
Byron Reeves
Paul C. Edwards Professor of Communication, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Education
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/people/reeves
Bio
Byron Reeves received a B.F.A. in graphic design from Southern Methodist University and his M.A. and a Ph.D. in communication from Michigan State University.
Prior to joining Stanford in 1985, he taught at the University of Wisconsin where he was director of graduate studies and associate chair of the Mass Communication Research Center.
He teaches courses in mass communication theory and research, with particular emphasis on psychological processing of interactive media. His research includes message processing, social cognition, and social and emotion responses to media, and has been published in books of collected studies as well as such journals as Human Communication Research, Journal of Social Issues, Journal of Broadcasting, and Journalism Quarterly. He is co-author of The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places (Cambridge University Press).
His research has been the basis for a number of new media products for companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, in the areas of voice interfaces, automated dialogue systems and conversational agents. He is currently working on the applications of multi-player game technology to learning and the conduct of serious work.
Academic Appointments
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Professor, Communication
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Professor (By courtesy), Graduate School of Education
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Senior Fellow, Precourt Institute for Energy
Honors & Awards
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Maier Faculty Development Award, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984)
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Paul C. Edwards Professorship, Stanford University (1992)
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Fellow, International Communication Association (1997)
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Outstanding Alumni Award, Michigan State University (2001)
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Nelson Award, Distinguished Service to Mass Communication Education (2008)
Professional Education
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Ph.D., Michigan State University, Communication (1976)
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M.A., Michigan State University, Communication (1974)
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B.F.A., Southern Methodist University, Journalism and Graphic Design (1972)
Research Interests
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Social and Emotional Learning
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Technology and Education
2020-21 Courses
- Media Psychology
COMM 172, COMM 272 (Win) - Seminar in Psychological Processing
COMM 372G (Spr) - Theory of Communication
COMM 311 (Aut) -
Independent Studies (7)
- Advanced Individual Work
COMM 399 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Curriculum Practical Training
COMM 380 (Aut, Sum) - Honors Thesis
COMM 195 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Individual Work
COMM 199 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Individual Work
COMM 299 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Master's Degree Project
SYMSYS 290 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Media Studies M.A. Project
COMM 290 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Advanced Individual Work
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Prior Year Courses
2019-20 Courses
- Media Psychology
COMM 172, COMM 272 (Spr) - Seminar in Psychological Processing
COMM 372G (Win) - Theory of Communication
COMM 311 (Aut)
2018-19 Courses
- Theory of Communication
COMM 311 (Aut)
2017-18 Courses
- Media Psychology
COMM 172, COMM 272 (Spr) - Media and Time
COMM 378 (Win) - Theory of Communication
COMM 311 (Aut)
- Media Psychology
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Jihye Lee, Mufan Luo -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Dan Muise -
Doctoral (Program)
Dan Muise -
Postdoctoral Research Mentor
Xiaoran Sun
All Publications
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Screenomics: a framework to capture and analyze personal life experiences and the ways that technology shapes them
Human-Computer Interaction
2019
View details for DOI 10.1080/07370024.2019.1578652
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Computer agents versus avatars: Responses to interactive game characters controlled by a computer or other player
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER STUDIES
2010; 68 (1-2): 57-68
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2009.09.008
View details for Web of Science ID 000273311200004
- Government Uses for Games and Virtual Worlds: Optimizing Choices for Citizens and Government Workers in the Areas of Energy Efficiency, Educational Assessment, Worker Productivity, Health and Quality of Information Exchanges White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 2010
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Being in the Game: Effects of Avatar Choice and Point of View on Psychophysiological Responses During Play
MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY
2009; 12 (4): 348-370
View details for DOI 10.1080/15213260903287242
View details for Web of Science ID 000274637900002
- Being in the game: Effects of avatar choice and point of view on arousal responses during play Media Psychology 2009; 12 (4): 348-370
- Total Engagement: Using Games and Virtual Worlds to Change the Way People Work and Businesses Compete null Harvard Business School Press. 2009; null (null)
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Leadership's online labs
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
2008; 86 (5): 58-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000255356700017
- A marketplace for attention: Responses to a synthetic currency used to signal information importance in E-mail First Monday 2008; 13 (5)
- Leaderships Living Lab: Implications of Multiplayer Games for the Enterprise Harvard Business Review 2008
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The effect of user control on the cognitive and emotional processing of pictures
MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY
2007; 9 (3): 549-566
View details for Web of Science ID 000247271000004
- Foundations and opportunities for an interdisciplinary sciences of learning. The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences Cambridge University Press. 2006
