Mary Beth Oliver, a Penn State faculty member renowned for her research in entertainment psychology and her mentorship of students, has been named the inaugural Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Media Studies.
Mary Beth Oliver, distinguished professor in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State, was honored with the B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award from the International Communication Association.
Motion-controlled video games, such as those played on the Wii, may help boost skills when players compete in the real world, according to a team of researchers.
It may be game over for critics who claim that video games are nothing more than a fun diversion. A team of researchers suggests that many games can be meaningful entertainment experiences for players.
Penn State researchers have found that watching inspirational videos online can reduce prejudice against other racial and ethnic groups.
Action movies may drive box office revenues, but dramas and deeper, more serious movies earn audience acclaim and appreciation, according to a team of researchers.
How the news media tell a story can make those who consume the story more compassionate and willing to act and help others, according to Penn State researchers. According to Penn State researchers, news reports can boost empathy toward stigmatized groups, particularly if they go beyond factual information to include stories that more effectively trigger emotional responses. When news reports focus on individuals and their stories, rather than simply facts or policy, readers experience greater feelings of compassion, said Penn State Distinguished Professor Mary Beth Oliver, co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory and a member of the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.
With midterm elections drawing closer every day, candidates who best harness the Internet might have an advantage, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Communications who have confirmed and quantified the impact of the social media during the 2008 presidential election cycle. The research team confirmed popular press reports that President Barack Obama used the Internet better than John McCain in 2008. They analyzed 278 user-generated Facebook groups that illustrated the success of the Obama campaign in eliciting positive online support from social network users.
Mary Beth Oliver, a professor in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies in the College of Communications, has co-edited the third edition of one of the leading reference books in the field of media effects.
A young woman runs alone through a shadowy forest, frantically glancing over her shoulder. No matter how fast she runs, her pursuer keeps getting closer and closer. Suddenly she trips! In an instant, her attacker looms over her, silhouetted as he raises a bloody axe, wet and glinting in the moonlight. The camera zooms in on our heroine's terrified face as she lets out a piercing scream...
Since their conception in the late 1970s, video games have steadily increased in popularity. In 2004, the video-game industry raked in 10 billion dollars worldwide, generating more revenues than Hollywood. Polls indicate that today's children play anywhere from 9 to 20 hours of video games per week.
Parents may fret over these figures, but Edward Downs believes that video games can be a positive experience for kids, though pitfalls do exist.
The evil albino has been a stock Hollywood character for decades. Foul Play, End of Days, The Matrix Reloaded, and Cold Mountain are but a few examples of recent films with deranged or sadistic albino antagonists. Now, in The Da Vinci Code, he's baaaaack—in the person of Silas, a self-flagellating assassin-monk—and some members of the albino community are upset.
Professor of communications Mary Beth Oliver—host of today's Research Unplugged conversation—took a moment to think before answering a question from an audience member in a standing-room-only crowd. The issue before her: How do we prevent young people from absorbing racist messages from the media?
