Current Members of the GEM Lab
Matthew Grizzard (Ph.D., Michigan State University)
Principal Investigator
Dr. Grizzard (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tA15EB8AAAAJ) is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Situated within media psychology and mass communication, his research program examines moral judgments processes as they relate to the consumption of popular media, with a primary focus on narratives. For example, current projects explore how viewers come to evaluate characters as heroes and villains, what types of narrative content elicit moral emotions such as guilt, and why viewers prefer some types of narrative resolution over others. Matthew is a member of the editorial boards for Media Psychology, Human Communication Research, Psychology of Popular Media, Journal of Media Psychology, and Communication Research Reports. He was also an officer in the Communication and Social Cognition Division of the National Communication Association. Email: grizzard.6@osu.edu
C. Joseph “Joe” Francemone (A.B.D., The Ohio State University)
Ph.D. Candidate
C. Joseph Francemone (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u86LmwUAAAAJ) is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on moral perceptions and judgments of media characters, and how these judgments influence subsequent narrative evaluations. His research has been published in journals such as Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Journal of Media Psychology, and Media Psychology. Email: francemone.1@osu.edu
Rebecca Frazer (A.B.D., The Ohio State University)
Ph.D. Candidate
Rebecca (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hri1bO0AAAAJ) is a Ph.D. candidate at The Ohio State and an incoming assistant professor at the University of Florida (fall 2023). He researches mass media processing and effects. Her current research explores character individuation processes and moral judgments in response to narratives. She also examines effects of narratives on political/social attitudes and behaviors. Email: frazer.39@osu.edu
Chas Monge (M.S., University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Ph.D. Student
Chas is a Ph.D. (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EGXY1wwAAAAJ) student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State Univeristy. His research focuses on morality, moral judgments, mental state attribution, and (toxic) behavioral effects in online/mediated spaces. Email: monge.19@osu.edu
Annie Dooley (M.A., Penn State University)
Ph.D. Student
Annie is a Ph.D. student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. She is interested in identity in narrative, and how stories can make us feel better. Email: dooley.129@osu.edu
Lucy Brown (B.A., University of Minnesota – Twin Cities)
Ph.D. Student
Lucy is a first-year Ph.D. student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Her research interests involve the role of social identity and morality in perceptions of fictional characters. She is particularly inspired by positive outcomes associated with morally complex narratives. Email: brown.8728@osu.edu
Samantha Flanagan (B.S., The Ohio State University)
M.A. Candidate
Samantha is an incoming M.A. student in the School of Communication at The Ohio State University. Email: flanagan.229@osu.edu
Alumns of the GEM Lab
Changhyun Ahn (M.A., Cleveland State University)
Graduate Student
Changhyun is fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His research focuses on emotional and cognitive processing of video games.
Kaitlin Fitzgerald (Ph.D., University at Buffalo, SUNY)
Post-doctoral Researcher
Katie is a post-doctoral researcher in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Her research examines narrative and media message effects with a focus on how certain narrative experiences can foster positive, prosocial outcomes such as empathy and helping, moral sensitivity, and well-being.
Jialing Huang (Ph.D., University at Buffalo, SUNY)
Assistant Professor
Dr. Huang is an associate professor in the School of Media and Communications at Shenzhen University. Her research interests include media psychology and environmental communication. Specifically, she conducts research examining the role that the media play in communicating environmental and humanitarian crises to the public. She published in prestigious journals such as Environmental Communication, Communication Research, Journal of Risk Research and Asian Journal of Communication. She has served as a reviewer for multiple journals and presented papers in professional conferences.
Jess Walton (M.A., University at Buffalo, SUNY)
Jess is a recent graduate from the University at Buffalo, SUNY, earning his master’s degree in Communication in 2018. His research examines the psychological influences of morality and media entertainment, specifically regarding person-perception theory.