BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology August 4, 2020 You can manage your cognitive resources through program length. It used to be that sitcoms were 30 minutes and dramas were an hour (including commercial breaks).  However, there has been a trend toward shorter form 20-30 minute dramatic programming.  From a practical perspective, shorter programming allows for a greater breadth of consumption.  It’s pretty clear that the quantity of media choices has grown, but the number of hours in a day has stayed the same. Yet the avowed enthusiasm for programs that demand a shorter investment of time raises questions [...]

BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology JULY 21, 2020 What I Learned from the Virtual Media Psychology Symposium. An online symposium has the same benefits as online education, wider reach, easier access and better content. Now that Fielding Graduate University’s first Media Psychology Symposium is over, I have time to reflect on the experience.  The Symposium was held virtually over two days (July 16 & 17) on Zoom, rather than in Chicago in-person, due to COVID-19.  COVID or not, however, I think a virtual Media Psychology Symposium is really the way to go.  Not only is virtual connectivity thematically appropriate with [...]

BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology JUNE 20, 2020 The voice of reason is entirely missing when stories activate fight or flight. Anything that is perceived as an attack on beliefs, identity or affiliation shuts down cognitive processes and makes collaboration difficult, if not impossible. Narratives reveal core values that have to be addressed for both groups for compromise to be achieved and conflict resolved. There is no “changing the other guy’s mind” when the fundamental worldview is so different. This is true in politics, business negotiations, consume behavior and interpersonal relationships. The solution: Deconstruct the competing narratives [...]

BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology JUNE 10, 2020 According to Miriam Webster, doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms that describe continuous scrolling or surfing through negative news, even when it is depressing, demoralizing, distressing, or painful. Many people have found themselves continuously reading bad news about COVID-19 or the protests and police violence without the ability to stop or step back. This problem is a result of how the human brain is wired.  Our brains instinctively pay attention to any potentially dangerous situation as part of the biological imperative of survival.  Our brains are designed to constantly scan the horizon for potential threats.  Since threats are more [...]