Media psychology is the branch of psychology that examines people interactions with media—television, film, video games, music, and, of course, digital technology—and how media affect people’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions, and how media shape the broader culture. It became an official branch of psychology in the mid 1980s, before the explosion of digital communication and social media. Television and its developmental effects, and specifically the impact of violent programming, was a central concern.
“With the explosion of the internet, mobile technologies, and social media, media psychology is also expanding its scope and changing dramatically,” says Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts, managing editor of the Fielding University Press, which has just published Media Psychology Today, examining how people perceive, interpret, and respond to mediated content.
“Unlike earlier forms of one-directional mass media,” Isbouts said in an interview, “contemporary media are interactive, participatory, changing and rapidly evolving. As a result, media psychologists today are investigating questions about identity expression, online communities, emotional contagion through digital networks, and the psychological dynamics of constant connectivity,
Media Psychology Today is a 2026 marker, says Isbouts. “It is one of a continuing series of books exploring issues and topics in media psychology, identifying and reporting on the evolution of media and technology. He notes that Fielding offered its first university course in media psychology in 1998, leading to the 2003 launch of the first accredited university master’s and doctoral programs in the specialty.
The explores ten current studies in media psychology, including
• Watching and rewatching streaming media programming
• The difference between dogma and dialogue in media
• The evolving nature of character influenced by social media
• AI embedded bias in telemarketing
• The nature and impact of fake news on various populations
• Streaming dialects and accents and their psychological effects on viewers.
• Virtual reality and its psychological effects on viewers
• Morality in media and the formation of affective dispositions
• Mobile dating application and the implications on race
• Virtual reality and emotional engagement.
The scope of social media is diverse, embracing education, commerce, public policy, technology, health care, space, the military—and, now, war and more. With the rapidly growing importance and impact of artificial intelligence, media psychology and technology has moved to the forefront of the nation’s AI research agenda.
“As of this interview, the new use of self-controlled unmanned drones in Ukraine and Iran is changing the nature of war, further influencing the media psychology research agenda. In addition, the current litigation between Elon Musk and Sam Altman urging the need to regulate AI, calls sharp attention to the current issues,” said Isbouts.
“Performance based on the simulation of the senses, responses of unmanned vehicles such as drones, and intrusive listening devices such as Alexa, chat boxes, and avatars simulate human behavior and raise a multitude of questions yet to offer satisfactory answers. In fact, some reporting highlights that, in spite of the unmanned nature and freedom of action of drones, performance actually reflects the nature and stability of the programmers and managers,” Isbouts said.
“All of us who are alert to current issues involving psychology and technology are aware of the present international conflicts, and have questions about the morality, emotional effects, and impact of streaming media on all facets of social change,” Isbouts added.
The Society for Media Psychology and Technology of the American Psychological Association involves many research universities and counts many psychologists as members. “Because of rapid advances in neurotechnology,” says Isbouts, “the implications of ideology, the importance of psychology in digital ecosystems, and the diversity of humanity on the earth’s surface, we face a future full of surprises in media psychology. Media .sychology is a human windsock that can help us figure out which ways to go. Media psychology is important in illuminating the digital canvas around us. Media psychology shapes the story, and telling the story shapes the culture.”