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The new videomalaise: Effects of televised incivility on political trust
AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW
2005; 99 (1): 1-15
View details for Web of Science ID 000227684400001
- Learning theories and education: Toward a decade of synergy Handbook of Educational Psychology 2005; 2
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Perceptual bandwith
COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM
2000; 43 (3): 65-70
View details for Web of Science ID 000085566400021
- Social issues and the effects of high-bandwidth interactions Proceedings of the Internet2 Socio-Technical Summit 2000: 81–89
- The effects of animated characters on anxiety, task performance and evaluations of user interfaces Proceedings of the CHI 2000 Conference 2000
- The effects of screen size and message content on arousal and attention Media Psychology 1999; 1: 49-67
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Switching channels: The effects of television channels on the mental representations of television news
JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA
1998; 42 (1): 21-33
View details for Web of Science ID 000074066500002
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Negative video as structure: Emotion, attention, capacity, and memory
JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA
1996; 40 (4): 460-477
View details for Web of Science ID A1996WA32200002
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A bio-informational theory of emotion: Motion and image size effects on viewers
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
1996; 46 (3): 66-84
View details for Web of Science ID A1996VD93000005
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Technology and roles: A tale of two TVs
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
1996; 46 (2): 121-128
View details for Web of Science ID A1996UH04400007
- The Media Equation: How People Treat Computers, Television and New Media Like Real People and Places null Cambridge University Press. 1996; null (null)
- Hemispheres of scholarship: Psychological and other approaches to studying communication The audience and its landscape Westview Press. 1996: 265–280
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CAN COMPUTER PERSONALITIES BE HUMAN PERSONALITIES
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER STUDIES
1995; 43 (2): 223-239
View details for Web of Science ID A1995RZ74100004
- Designing experiments that assess psychological responses to media messages Measuring psychological responses to media Lawrence Erlbaum. 1994
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THE EFFECTS OF SCENE CHANGES AND SEMANTIC RELATEDNESS ON ATTENTION TO TELEVISION
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1993; 20 (2): 155-175
View details for Web of Science ID A1993KU97500001
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WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM ... ATTENTION FOR TELEVISION SEQUENCES
HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1993; 19 (3): 368-387
View details for Web of Science ID A1993KM18300003
- We interrupt this program: Attention for television sequences Human Communication Research 1993; 19: 368-387
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THE EVENINGS BAD-NEWS - EFFECTS OF COMPELLING NEGATIVE TELEVISION-NEWS IMAGES ON MEMORY
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
1992; 42 (2): 25-41
View details for Web of Science ID A1992HW20400002
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ON HOW WE STUDY AND WHAT WE STUDY
JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING & ELECTRONIC MEDIA
1992; 36 (2): 235-238
View details for Web of Science ID A1992JD19200010
- On how we study and what we study Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 1992; 36: 235-238
- This evening’s bad news: Effects of compelling negative television news images on memory Journal of Communication 1992; 42
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MEDIA STUDIES AND PSYCHOLOGY
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1991; 18 (5): 597-600
View details for Web of Science ID A1991GJ93300001
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NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE TELEVISION MESSAGES - EFFECTS OF MESSAGE TYPE AND CONTEXT ON ATTENTION AND MEMORY
AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
1991; 34 (6): 679-694
View details for Web of Science ID A1991FY96300004
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COMBINING, DISTINGUISHING, AND GENERATING THEORIES IN COMMUNICATION - A DOMAINS OF ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1991; 18 (2): 240-261
View details for Web of Science ID A1991FF67900006
- Positive and negative political advertising: Effectiveness of ads and perceptions of campaigns Television and political advertising: Psychological processes Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1991: 245–262
- Evaluation and memory for political candidates in televised commercials Television and political advertising: Psychological processes Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1991: 125–144
- Cognitive processing of media Special issue of Communication Research 1991; 18
- Emotion and memory responses to negative political advertising Television and political advertising: Psychological processes Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1991: 197–220
- Negative and positive television messages: Effects of message type and message context on attention and memory American Behavioral Scientist 1991: 679-694
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THEORIES ABOUT NEWS AND THEORIES ABOUT COGNITION - ARGUMENTS FOR A MORE RADICAL SEPARATION
AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
1989; 33 (2): 191-198
View details for Web of Science ID A1989AX05400011
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EMOTIONAL TELEVISION SCENES AND HEMISPHERIC-SPECIALIZATION
HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1989; 15 (4): 493-508
View details for Web of Science ID A1989U859500001
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INFLUENCE OF STORY SCHEMA DEVELOPMENT ON CHILDRENS ATTENTION TO TELEVISION
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1989; 16 (3): 352-374
View details for Web of Science ID A1989AC00500003
- Influence of story schema development on children's attention to television Communication Research 1989; 16: 352-374
