Jennifer Hoewe

Education

Ph.D., Penn State University
M.A., Michigan State University
B.A., Grand Valley State University

BIO

Dr. Hoewe's research program focuses on how political issues and groups of people are depicted in media content and how those depictions influence media consumers, particularly in terms of their cognitive processing, their attitudes, and their own identity. Her research falls at the intersection of political communication and media psychology, where she places emphasis on  how the relationship between media and politics factors into perceptions of oneself (e.g., identity) as well as perceptions of others (e.g. stereotypes). She is interested in the cognitive processing undertaken when consuming media and the effects of that media content (examined through experimental and survey research). She also uses media content as inspiration for studies of media effects by first considering how issues and individuals are portrayed in the media (examined through content analyses).

Dr. Hoewe has published more than 40 refereed journal articles and book chapters. Jennifer’s work has been published in Media Psychology, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Environmental Communication, the Journal of Social Issues, and new media & society, among others.

Her teaching areas include media psychology, political communication, persuasion, news writing and reporting, and journalism/media ethics. She also enjoys teaching quantitative research methods and data analysis.

Dr. Hoewe is the former head of the Communication Theory and Methodology Division of AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism, and Mass Communication). Additionally, she is the founder and director of the Media and Politics (MaP) Research Group at Purdue. She also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Political Science at Purdue.

Interest Areas

Political communication, media psychology, stereotypes and identity, news