Overview of positive media psychology by Dr. Pamela Rutledge for the Fielding Graduate University School of Psychology Colloquium, April 9, 2021. Positive Media Psychology is a specialized area within media psychology that emerged to promote the use and development of media technologies that support well-being and human flourishing. By using a positive psychology paradigm, researchers and developers will be better able to evaluate and harness the power of media technologies to impact lives and society for the better. This deck includes an overview of some theoretical constructs and real-world examples.

1. Harnessing the
Power of Media
for Good
Fielding Graduate University
PAMELA RUTLEDGE, PHD, MBA
Positive Media Psychology:

2. • Definitions
• Theoretical Foundations
• Areas of Investigation
• Applications
Overview

3. What is
Media
Psychology?
Why Define it?
◦ Definitions are critical to shared understanding.
◦ Media is a term with preexisting mental models.
Definitions Vary: Here’s Mine:
◦ Media psychology defines media broadly.
◦ Media psychology applies psychological theories, research
and methods of inquiry to the totality of mediated
experience.
◦ We look through the eyes of consumers, creators,
distributors and society to understand technology-enabled
interactions in a rapidly changing media landscape.

4. Media Psychology Areas of Interest
Media impact: Includes the range of cognitive, emotional and behavioral effects
on individuals and society of content and mediated experience across all types
of media technologies, from entertainment to VR
Media processes: Includes internal processes in relation to media use, including
motivation, attention perception, learning and emotions, adaptive and
instinctive responses and biological markers.
Media interaction: Includes social interrelationships and meaning making that
occurs in an around media, such as content creation and sharing, community
and group processes, network and systems, social construction, game play
Media expression, development and design: expression of self, creation of
media content, structure, user experience, interaction design

5. What is Positive Media Psychology?
Positive Media Psychology is a specialized area within media psychology that emerged to
promote the use and development of media technologies that support well-being and
human flourishing.
Positive media psychology shifts the focus away from psychology’s problem-centric
medical model to a balanced and holistic approach to understanding mediated experiences.
Why Does This Matter?
By using a positive psychology paradigm,
researchers and developers will be better able to
evaluate and harness the power of media
technologies to impact lives and society for the
better.
Psychology
Media
Psychology
Positive
Psychology

6. A Shift in Perspective
Media psychology research has traditionally reflected society’s concerns
about the negative impact of media and technology use.
Positive media psychology moves inquiry away from finding what’s
wrong to identifying the human strengths, values and emotions that
support human flourishing and the pursuit of a life well-lived
Why Does This Matter?
Media Psychology is applied.
This shift focuses on the benefits people derive from interaction with
media and to impact applications and guidelines for positive media use
and development.

7. Cognitive Bias and Media
Douglas Adams observed that:
◦ Technology that exists when we are born is
normal.
◦ Anything invented before we turn 35 is
exciting.
◦ Anything that comes later is suspect and
probably dangerous.

8. Technology Scares and
Moral Panics
Socrates was against writing because we wouldn’t use our memories
Swiss scientist Conrad Gessner raised the alarm over information overload that overwhelmed
people with data and the abundance was confusing and harmful. In was 1565.
1700s, French statesman argued that getting news from the printed page was socially isolating
and detracted from the spiritually uplifting experience of getting news from the pulpit
In a 1906 text entitled “The Menace of Mechanical Music,” John Philips Sousa was appalled by
the popularity of the gramophone and warned it was becoming a “substitute for human skill,
intelligence and soul.”
Radio was said to distract children from reading, damaged their school performance and the
compelling excitement of the loudspeaker disturbed the balance of excitable minds
Television was going to destroy conversation, disrupt patterns of family living, and vulgarize
American culture
CNN reported that “Email Hurts IQ more than pot”
Twitter and Facebook can harm moral values, destroy a generation’s ability to form relationships,
and increase the risk of cancer.

