Jessica Myrick

IEE Faculty Member
Titles and Affiliations
Professor, Film-Video and Media Studies

Research Summary

In general, Myrick's research examines the role of different emotions in shaping audience responses to health, science and environmental messages. She argues that mediated messages need to resonate emotionally with individuals in order to change attitudes and behaviors related to those topics. For example, she has investigated how content from the Discovery Channel's popular "Shark Week" series impacts the effectiveness of conservation-focused public service announcements. She has also investigated the effects of Pope Francis as a climate change mitigation advocate and how framing climate change as a public health issue may sway different types of audiences. Myrick, whose interdisciplinary work has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, previously served as an assistant professor in The Media School at Indiana University. She teaches courses related to media effects, research methods, mass communication and society, persuasion, and health/science/environmental communication.

In the News

Research Keywords

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Projects

Recent Publications

Extending the Theory of Normative Social Behavior: Collective Norms, Opinion Leadership, and Masking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Zhu, X., Carpenter, C. J., Smith, R. A., Myrick, J. G., Martin, M. A., Lennon, R. P., Small, M. L. & Van Scoy, L. J., 2024, In: Health Communication. 39, 1, p. 49-61 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Information Seeking and Avoidance in the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Function of Political Ideology and National Context: A Survey Comparing the US and Germany

Bilandzic, H. & Gall Myrick, J., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Communication.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Diminishing Psychological Reactance Through Self-Transcendent Media Experiences: A Self-Report and Psychophysiological Investigation

Clayton, R. B., Myrick, J. G., Dale, K. R., Park, J., Sarra, E. & Hechlik, E., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Communication.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

The Effects of “Media Tech Neck”: The Impact of Spinal Flexion on Cognitive and Emotional Processing of Videos

Cores-Sarría, L., Han, J., Myrick, J. G. & Potter, R. F., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Communication Research.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Who is your Fitspiration? An Exploration of Strong and Weak Ties with Emotions, Body Satisfaction, and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Eng, N., Sun, Y. & Myrick, J. G., 2023, In: Health Communication. 38, 7, p. 1477-1489 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Emotional Responses to Wireless Emergency Alerts for COVID-19 and Predictors of Public Health Compliance

Madden, S., Eng, N. & Myrick, J. G., 2023, In: Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. 6, 1, p. 91-114 24 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

An Experimental Test of the Effects of Public Mockery of a Social Media Health Campaign: Implications for Theory and Health Organizations’ Social Media Strategies

Myrick, J. G., Chen, J., Jang, E., Norman, M. P., Liu, Y., Medina, L., Blessing, J. N. & Parhizkar, H., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Communication.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Fanning the flames or burning out? Testing competing hypotheses about repeated exposure to threatening climate change messages

Skurka, C., Myrick, J. G. & Yang, Y., May 2023, In: Climatic Change. 176, 5, 52.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Adoption and Discontinuance of Innovation Packages: A Longitudinal Study of Transitions in COVID-19 Mitigation

Smith, R. A., Gall Myrick, J., Martin, M. A., Lennon, R. P., Van Scoy, L. J. & Small, M. L., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Communication.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Social media exposure, interpersonal network, and tampon use intention: A multigroup comparison based on network structure

Yang, Y., Ma, X. & Myrick, J. G., Mar 2023, In: Journal of Health Psychology. 28, 4, p. 343-355 13 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Perceived risk, emotions, and stress in response to COVID-19: The interplay of media use and partisanship

Zhou, Y., Myrick, J. G., Farrell, E. L. & Cohen, O., Aug 2023, In: Risk Analysis. 43, 8, p. 1572-1586 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Associations Between Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Decisions and Exposure to Vaccine Information in Social Media

Llavona-Ortiz, J. Y., Spanos, K. E., Kraschnewski, J. L., D’Souza, G., Myrick, J. G., Sznajder, K. K. & Calo, W. A., Jan 1 2022, In: Cancer Control. 29

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

A Mixed Methods Inquiry into the Role of Tom Hanks’ COVID-19 Social Media Disclosure in Shaping Willingness to Engage in Prevention Behaviors

Myrick, J. G. & Willoughby, J. F., 2022, In: Health Communication. 37, 7, p. 824-832 9 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Consuming Memes During the COVID Pandemic: Effects of Memes and Meme Type on COVID-Related Stress and Coping Efficacy

Myrick, J. G., Nabi, R. L. & Eng, N. J., 2022, In: Psychology of Popular Media. 11, 3, p. 316-323 8 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Racial Differences in Response to Chadwick Boseman’s Colorectal Cancer Death: Media Use as a Coping Tool for Parasocial Grief

Myrick, J. G., Willoughby, J. F. & Clark, M. D., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Omega (United States).

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review