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Shapiro, Mike
Cornell Faculty Member
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Positions
- Associate Professor, Communication (COMM), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
My research focuses on the mental processes involved in getting and using information from the mass media, including a variety of unconscious and more thoughtful mental processes we use to interpret messages and make decisions. My current focus is on the social psychology of narrative, examining the impact of narrative messages on judgments about realism and on the effectiveness of health messages. One aspect of this is an investigation of messages aimed at improving home food safety. This research is aimed at discovering why compliance with recommended home food safety procedures is much less than knowledge about those procedures. The next stage is to create narrative messages designed to better motivate people to comply with home food safety recommendations. Previously I`ve looked at the role of unconscious mental processes in processing health messages and political advertising and in forming attitudes and making decisions. This includes studies of negative political advertising and environmental messages as well as health, political, and environmental decision-making.
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Research
research overview
- Research focuses on the mental and emotional processes that affect our interpretation of messages and our decision-making. Current CSREES/USDA grant is aimed at investigating why people don't act on what they know about safe home food safety practices, and is investigating narrative public service messages to increase compliance. Other studies investigate realism and identification with characters in a wide range of narratives. Other scholarly work is aimed at the role of theory in creating generalizable knowledge.
research activities
principal investigator on
other area(s) of concentration/expertise
- Media Psychology
keywords
- Communication Theory
- Media Psychology
- Psychology of Attitude
- Psychology of Narrative
submitted impact statement
Publications
individual publications
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academic article
- Realism judgments and mental resources: A cue processing model of media narrative realism. Media Psychology. 15:93-119. 2012
- Using theory to identify beliefs associated with support for policies to increase the price of high-fat and high-sugar foods. Journal of Health Communication. 17:90-104. 2012
- Attributions of responsibility for obesity: Narrative communication reduces reactive counterarguing among liberals. Human Communication Research. 37:295-323. 2011
- Predicting intentions to adopt safe home food handling practices: Applying the theory of planned behavior. Appetite. 56:96-103. 2011
- Causal attribution and perceived realism of stories. Media Psychology. 13:273-300. 2010
- Science Information in Fictional Movies: Effects of Context and Gender. Science Communication. 32:3-24. 2010
- Media context, female body size and perceived realism. Sex Roles. 60:128-141. 2009
- Attraction to pornographic stories on the Internet: A commentary on “clinical encounters with Internet pornography" by Thomas P. Kalman, MD. Journal of The American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry. 36:619-624. 2008
- Introduction to generalizability: Philosophy, challenges and new frontiers. Communication Methods and Measures. 1:165-167. 2007
- Values, creativity, and imagination in generalizability. Communication Methods and Measures. 1:207-213. 2007
- Media dependency and perceived reality of fiction and news. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 48:675-695. 2004
- Parsing reality: The interactive effects of complex syntax and time pressure on cognitive processing of television scenarios. Media Psychology. 6:307-333. 2004
- Psychological processes in perceiving reality. Media Psychology. 5:163-198. 2003
- Generalizability in communication research. Human Communication Research. 28:491-500. 2002
- The Role of Typical and Atypical Events in Story Memory. Human Communication Research. 28:109-135. 2002
- Comparing positive and negative political advertising on radio. Journalism Quarterly. 69:135-145. 1992
- I'm not a real doctor, but I play one in virtual reality: Implications of virtual reality for judgments about reality. Journal of Communication. 42:94-114. 1992
- Making television reality: Unconscious processes in the construction of social reality. Communication Research. 18:685-705. 1991
- Memory and decision processes in the construction of social reality. Communication Research. 18:3-24. 1991
- Multinomial Runs Tests to Detect Clustering in Constrained Free Recall. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 85:315-320. 1990
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chapter
- Generalizability and validity in digital game research. Serious games: Mechanisms and effects. 389-403. 2009
- Memory, Message. The International Encyclopedia of Communication. 3072-3076. 2008
- Perceived realism as a decision process. The International Encyclopedia of Communication. 3546-3550. 2008
- Realism, imagination and videogames. Playing Computer Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. 275-290. 2006
- Realism,imagination, and narrative video games. Playing video games: Motives, responses, and consequences. 275-289. 2006
- Information Systems Division: Intra-Personal, Meaning, Attitude and Social Systems. Communication Yearbook 24. 17-49. 2001
- I'm not a real doctor, but I play one in virtual reality: Implications of virtual reality for judgments about reality. Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality. 323-345. 1995
- Measuring recognition memory. Measuring Psychological Responses To Media Messages. 133-148. 1994
- Think-aloud and thought-list procedures in investigating mental proceses. Measuring Psychological Responses To Media Messages. 1-14. 1994
- Analogies, visualization and mental processing of science stories. Communication Yearbook 9. 1986
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conference paper
- Deeper processing leads to a liberal shift in support of public health policy. 62nd Annual ICA Conference Proceedings. 2012
- Empathy as a mediator of the relationship between emotion and credibility. International Communication Association, Boston. 2011
- Complex attributions of responsibility in narratives designed to increase support for policies to reduce rates of obesity. National Communication Association. 2011
- Effects of a Narrative and Summary of Scientific Evidence on Attributions of Responsibility for Obesity. All Academic, Inc.. 2011
- Empathy, Identification, and Realism in Reponses to Stories About Individual and Social Causes of Obesity. All Academic, Inc.. 2011
- Predictors of Safe Home Food Handling Practices: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. All Academic, Inc.. 2011
- Realism is not the default: mental resources and realism judgments. International Communication Association, Boston. 2011
- Perceived reality and media entertainment. ICEC conference proceedings 2003: Essays on the future of interactive entertainment. 91-99. 2005
- O uso de meios de comunicacao na promocao a saude (The role of the media in the promotion of health). Proceedings of the I Congresso Brasileiro de Prevencao das DST/AIDS. 1996
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report
- New Challenge: Training Two Kinds of Ph.D.'s.. 1-6. 1999
- On taking intellectual risks. 1-4. 1999
- Angler attitudes and behavior associated with Ohio River health advisories. 163. 1993
- Theory as the Why and How. 2-4. 1993
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review
presentations
- Communication Colloquium - Mike Shapiro, Speaker 2010
featured in archived article
Teaching
teaching overview
- My teaching focuses on the Psychology of Entertainment Media (Comm 4220: Enrollment about 90) and Advanced Communication Theory (681: a required graduate class.)