9. Social Failures vs. Media Failures
◦ Social failures are places where reality falls short, where social interactions do not occur that
would make people better off.
◦ We automatically think about what we do have rather than what we don’t. We assume that what
we do have is “normal” and therefore superior.
◦ Media failures occur when the use of media technologies prevents the occurrence of positive
experiences that contribute to wellbeing. When we are suspicious of something new, we look for
the failure there.
◦ Focusing on goals, functions and solutions adds clarity by challenging bias.

10. My Assumptions
◦ Psychology is the starting point,
not the media or technology
◦ Audiences are agentic and
complex
◦ Media technologies are tools
◦ Media use is a functional and is
chosen to satisfy needs and goals
◦ People will use the most effective
ways available to them meet their
goals
◦ Media experiences vary across
content, platform and device
◦ The brain processes media content
as real

11. Framing the Questions
Positive media psychology focuses the tools of
psychology on the constructs of positive psychology
to find out:
◦ Where, when and why positive experiences occur
◦ How to encourage positive change
◦ How to use media and technology to create
structures that promote positive outcomes.
Positive psychology assumes that people can learn
and change by adopting positive practices or being
exposed to positive experiences and messages

12. Concepts
& Major
Models
Perspectives on wellbeing
◦ Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic
Happiness
◦ PERMA
◦ Broaden and Build
◦ Self Determination
Theory
◦ Flow
Virtues in Action
◦ Resilience
◦ Empathy

13. Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Happiness
The pleasant life: hedonic happiness
The life of enjoyment. People get positive feelings from
pursuing interests and pleasurable experiences.
The meaningful life: eudaimonic happiness
The life of engagement. People immersive themselves
and experience a state of flow, or optimal engagement
and experience a sense of purpose and meaning.
Social wellbeing extends eudaimonic happiness to
beyond the personal domain include a sense of belonging
to a community and making a contribution to society.
(Ryff, 1989)
Well-
Being
Personal
Growth
Self-
accepta
nce
Autonom
y
Mastery
Positive
Social
Connecti
on
Purpose

14. PERMA Model: 5 Facets of Wellbeing
The PERMA model contains five components that are intrinsically motivating and contribute
to wellbeing. These elements are defined and measured independently of each other
(Seligman, 2012). They contain both eudaimonic and hedonic components, setting this
model apart from other theories of wellbeing.

15. Self-Determination Theory
Broad framework for motivation and personality that
defines intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation
and their roles in cognitive and social development
and individual differences.
SDT addresses the social and cultural factors that
facilitate or undermine people’s sense of autonomy,
competence, and relatedness which are argued to be
the source of human flourishing and wellbeing. These
factors are at the core of motivation and engagement
in activities, including enhanced performance,
persistence, and creativity (Deci & Ryan, 2002).

16. autonomy
mastery
relatedness
self-efficacy
flow
satisfaction
optimism
resilience
meaning
enjoyment
happiness
Broaden and Build
The broaden-and-build theory of
positive emotions says that positive
emotions broaden the thought-action
repertoire with positive emotions
sparking further exploratory thoughts
and actions.
Over time, this broadened behavioral
repertoire builds skills and resources
and function as a reserve to support
coping and resilience.

17. We feel most engaged with life
when we are involved in mastering
a challenge — in sports, art or
simply in the everyday activities of
living.
This sense of enjoyment…when our
skills match high
challenges is called Flow.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

18. Six Factors of
Flow
Experience
Intense focus and concentration
Immersion into an activity
A loss of self-consciousness
A sense of personal control or
agency
A loss of the sense of time
Experiencing an activity as
intrinsically rewarding; an autotelic
experience
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014)

19. HIGH
AROUSAL
HIGH
PLEASURE
LOW
PLEASURE
LOW
AROUSAL
A
N
X
I
E
T
Y
C
O
M
F
O
R
T
ENTHUSIASM
A
P
A
T
H
Y
CHALLENGE
SKILL
F
L
O
W
C
H
A
N
N
E
L
Optimal Engagement: Flow

20. VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths
Wisdom &
Knowledge
Courage Humanity Justice Temperance Transcendence
Cognitive
strengths that
entail the
acquisition and
use of
knowledge
Emotional
strengths that
involve the
exercise of will
to accomplish
goals in the
face of
opposition,
external or
internal
Interpersonal
strengths that
involve tending
and befriending
others
Civic strengths
that underlie
healthy
community life
Strengths that
protect against
excess
Strengths that
forge
connections to
the larger
universe and
provide meaning
Creativity
Curiosity
Judgment
Love of learning
Perspective
Bravery
Perseverance
Honesty
Zest
Love
Kindness
Social
intelligence
Teamwork
Fairness
Leadership
Forgiveness
Humility
Prudence
Self-regulation
Appreciation of
beauty
Gratitude
Hope
Humor
Spirituality
(Peterson & Seligman, 2004)

21. Living In A Digital World
◦ Our social world is a continuum between online
and offline
◦ Evolution of the human brain does not keep up
the pace of technological change
◦ Digital technologies amplify, enable and constrain
behaviors; they do not change core needs
◦ Core needs are a dialectic between the active
organism and social context and can be
summarized as autonomy, competence, and
social connection
◦ Technology and human behavior co-evolve
◦ Technology that satisfies core human needs
survives

22. Positive Technology:
Empowerment,
Engagement and Change
Premise:
Technology provides structure and support for
improving and sustaining personal change by
creating environments that encourage optimal
engagement (Flow), and manipulate the quality of
experience to increase wellness, generate strengths
and resilience.
Hedonic: Technologies that induce positive or
pleasant experiences
Eudaimonic: Technologies supporting engagement
and self-actualizing experiences
Social/Interpersonal connectedness: Technologies
that improve social integration and relationships.
(Villani, et al., 2016).

23. Applications
◦ Research
◦ Media and technology-based
interventions
◦ Increased efficacy through
information access
◦ Individual self-help
◦ Methods for teaching and
learning
◦ Applications in the workplace
◦ Public policy
◦ Behavior change
◦ User experience design
◦ Entertainment and marketing
content

24. Entertainment Media
POSITIVE MESSAGING, EDUCATION-ENTERTAINMENT,
FAN EXPERIENCES

25. Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo
People who live in organized households have lower stress, better quality of life,
higher perceived efficacy and are more productive (Delphine et al., 2014).
Shifts perspective to focusing on what is wanted instead of what is not (Changmin,
2010).
Expressing gratitude for the objects you are removing with research in positive and
evolutionary psychology, which suggests that expressing gratitude promotes
positive affect, increases satisfaction with life and is associated with physical
changes that promote health and well-being. (Polak & McCullough, (2006)

26. Education-
Entertainment:
Simplemente
Maria
A Peruvian telenovela starring a
poor peasant girl who works her
way out of poverty taking literacy
lessons and using a sewing
machine sparked a huge spike in
sales of Singer sewing machines
and enrollment in state literacy
programs.
The social impact of
Simplemente Maria led to the
development of the Sabido
Methodology and establised an
education-entertainment
approach to social change using
the form of soap operas and
serial dramas.
The programs, targeting issues
such as teen pregnancy and
domestic violence, have been
used around the world.

27. Creating Social Change with Entertainment
East Los High was created by Population
Media Center based on Sabido’s methodology
and developed using a transmedia structure.
The series was developed to address the high
numbers of pregnancies among Latinx teens.
Theoretical foundations include
◦ Dramatic theory for character and structure
◦ Jung’s archetypal characters
◦ Communication models
◦ Triune brain theory
◦ Bandura’s social learning theory
◦ Parasocial relationships
◦ Narrative structure
The program had a significant impact on issues
like adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

28. Jokes, Memes,
Silly Things
and Positive
Emotions
◦ Happiness improves
the immune system
◦ Releases endorphins
◦ Relaxes muscles
◦ Improves circulation ad
protects the heart

29. Fan Experience and Meaning

30. Interactive Experiences
IMMERSIVE, WEARABLE AND MOBILE

31. Peloton
PERMA wellbeing framework
Structure provided through goals, rules and
feedback reinforces sense of purpose, focuses
attention, provides motivation
Augmented experience through production
values and strategies; multimodal experience
Social/interpersonal interaction with other
riders, emotional connection to instructors

32. Personal
Data &
Wearables
Wearable activity trackers can
promote physical activity behaviors
in a wide age range of users.
They are easily distributed and
integrated as a part of physical
activity interventions.
Behavior change techniques most
commonly found include self-
monitoring and self-regulation
techniques, social connection and
accountability
Additional techniques specific to
older adult are needed to help users
overcome barriers to physical activity
by problem-solving and modeling.

