@wattsupdoc
Asst. Professor at University of Kansas, Ph.D. The Ohio State University. Research on narrative persuasion, children and media, media effects, media psychology. Sometimes, I grow sunflowers (see pic) and tomatoes. Aspiring scuba diver.
My students are conducting a survey for a class project to understand perceptions of media literacy and training they may have received. Please take this short survey, which closes today. #medialiteracy #AI #tech #phonebans #digitalliteracy
kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Thanks to the research cultivation grant from the National Communication Association, my latest study investigates the relationship between anthropomorphic characters & socioemotional lessons, which are often found in children's media. Read the study for more info www.tandfonline.com/eprint/7SNG9...
This is the reality behind every CV. I recently received two rejects in one day. Onwards and upwards!
Please consider taking this survey about your opinions on media literacy and social media use for my senior students who are designing a campaign to increase the visibility of media literacy week. #medialiteracy #ai #socialmedia
kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
How strong is the threat to academic freedom? If you are a publishing psychologist, please help us get a better understanding of the threats due to external pressure and self-censorship in the publication process by taking our 5-10 min anonymous survey: t1p.de/t1qof
Results will be shared here!
Commenting to get the goodies!
Please consider submitting to our special issue on mobile disconnection in @mobilemediacomm.bsky.social! Check out the call for papers below, with extended abstracts due on 31 July 2026. With Mora Matassi and @trinesy.bsky.social
📴📵🪩
journals.sagepub.com/page/mmc/mob...
As an elder millennial, this is the best way to learn stats
"Searching the Psyche through Cinema: Get Out" Sunday, February 15, 2pm, Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch
Kansas City locals! I'm giving a talk tomorrow, February 15, 2pm, at the KC Public Library Plaza Branch on Get Out, through the GKCPI "Searching the Psyche through Cinema" series. I'll be talking about Frantz Fanon, "letter-perfect" racism, and the logic of fantasy. Get Out of the house and come by.
Thanks for sharing it with your student. I hope they find it useful!
Check out my latest research conducted with the wonderful and brilliant Hannah Wing. We examined whether audiences search for "easter eggs" in entertainment and whether finding them contributes to their enjoyment.
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
Developed by political scientist Andrew Cesare Miller & now available on OSF, the new Theory-Based Predictions in Social Science template helps researchers document theories, variables, outcomes, & conditions—making predictions transparent & testable.
Learn more in our Q&A:
I need to say this so very, very loudly:
👏 null 👏results 👏 are 👏 not 👏 no 👏 results 👏
👏 null 👏 findings 👏 are 👏 not 👏 unfortunate 👏
👏 null 👏 results 👏 are 👏 not 👏 errors 👏
👏 null 👏 findings 👏 do 👏 not 👏 need 👏 to 👏 be 👏 "fixed 👏 with 👏 "more data" 👏
We really need to sort this, y'all.
Program for Rocky Mountain Methodology Academy in Calgary in July 2026.
Rocky Mountain Methodology Academy in Calgary, July 2026, is now enrolling. Seven courses in behavioural science design and analysis. Seats are limited. A trip to Banff is included. haskayne.ucalgary.ca/ccram/academy
And CCRAM is coming to Toronto! May 2026. haskayne.ucalgary.ca/ccram/sessions
Sometimes you see a new paper and stop everything you are doing to read it. This is one of those papers. All-star work by an all-star team!
The screenshot reads, "Craik would have developed his sketch into a thoroughgoing theory and tested its empirical consequences. But, on the eve of VE day in 1945, he was cycling in Cambridge when a car door opened in front of him and he was thrown into the path of a lorry. He was 31 years old. It was left to others to follow up his ideas.
When you're digging around into the history of a theory and come across an interesting note about the origins of the academic who developed the theory. My goodness, mental models indeed!
"Ban harmful content from social media instead of us, say Australian teens" www.bbc.com/news/article...
Happy "let's circle back in the New Year" season to all who celebrate.
Call for papers:
IJPOR has a call for a special issue on AI, public opinion and democratic resilience.
1000 word initial abstract submission
🗓️: deadline February 15, 2026
@ddc-sdu.bsky.social @aimediademlab.bsky.social @algosoc.org @polcomm.bsky.social #commsky
academic.oup.com/ijpor/pages/...
Uses and gratifications theory (2025 update)
#commsky
Friends— here it is. Updated & expanded thanks to the space afforded to me in the @therumpus.net & the guidance of the brilliant @roxanegay.bsky.social’s edits. The win centers Muslims humanity — but what does that mean in a country that rejects that?
therumpus.net/2025/11/05/z...
Computationally, whitespace gets little attention—it’s usually standardized or stripped.
But in poetry, whitespace matters!
Yet actually *preserving* that poetic whitespace is v tough. Its slipperiness points to bigger issues w/ text processing & LLMs.
New paper ⬜️ aclanthology.org/2025.emnlp-m...
Everyone of a certain age will say the bees in My Girl
Hey folks! The Violence Prevention Center at UNC Charlotte is looking for a postdoc in suicide prevention training! Great opportunity to work with a talented group on important research related to mental health https://jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/64918
Quote by Dr. Iballa Burunat reads: Music unfolds over time. Its rhythm, melody, and structure provide a kind of sequential framework, a timeline. Image is of the back of a head of a man listening to music through his headphones as he looks at a train going past him.
Men tend to stick to music they love in their teens, whilst women constantly adapt tastes, suggests a new study🎵
Findings show the deepest musical attachments hit men aged 16, but women 19; and this is why older songs sink their claws in deep for men🎸
spr.ly/601471cRw
@adrianmeier.bsky.social turned me on to "jingle" and "jangle" fallacies while at #MediaPsych, giving me some verbiage for things we talk about more frequently. There's a fuller look at these phenomena here:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
We say we want uplifting media, but our revealed preferences tell another story. We often pick darker, more intense content. This @npr.org piece covers our lab’s research on why, and includes great advice from @aeden.bsky.social on building intentional media habits.
A poorly built table