One of the key issues in communication research is concerned with the interaction between the mediated message and the human mind. Especially, how mental processes interact with structural and content features of messages is of critical significance. The conventional stimulus-response model, which attempts to answer only what media attributes or intrinsic message features produce effects, cannot fully explain and predict media effects, because “the black box” of the human mind is ignored. “Understanding how individuals process messages is central to any comprehensive theory of communication” (Geiger & Newhagen, 1993, p.42).
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to a broad range of topics that are tied together by communication research, cognitive science, and psychophysiology. This course is designed to critically examine the cutting edge theories and methods used to uncover the black box. New work executed over the past twenty years is of particular interest. This course will start with an overview of cognitive approaches to media. Next, core concepts and prominent theories will be discussed. Finally, psychophysiological measures (e.g., eye movements, heart rate, skin conductance, facial EMG, etc.) used to investigate the black box and measurement issues will be reviewed.