Arthur A. Raney, Principal Investigator
Art Raney is the James E. Kirk Professor of Communication in the School of Communication. His research primarily examines how and why we enjoy various media entertainment content, with specific attention to the role morality plays in those processes. His writings on these issues have been published in various anthologies, as well as Journal of Communication, Media Psychology, Communication Theory, and Mass Communication and Society. His edited books include Media and Social Life (with Mary Beth Oliver; Routledge, 2014) and Handbook of Sports and Media (with Jennings Bryant; Routledge, 2006).
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Mary Beth Oliver, Co-Principal Investigator
Mary Beth Oliver is a distinguished professor and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State University. Her work is in media psychology, with an emphasis on media and emotion and media and social cognition. Over the last decade her focus has been on positive media psychology, with her studies examining meaningful media and uses of media for purposes of reducing prejudice and stigmatization and for enhancing connectedness. In addition to publishing her research in journals such as Journal of Communication and Human Communication Research, she is co-editor with several volumes, including Media and Social Life (with Art Raney), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (with Jennings Bryant), and the forthcoming Media Use and Well-Being: International Perspectives on a Positive Psychology of Media Effects (with Leonard Reinecke). In 2014 she was elected as a Research Fellow of the International Communication Association. ______________________________________________________________
Sophie H. Janicke, Co-Principal Investigator
Sophie H. Janicke, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Chapman University. She received her Ph.D. in mass communication from Florida State University. She is a positive media psychologist who investigates the role that new and traditional media play in promoting and affecting character development, self-transcendent emotions, prosocial behavior, and subjective well-being. She has presented research on this topic at the International and National Communication Association conference and published her research in the Journal of Psychology and Popular Media Culture and Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research. In her free time Sophie likes to travel, meditate, and workout outside.
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Katherine R. Dale, Postdoctoral Scholar
Katherine Dale is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Communication. She holds an M.A. in communication, culture, and technology from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in communication from The Ohio State University. Her main research interests include media effects and intergroup interaction. She is particularly interested in how media affect they way we see and experience the world.
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Qihao Ji, Postdoctoral Scholar
Qihao Ji is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Communication. He earned his Ph.D. in mass communication from Florida State University. Prior to that, he received a Master’s degree in media and communication from Bowling Green State Univerity. Currently, his research focuses on how people use and are impacted by various media in both individual and societal levels. Specifically, he is interested in how users adopt emerging media technologies to enhance positive psychological feelings such as enjoyment, and to drive socially important outcomes. He has presented over 20 conferences papers at ICA, NCA, AEJMC, and BEA, among others. His works have been published in multiple journals such as Media Psychology, International Journal of Communication, Electronic News, and 3D Research.
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