teaching activities
- COMM-6810: Advanced Communication Theory - Spring 2013
- COMM-7970: Graduate Independent Study - Spring 2013
- COMM-7980: Communication Teaching Laboratory - Spring 2013
- COMM-7990: Graduate Research - Spring 2013
- COMM-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2013
- COMM-9900: Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research - Spring 2013
- COMM-4220: Psychology of Entertainment Media - Fall 2012
- COMM-7970: Graduate Independent Study - Fall 2012
- COMM-7980: Communication Teaching Laboratory - Fall 2012
- COMM-7990: Graduate Research - Fall 2012
- COMM-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2012
- COMM-9900: Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research - Fall 2012
- COMM-6810: Advanced Communication Theory - Spring 2012
- COMM-7970: Graduate Independent Study - Spring 2012
- COMM-7980: Communication Teaching Laboratory - Spring 2012
- COMM-7990: Graduate Research - Spring 2012
- COMM-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Spring 2012
- COMM-9900: Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research - Spring 2012
- COMM-4220: Psychology of Entertainment Media - Fall 2011
- COMM-7220: Seminar in Psychchology of Entertainment - Fall 2011
- COMM-7970: Graduate Independent Study - Fall 2011
- COMM-7980: Communication Teaching Laboratory - Fall 2011
- COMM-7990: Graduate Research - Fall 2011
- COMM-8900: Master's-Level Thesis Research - Fall 2011
- COMM-9900: Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research - Fall 2011
Service
service to the profession
- Kappa Tau Alpha Member 1976 -
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Committee Member 2003 - 2006
- Selection Committee, Nafziger-White Dissertation Award, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Committee Member - 2004
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Communication Theory and Methodology Division Chairperson - 2003
- International Communication Association-Information Systems Division Chairperson 1999 - 2001
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Officer, Other Officer 1998 - 1999
- Information Systems Division of the International Communication Association Officer, Other Officer 1997 - 1999
- Communication Theory & Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Executive Board - 1996
- Communication Theory & Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Chairperson - 1995
- Fellowship Board, Area Committee in the Social Sciences Committee Member 1991 - 1994
- International Communication Association Chairperson - 1993
- Waste Management State-wide Program Committee for Cornell Cooperative Extension Member - 1991
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Theory and Methodology Division Liaison, to the Committee on Technology and Policy - 1990
- Information Systems Division of the International Communication Association Member, Ad-hoc Name Change Committee 1988 - 1989
- AI-SPER-0203DF692AB000108D6 Chairperson - 1989
reviewer or editor for
Background
education and training
- Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin--Madison 1987
- M.A. in Journalism, University of Michigan 1976
- B.A. in Chemistry and English Composition (Double), Wayne State University 1971
awards and honors
- Top Paper Panel (First Author Jeff Niederdeppe), 2010
- Top Paper Panel (First Author Hyo Pak), Mass Communication Division, 2008
- Top Paper, 2005
- Top Paper, 2004
- Top Paper, 2002
- Top Paper, 2001
- Top Paper in Division, 1998
- Top Four Paper, 1985
- Top Student Paper, 1985
- Harry J. Grant Fellowship, 1983
- 1st Place Public Service, 1979
- 1st Place Best Local News Coverage, 1978
- 2nd Place Local Government Reporting, 1978
- 3rd Place Investigative Reporting, 1977
Other
college
- CALS
research keyword
- Communication Theory
- Media Psychology
- Psychology of Attitude
- Psychology of Narrative
name prefix
- Professor