Gayle S. Stever is Professor of Psychology for Empire State College of the State University of New York, USA. She works in the areas of developmental psychology, media psychology, and fan studies. Her writing has centered around celebrity-audience relationships, the nature of attachment both within and outside of a media context, evolutionary psychology as it relates to media, and mixed-methods research.

David C. Giles is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester, UK. He explores the impact of media on human behavior with a particular interest in celebrity-audience relationships, the dynamics of online interaction, qualitative research methods, and psychological issues around artistic and cultural activities.

J. David Cohen is a Visitng Instructor in Psychology for Empire State College of the State University of New York, USA. He passionately pursues how media, technology, celebrity, and storytelling impact humans. Specific areas of interest include entertainment media, marketing and persuasion, video games, and mediated violence.

Mary E. Myers is program coordinator for the Doctor of Strategic Communications program at Regent University, Virginia, USA. She has developed and teaches in a unique applied strategic communication doctoral program. Her research work primarily centers on the discovery of an early educational radio broadcaster; she also explores parental attachment, social media, and crisis communication.

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Media and Media Psychology

Gayle S. Stever

2. Key Theories and Concepts from Media Psychology

Gayle S. Stever

3. Research Methods

Gayle S. Stever

4. Positive Psychology, Moral Reasoning, and Prosocial Behavior

Gayle S. Stever

5. Social Justice and the Media: Gender, Class, and Disability

Gayle S. Stever

6. Social Justice and the Media: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion

Gayle S. Stever

7. Aliens Eating Reese's: Media Influence and Advertising

J. David Cohen

8. Propaganda, Fake News, and Deepfaking

Mary E. Myers

9. Processes of Audience Involvement

Gayle S. Stever

10. Dark Media: Violence, Pornography, and Addiction

J. David Cohen

11. Join the Adventure: The Psychology of Gaming

J. David Cohen

12. The Social Nature of Media

Gayle S. Stever

13. The Turbulent 20s: Covid-19 and the Media

Gayle S. Stever & J. David Cohen

14. The Future of Media

David C. Giles

Index