Home > Encyclopedia of Psychology > Media Psychology

Area of psychology that researches the complex ways in which media influence attitudes, behavior, and feelings.

According to reports the average American household has the television on for about seven hours a day. It is also reported that young people are increasingly turning to the Internet as a form of escape and information-gathering. The movie industry spends billions of dollars on new films every year. Advertising currently has more outlets, like television, billborads, magazines, radio, the Internet, and even movies, than it has ever had in history. And while reading is taking a backseat to newer technological forms of media, newspapers are still a primary source for news about the world. On a planet filled with information and entertainment, in a time when our social evolution seems bound to media, it is more important than ever to study its effects.

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