The Psychology of Mass Media

How did the movie Black Panther impact the impressionable African-American teenage mind? Are selfies bad or good? What do you do when you hate your partner’s social media presence?

All good questions for the neighborhood media psychologist.

Yes, that’s now a thing thanks to Santa Barbara–based Fielding Graduate University, which pioneered the nation’s first PhD program in media psychology in 2002. Since then, Fielding faculty and grads are helping to shape the national conversation on how media influences human behavior, from neuromarketing and brand psychology to transmedia storytelling.