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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Hi, thanks I found a great blog.
Quite an innovative blog… I had never heard about separate media psychology. It seems a nice concept and hope will flourish as a career option with the cycle of time. In any event, if you talk about degrees in psychology and it doesn’t matter which field of psychology, then I’ll suggest a writer who can help you get great grades. This man is Maurice F Prout, who is a psychologist and has taught doctoral-level graduate students for over thirty years. He has written several books on behavior study, mood disorders and anxiety disorders in such a beautiful manner that it becomes interesting to read about such complex subjects. His published works can be checked out at mauriceprout.com or mauriceproutphd.com
Maurice Prout is indeed an accomplished psychologist. His focus is some very specific clinical applications such as depression using cognitive behavioral therapy, but understanding the theoretical basis for behavior is part of what we do looking at the psychology of media as well. As most of his articles and books are co-authored with other scholars, I am not familiar with his personal writing style. It’s wonderful that you have found an author who is able to so successfully describe the content for you. From my point of view, the more we read and learn, the better! Thanks for the comment and reference.
Thank you for your insight regarding this exciting field of study. I have worked as a public interest advocate in consumer rights law and I am interested in starting a career that can help prevent consumers from being victims. I have a fuzzy idea of what that career would entail: consumer education, using the Internet and computer media as a tool, also I would like to consult businesses in marketing and internal communications towards responsible social practices. What topics/area of study would you suggest I become an expert in? Would you suggest the level(s) exceed the Master designation (I am specifically interested in earning a PhD in Media Psychology or Media, Culture & Communications)? I think that once I start studying and gaining more knowledge I will be able to focus my career goals. Very valuable information here. Thank you again!
Thanks for your comment! I love your goal of educating consumers. For me, with admitted bias, that starts in psychology. Understanding how people perceive information (both psychological meaning and the constraints of physical transmission and processing) are fundamental to intervention. I would pursue media psychology rather than communications and culture. (But then I did do that, so no surprise there.) Your goal of educating consumers is part of what we might call media literacy. However media literacy often is truncated into content analysis of mass media framed as establishing cultural norms and doesn’t address the full implications of emerging technologies or individual meaning and understanding. To me, this is essential because the technology and our understanding of it are inextricably tied to our experience with technology. A master’s path lets you experiment with a field without the enormous commitment of a PhD. A PhD, however, allows you to really dig deep and develop personal capital – you achieve a level of expert knowledge in your chosen path. That has tremendous personal and professional value. Check out the programs at Fielding Graduate University (FGU) (full disclosure: I’m adjunct faculty there) as we have both a master’s and PhD option in media psychology. FGU established the very first genuine media psychology program that starts with the foundation of psychology and then extends those analytical skills and theories to media applications and communication technologies.
Okay, thats an interesting topic.
Hi,
we live and work in Hong Kong,culturally rather different from where you are, I expect?
However thought I would send you something that made a me giggle for the day.
Someone was advertising for a media psychologist which went slightly arwy when the add came out asking for a meduim psychologist.
Better than “rare or well done “I guess
lee du ploy
Thanks for the comment! Freud said there is no such thing as a slip of the tongue. What would he think about a slip of the finger on a keyboard? Perhaps the advertisement was looking for a psychologist with uncanny intuition and foresight?
People may come from very different cultures, but I believe fundamentally people all have similar hopes and dreams and work very hard to make life better for themselves and their families. That is much more important than how we each might differently define “better” or even “family.” The great thing about the Internet is that we have the chance to make these kinds of friendly connections with people all over the world. Thanks for the bit of humor! Humor is definitely a common language.
Best,
Pam
Wow, I just found this concept of Media Psychology for the first time and realized that this is what I’ve been looking for for such a long time. A new door open to a young individual like me. Thanks.
This is the most gratifying comment I can receive! Thank you.