34. Social Experiences
SOCIAL MEDIA, VIDEO CALLING

36. Family
Connected
Online
Social media, texting and
video calling create
opportunities to maintain
social connectivity during
separation.

37. Remix
Culture
Mash-up of 8 artists’ tracks:
• Black Eyed Peas
• Katy Perry
• Snoop Dogg
• Jay Sean
• Nicki Minaj
• Flo Rida
• David Guetta
• Kings Of Leon

38. Social Support Online: It Gets Better

39. Persuasive Media
MARKETING & BEHAVIOR CHANGE

40. Selling to Strengths and Aspirations

41. Away from
Deficit
Marketing

42. Toward
Empowerment
Marketing

43. Cause Marketing: Uber Giving
In September 2016, the European refugee crisis came to
public attention due to the death of three-year-old Alan
Kurdi. Uber decided to provide logistics support.
The Uber app allowed people to swipe to ‘Giving’ and
request a car to pick up donations such as blankets and
clothing which would be delivered to local charity
partners such as Save the Children in the UK.
Donations filled 10 shipping containers.
Four factors that contributed to the success of
UberGiving:
◦ Customer first: Uber enabled riders to do something
important to them.
◦ Relevancy: Uber moved at record speed to make sure
riders and partner-drivers could give back when they
wanted to.
◦ Tangible: Donations represented a real way to make a
difference.
◦ Reach: The campaign was shared widely without
investment in media by Uber

44. Therapeutic Media
MEDIA FOR HEALTH SERVICES

45. Positive Psychology To Go
Headspace offers meditation and mindfulness for any mind, any
mood, any goal
The Live Happy app has a specific focus on activities that can
bring about more positive feelings, like "savor," "strive," and
"thank,"
DayOne personal journaling provides a convenient place for
positive reflections, images and encourages reflection and
savoring.
The Happify app includes many games and activities that have
been shown to be effective to help you more optimistic and
change your thought patterns.
The Thought Diary app employs cognitive-behavioral therapy
strategies and enables you to track your thought patterns and
switch to healthier thinking patterns.
MindShift is geared toward teens and young adults who
experience general anxiety to teach coping skills and build
resilience.

47. Flow &
Creativity
Positive art therapy based on flow
helped breast cancer participants
regain a feeling of purpose and
meaning in their lives through their
artistic expression of posttraumatic
growth.
Experiences of flow during the
creative process helped lower
feelings of helplessness and increase
confidence among participants.

48. Virtual Reality and Games
The USC Institute for Creative Technologies
as developed and tested a number of
therapeutic uses of virtual reality.
◦ Immersion therapy for PTSD
◦ Rehabilitation skills training using video
games
◦ Virtual assessment and intake in military
installations to minimize shame and stigma
and encourage help-seeking (Rizzo &
Bouchard, 2019)

49. Social Impact Media
EDUCATION, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT,
PHILANTHROPY

50. Dual Pathways of Influence
Technology extends reach and enables tailoring for relevance
The use of social connectivity shifts reinforces agency and self-determination through
social influence and facilitates behavioral change and long-term adoption
Social
Engagement
Technology
Use
Behavioral
Change

51. Manobi Development
Foundation:
Information for
Farmers

52. Birth Registration

53. Australia:
Mobile
Language
Learning
Learnosity Voice platform was
used in 13 schools across three
Australian states: South Australia,
Tasmania and Victoria, targeting
250 students learning the
Indonesian language.
Pre and post test measure results
showed that the students made
significant improvements in their
Indonesian language skills. The
improvements in test scores was
particularly notable in weaker
students.

54. Mobile
Literacy in
India
MILLEE Mobile and
Immersive Learning for
Literacy in Emerging
Economies sponsored the
development of mobile-
based games that
simulated local village
games to help kids learn
English.