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HEMISPHERICALLY LATERALIZED EEG AS A RESPONSE TO TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH
1988; 15 (2): 185-198
View details for Web of Science ID A1988Q202300003
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CITATION NETWORKS OF COMMUNICATION JOURNALS, 1977-1985 - CLIQUES AND POSITIONS, CITATIONS MADE AND CITATIONS RECEIVED
HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1988; 15 (2): 256-283
View details for Web of Science ID A1988R508800004
- Communication and children: Development of language, communicative competence, and understanding of media Handbook of communication science Sage. 1987: 619–650
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WATCHING TELEVISION - EXPERIMENTS ON THE VIEWING PROCESS
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1986; 13 (3): 343-361
View details for Web of Science ID A1986D765200004
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EEG ACTIVITY AND THE PROCESSING OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1986; 13 (2): 182-220
View details for Web of Science ID A1986C812200002
- Effects of Mass Communication null Science Research Associates, Inc.. 1986; null (null)
- Attention to local and global complexity in television messagesCommunication yearbook Communication yearbook 10 Sage. 1986
- Attention to television: Psychological theories and chronometric measures Perspectives on media effects Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1986
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ATTENTION TO TELEVISION - INTRASTIMULUS EFFECTS OF MOVEMENT AND SCENE CHANGES ON ALPHA-VARIATION OVER TIME
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
1985; 27 (3-4): 241-255
Abstract
Central and occipital EEG alpha were used as an on-line measure of momentary changes in covert attention during television viewing. Alpha was recorded during nine 30-second commercials shown embedded in a half-hour situation comedy. Two time series were constructed for data analysis. A stimulus series consisted of codes representing the presence or absence of scene changes or person and object movement for each half-second interval of the commercials. The alpha series consisted of median alpha scores for each half-second interval, aggregated across 26 subjects. The alpha series was regressed on the movement and scene change series, both of which produced significant increments in R, even after autocorrelational effects inherent in the alpha series were removed. As a validity check on the attentional interpretation of alpha, it was shown that mean alpha for each commercial was significantly (negatively) correlated with recall and recognition of commercial contents. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for further use of continuously-recorded alpha in research on factors that influence attention to television.
View details for Web of Science ID A1985C649200008
View details for PubMedID 4044133
- Memory effects of over-time measures of viewer liking and activity during programs and commercials Advances in consumer research Association for Consumer Research. 1985
- Effects of program context on the processing of television commercials Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising 1985
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HISTORICAL TRENDS IN RESEARCH ON CHILDREN AND THE MEDIA - 1900-1960
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
1985; 35 (2): 118-133
View details for Web of Science ID A1985APA6500013
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MESSAGE COMPLEXITY AND ATTENTION TO TELEVISION
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1985; 12 (4): 427-454
View details for Web of Science ID A1985ATP5600001
- Trends in children’s television The future of children's television Boys Town. 1984: 15–28
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A BIBLIOMETRIC EVALUATION OF CORE JOURNALS IN COMMUNICATION-RESEARCH
HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1983; 10 (1): 119-136
View details for Web of Science ID A1983RL35500006
- Recurring issues in research on children and media Education Technology 1983; 23: 5-8
- Now you see them, now you don't: Demonstrating effects of communication programs Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 1983
- 'Fraught with such great possibilities': The historical relationship of communication research to mass media regulation Proceedings of the tenth annual telecommunications policy research conference 1983: 19–52
- Television's influence on children's encoding of person information Human Communication Research 1983; 10: 257-268
- Children's person perception: Generalization from television to real people Human Communication Research 1982; 8: 317-326
- Social cognition and mass communication Social cognition and communication 1982: 287–326
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CHILDREN AND TELEVISION-NEWS
JOURNALISM QUARTERLY
1980; 57 (1): 45-?
View details for Web of Science ID A1980JX57800007
- The nature of mass media effects Television and social behavior: Beyond violence and children Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 1980: 17–54
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LEARNING FROM A TELEVISION-NEWS STORY
COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
1980; 7 (1): 121-135
View details for Web of Science ID A1980JT41500006
- Children's impressions of television characters Proceedings of the sixth annual telecommunications policy research conference 1979
- The dimensional structure of children's perceptions of television characters: A replication Human Communication Research 1979; 5: 247-256
- Children's understanding of television people Children communicating: Media and development of thought, speech and understanding Safe. 1979: 115–156
- Children's perceived reality of television and effects of TV on social behavior Journalism Quarterly 1978; 55: 682-689
- A multidimensional measure of children's identification with television characters Journal of Broadcasting 1978; 22: 71-86
- Investigating the assumptions of uses and gratifications research Communication Research 1977; 4: 321-338
- Children's perceptions of television characters Human Communication Research 1977; 3: 113-117
- Linking dramatic TV content to children's occupational sex role stereotypes Journal of Broadcasting 1976; 20: 35-50
- Children and the perceived reality of television Journal of Social Issues 1976; 32: 86-97
- Children's television and the economically disadvantaged child: Research findings and policy implications The federal role in children's television programming Institute for Communication Research. 1975