» Ms. Riva Tukachinsky
Assistant Professor

Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Communication Studies

Office:: Doti Hall 203
Office Hours:: T/W/Th: 11:30-1:30

Phone:: 714-516-4685
Email:: tukachin@chapman.edu

Education: Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel, Bachelor of Arts
Haifa University, Master of Arts
University of Arizona, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Riva Tukachinsky (Ph.D.., University of Arizona) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies. Her research interests include cognitive and emotional processes underlying media effects. Specifically, she is interested in involvement with characters and information processing in the context of media effects on social stereotypes, psychological well being and health.

Research

Processing of media content

Dr. Tukachinsky uses psychological models of perception, information processing and organization to advance understanding of the ways in which media consumers understand information in the media, and how these processes ultimately lead to effects on attitudes and beliefs. For example:

- Tukachinsky, R. H., Mastro, D. & King, A. (2011). Is a picture worth a thousand words: The effects of visual versus verbal race-related exemplars on attitudes and support for social policies. Mass Communication and Society,14, 720-742.
- Mastro, D., & Tukachinsky, R. H. (2011). Exemplar versus prototype-based processing of media content and the influence on racial/ethnic evaluations. Journal of Communication, 61, 916-937.

Involvement with fictional narratives and characters

While watching a movie or reading a novel, many individuals might experience powerful emotions such as intense fear, profound happiness and deep sadness in response to fictional events and characters. Dr. Tukachinsky’s research examines the antecedents of these experiences and their consequences for media effects:

- Tukachinsky, R., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2012). The effects of engagement with entertainment, Communication Yearbook, 37.
- Tukachinsky, R. H. (2010). Para-romantic love and para-friendships: Development and assessment of a multiple-parasocial relationships scale. American Journal of Media Psychology, 3(1/2), 73-94.

Teaching (Graduate and undergraduate classes)

Media effects

Mass communication theory

Education entertainment

Dr. Riva Tukachinsky (Ph.D.., University of Arizona) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Chapman University in Orange, CA. Her research interests include cognitive and emotional processes underlying media effects. Specifically, she is interested in involvement with characters and information processing in the context of media effects on social stereotypes, psychological well being and health.