Now in its fourth edition, Media Effects again features essays from some of the finest scholars in the field and serves as a comprehensive reference volume for scholars, teachers, and students. This edition contains both new and updated content on social media, video games, mobile communication, and virtual technologies.

1. A History of Media Effects Research Traditions 2. Media Effects Theories: An Overview 3. The World of News and Politics 4. News Framing Theory and Research 5. Cultivation Theory, Media, Stories, Processes, and Reality 6. Media Priming and Accessibility 7. Social Cognitive Theory 8. Currents in the Study of Persuasion 9. Narrative Effects 10. Media Choice and Selective Exposure 11. Media and Emotion 12. Media, Identity, and the Self 13. Media Psychophysiology and Neuroscience: Bringing Brain Science into Media Processes and Effects Research 14. Media Violence and Aggression 15. Media and Sexuality 16. Media Stereotypes: Content, Effects, and Theory 17. Eudaimonia as Media Effect 18. Advertising Effects and Advertising Effectiveness 19. Educational Media for Children 20. Media Effects and Health 21. Entertainment and Enjoyment as Media Effect 22. Video Games 23. Psychological Effects of Interactive Media Technologies: A Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Perspective 24. Social Media 25. Effects of Mobile Communication: Revolutions in an Evolving Field 26. Virtual Reality in Media Effects 27. Cross-Cultural Media Effects Research