55. Donating
Through
Gaming

56. Micro-Lending

57. Red Cross &
Pay Pal
The Red Cross has been
extraordinarily successful in
raising funds using things
like texting and Pay Pal.
It allows people to take
action immediately and
people believe they matter
when feel they can make a
difference.

58. Social Entrepreneurship

60. Media Literacy &
Digital Citizenship
LEARNING TO USE TECHNOLOGY WELL

61. Questions?
Fielding Graduate University
PAMELA RUTLEDGE, PHD, MBA
Thank you!

62. Appendix
MEASURES & REFERENCES

63. Examples of Positive Psychology Measures
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al, 1988) is used to assess general levels
of positive and negative emotions
The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) is used to assess the
cognitive component of hedonic well-being
Eudaimonic Well-Being measures six components, (autonomy, environmental mastery,
personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance (Ryff,
1989).
Social Wellbeing combines measures of five components, social acceptance, social
actualization, social coherence, social contribution, and social integration (Keyes, 1998)
General Self-Efficacy Survey (Schwarzer, 2012)
Resilience Scale (Wagnild and Young, 1993) among several

64. References
Cascio CN, O'Donnell MB, Tinney FJ, et al. Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and
is reinforced by future orientation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2016;11(4):621-629. doi:10.1093/scan/nsv136
Catalino LI, Algoe SB, Fredrickson BL. Prioritizing positivity: An effective approach to pursuing happiness? Emotion. 2014;14(6):1155-1161.
doi:10.1037/a0038029
Changmin Yan, James Price Dillard, Fuyuan Shen, (2010). The Effects of Mood, Message Framing, and Behavioral Advocacy on
Persuasion, Journal of Communication, Volume 60, Issue 2,, Pages 344–363, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01485.x’
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior.
Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1104_01
Delphine Dion, Ouidade Sabri, Valérie Guillard, (2014). Home Sweet Messy Home: Managing Symbolic Pollution, Journal of Consumer
Research, Volume 41, Issue 3, 1 Pages 565–589, https://doi.org/10.1086/676922
Gallagher, M. W., Lopez, S. J., & Preacher, K. J. (2009). The hierarchical structure of well-being. Journal of Personality, 77(4), 1025-1050.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00573.x
Keyes, CLM. (1998). Social Well-Being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(2), 121-140. doi:10.2307/2787065
Lyubomirsky S, Dickerhoof R, Boehm JK, Sheldon KM. Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental
longitudinal intervention to boost well-being. Emotion. 2011;11(2):391-402. doi:10.1037/a0022575.

65. References
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1997). Subjective Happiness Scale. PsycTESTS Dataset. doi:10.1037/t01588-000
Park N, Peterson C, Szvarca D, Vander molen RJ, Kim ES, Collon K. Positive Psychology and Physical Health: Research and Applications.
Am J Lifestyle Med. 2016;10(3):200-206. doi:10.1177/1559827614550277
Polak, E. L., & McCullough, M. E. (2006). Is gratitude an alternative to materialism? Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary
Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 7(3), 343–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3649-5
Reaven J, Blakeley-Smith A, Leuthe E, Moody E, Hepburn S. Facing Your Fears in Adolescence: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for High-
Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders and Anxiety. Autism Res Treat. 2012;2012:423905. doi:10.1155/2012/423905
Rnic K, Dozois DJ, Martin RA. Cognitive Distortions, Humor Styles, and Depression. Eur J Psychol. 2016;12(3):348-362.
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Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Rizzo, A., & Bouchard, S. (2019). Virtual Reality for Psychological and Neurocognitive Interventions. Springer https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-
4939-9482-3
Schwarzer R. General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE. [cited March 5, 2012]. Available from: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~health/selfscal.htm.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive Psychology: An Introduction. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology,
279–298. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic Happiness. The Free Press.

66. References
Villani, D., Cipresso, P., Gaggioli, A., & Riva, G. (Eds.). (2016). Integrating Technology in Positive Psychology Practice. Information Science
Reference IGI Global.
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