology. Working across the pipeline, from design and development to audience impact, she translates structures and data into human stories that create actionable consumer engagement strategies. Dr. Rutledge has worked with a variety of clients, such as 20th Century Fox Films, Warner Bros. Theatrical Marketing, OWN Network, Saatchi, and Saatchi, KCET’s Sid the Science Kid and the US Department of Defense, to identify audience motivations, develop data strategies and hone brand stories. Dr. Rutledge was recently honored as the 2020 recipient of the award for Distinguished Professional Contribution to the Field of Media Psychology given by American Psychological Association’s Division for Media Psychology and Technology.
Dr. Rutledge works with organizations on a variety of projects, such as:
- Research and strategies for technology development
- Positive psychology applied to user experience (UX).
- Content strategy based on platform culture and audience profiles
- Research design and data strategy
- Audience analysis and behavioral insights on entertainment properties
Dr. Rutledge has published both popular and academic work. She co-authored the text Exploring Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Well-Being with Dr. Erik Gregory. She has also contributed several chapters to texts on various applications of media psychology, such as the Routledge Companion to Transmedia Studies (Transmedia Psychology: Creating Compelling and Immersive Experiences), APA’s Career Paths in Psychology (Media Psychology), US Department of Defense White Paper on A Bio-Psychosocial Approach to Assessing and Anticipating Threats to US Security Interests (Bridging Research and Practice Using Proactive Narratives), Global Mobile (The Psychology of Mobile), and Practical Psychology for Medical Rehabilitation (Media Psychology: What You Need to Know and How to Use it). Dr. Rutledge also contributed chapters to the Psychology of Twilight and the Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo.
Dr. Rutledge is a professor emerita at Fielding Graduate University in the Media Psychology program. She developed courses related to social technologies, brand psychology, audience engagement strategies and storytelling and was the initiator of the Brand Psychology and Audience Engagement doctoral concentration and certificate program and the Positive Psychology and Media doctoral concentration. She has also served as an advisory board member for UC Irvine Extension School of Business and Law’s Internet and social media marketing certificate program.
Dr. Rutledge began her career as a media producer and designer and received several awards for creativity and innovation in magazine design and educational recruiting materials. A trained Redecision therapist, she also has experience in clinical and coaching settings. She holds an MBA and a PhD in psychology, specializing in media and technology.
Dr. Rutledge is the author of “Positively Media” for Psychology Today.com and is Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Media Psychology Review. She is a frequent expert source for the mass media on media and technology use, social media, and popular culture, quoted frequently in publications such as The NY Times, The UK Guardian, Seventeen Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Good Morning America, ABCnews.com, Men’s Health, Toronto Sun, and USAToday. See the press page for examples.
Dr. Rutledge can be reached using the contact page on this site or on LinkedIn.
Dr. Pamela Rutledge is available to reporters for comments on the psychological and social impact of media and technology on individuals, society, organizations and brands.
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