41 - 50 of 557 results for: COMM

Concerns of educators, social critics, and parents about violence portrayed in media and potential negative effects of exposure to symbolic violence. Increases in these with the introduction of each successive new medium: movies, television, music videos, computers, and video games. Whether and how media violence affects audience beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Should anything should be done about it?

What is propaganda? What role does it play in our lives? And how do we conceive of propaganda's relationship to politics and culture? This course will examine the evolution of propaganda from the early 20th century to the present. It will take up examples from advertising, journalism, cinema, painting and digital media. By the end of the course, students will have a broad understanding of the tactics by which various interest groups have sought to influence public communication.

Ever have trouble making up your mind? Every day, millions of people struggle to make wise decisions. Ironically, even when we toil over decisions, they are often plagued with bias. This interactive lecture-based course will explore the core theories and current research on heuristics and biases in human inference. In addition, the course will cover essential communication and psychology findings that shed light on different aspects of the decision making process. The final project is a student-designed empirical research proposal that will have practical applications as well as theoretical importance.

Political campaigns "micro-target" their messages to individuals according to the issues each cares about. Endorsements of products and brands spread through Facebook. Mobile devices sense physical activity and coach people to meet diet and exercise goals. Using social-scientific research and real-world examples, this course examines the social and psychological processes by which communication technologies are used to change people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. By the end of the course, students will understand the psychology of persuasion and social influence, and they will have applied this to the design and criticism of new technologies, interventions, and messages.