Michael Shapiro
Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication
Media psychology including: psychology of narrative, psychology of entertainment media, and, psychology of narrative health and risk messages. Current research focuses on how audiences process and understand story characters in a variety of entertainment and persuasive messages.
Education
- Doctorate
University of Wisconsin--Madison
1987 - Master's Degree
University of Michigan
1976 - Bachelor of Arts
Wayne State University
1971
Interests
Communication Theory
Media Psychology
Psychology Of Attitude
Recent Research
My current focus is on the psychological processes involved in understanding characters in stories across a broad spectrum of media and stories including health messages, commercial messages and entertainment. Other scholarly work is aimed at the role of theory in creating generalizable knowledge.
Awards & Honors
- Top Paper Panel (First Author Jeff Niederdeppe) (2010) Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association
- Top Paper Panel (First Author Hyo Pak), Mass Communication Division (2008) International Communication Association
- Top Paper (2005) Information Systems Division of the International Communication Association
- Top Paper (2004) Information Systems Division of the International Communication Association
- Top Paper (2002) Information Systems Division of the International Communication Association
Courses Taught
- Psychology of Entertainment Media (Comm 4220)
- Advanced Communication Theory (Comm 6810)
Contact Information
Michael Shapiro News
Selected Publications
Zhou, S., & Shapiro, M. A. (2021). Effects of Egocentric Projection and Identification on Narrative Persuasion in Foodborne Illness Messages. Journal of Health Communication, 25(12), 931-942. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2020.1868627
Shapiro, M. A. (2020). Memory, Measurement of. In J. Van den Bulck (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0028
Shapiro, M. A. (2020). Cognitive Biases and Heuristics. In J. Van den Bulck (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0066
Zhou, S., Shapiro, M. A., & Wansink, B. (2017). The audience eats more if a movie character keeps eating: An unconscious mechanism for media influence on eating behaviors. Appetite, 108(1), 407-415. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.10.028
Zhou, S., & Shapiro, M. A. (2017). Reducing resistance to narrative persuasion about binge drinking: The role of self-activation and habitual drinking behavior. Health Communication, 32(10), 1297-1309. doi:10.1080/10410236.2016.1219931
Kim, H. K., & Shapiro, M. A. (2016). When bad things happen to a protagonist like you: The role of self in resistance to negatively framed health narratives. Journal of Health Communication, 1227-1235 doi:10.1080/10810730.2016.1240268
Shapiro, M. A. (2017). Generalizability. In The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0110
Lee, T. K., & Shapiro, M. A. (2016). Effects of a story character’s goal achievement: modeling a story character’s diet behaviors and activating/deactivating a character’s diet goal. Communication Research, 43(6), 863-891. doi:10.1177/0093650215608236
Steinhardt, J., & Shapiro, M. A. (2015). Framing Effects in Narrative and Non-Narrative Risk Messages. Risk Analysis, 35(8), 1423-1436. doi:10.1111/risa.12368
Niederdeppe, J., Roh, S., & Shapiro, M. A. (2015). Acknowledging individual responsibility while emphasizing social determinants in narratives to promote obesity-reducing public policy: A randomized experiment PLoS ONE, 10(2). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117565
Lee, T. K., & Shapiro, M. A. (2014). The interaction of affective dispositions, moral judgments, and intentionality in assessing narrative characters: Rationalist and intuitionist sequences. Communication Theory, 24, 146–164. doi: 10.1111/comt.12031
Shapiro, M. A., & Kim, H. K. (2012). Realism judgments and mental resources: A cue processing model of media narrative realism. Media Psychology, 15(1), 93-119. doi: 10.1080/15213269.2011.649666
Shapiro, M. A., Barriga, C., & Beren, J. (2010). Causal attribution and perceived realism of stories. Media Psychology. 13:273-300.
Barriga, C. A., Shapiro, M. A., & Fernandez, M. L. (2010). Science Information in Fictional Movies: Effects of Context and Gender. Science Communication. 32:3-24.
Shapiro, M. A., & Seipel, M. (2020). How Audiences Distinguish between Interesting and Uninteresting Fictional Story Characters. Paper presented at the IGEL: International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature, Liverpool, UK.
Shapiro, M. A., & Zhou, S. (2020). Actor-Observer Perspective Taking and Egocentric Projection in Audience Processing of Story Characters. Paper presented at the IGEL: International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature, Liverpool, UK.
Zhou, S., & Shapiro, M. A. (2020). Exploring Factors Influencing Egocentric Projection in Narrative Processing. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Gold Coast Australia.
Zhou, S., & Shapiro, M. A. (2019). How Audiences Think about a Character Depends on Whether They Take an Actor or an Observer Perspective. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Washington, D.C.
Shapiro, M. A., & Zhou, S. (2018). The Effect of Character Morality on Perceptions of Interest and Unusualness of Story Characters. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Prague.