Dr. Sophie Janicke-Bowles

Associate Professor

Communication Studies, School of Communication

Expertise: Media Effects; Happiness; Positive Media Psychology; Social Media; Spirituality

Office Location: Becket Building 115

Office Hours: By appointment only

Phone: 714-516-5184

Email: bowles@chapman.edu

Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/positive-media-psychology

Scholarly Works:: Digital Commons

Education:: Florida State University, Ph.D.

Biography

Sophie H. Janicke-Bowles, Ph.D. is a positive media psychologist who investigates the role that new and traditional media play in promoting and affecting character development, self-transcendent emotions, prosocial behavior, and well-being (aka happiness). Her research and teaching focus is on positive psychology, media and new communication technologies, and media and spirituality. As a member of a research team from Florida State and Penn State Universities she was awarded a 3 year $1.9M grant from the John Templeton Foundation (2015-2018) to explore how people use and are impacted by media content that elicits self-transcendent emotions such as awe, elevation, gratitude and compassion. In her past research, Janicke examined how and why we enjoy media entertainment, with specific attention to the role morality plays in those processes. She received her Diploma (German equivalent to a Masters Degree) in clinical and media psychology from Eberhard-Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany in 2009 and a Ph.D. in mass communication from Florida State University in 2013.

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications: Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Mc Guire, N., Ventura, J., & Dupuy, M. (to be published 2025). Positive Media Psychology. In D. Giles (Ed.), Research Handbook on the Social Psychology of the Media. Elgar Publishing.; Rosic, J., Schreurs, L., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Vandenbosch, L. (2024). Trajectories of Digital Flourishing in Adolescence: The Predictive Roles of the Developmental Stage and Digital Divide Factors. Child Development. http://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14101; Janicke-Bowles, S.H. (2024). Introducing the Transcendent Media Experience Model. Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241287830; Janicke-Bowles, S., & Routledge, C. (Dec, 2024). Digital flourishing: A New Year’s resolution worth keeping. Washington Examiner.; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., (2024, July 8). Rethinking teen social media use: What parents should know about potential benefits. Orange County Register; Janicke-Bowles, S. H. (2024, October 24). Beyond social media: The unseen ways tech affects our lives. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positive-media-psychology/202410/beyond-social-media-the-unseen-ways-tech-affects-our-lives Janicke-Bowles, S. H. (2024, September 18). Can social media boost civic engagement this election? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positive-media-psychology/202409/can-social-media-boost-civic-engagement-this-election Janicke-Bowles, S. H. (2024, July). Can technology make us more loving? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positive-media-psychology/202407/can-technology-make-us-more-loving Janicke-Bowles, S. H. (2024, June). 4 ways technology can rewire our happiness. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positive-media-psychology/202406/4-ways-technology-can-rewire-our-happiness Janicke-Bowles, S. H. (2024, May). The often overlooked positive side of social media. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/positive-media-psychology/202405/the-often-overlooked-positive-side-of-social-media; Janicke-Bowles, S., & Routledge, C. (2024, December 17). Digital flourishing in America. Archbridge Institute. https://www.archbridgeinstitute.org/digital-flourishing-in-america/; Janicke-Bowles, S. H., & McGuire, N. (2024). Transcendence and Inspiring Media. In N. Bowman (Ed.), DeGruyter Handbook of Entertainment Media and Communication (Chapter 26). Hogrefe Publishing Group; Associated Editor for Frontiers in Media Psychology; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., *Buckley, T.M., *Rey, R., *Wozniak, T., Meier, A., Lomanowska, A. (2023). Conceptualizing and Assessing Digital Flourishing: Developing a Scale to Measure Positive Mediated Social Interactions. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00619-5; Janicke-Bowles, S.H. (2023). Digital Flourishing in the U.S.: Validation of the Digital Flourishing Scale (DFS) and Demographic Exploration. Communication Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2023.2289688; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Raney, A.A., Oliver, M.B., Dale, K.R., A., Zhao, D., Neumann, D., Clayton, R., *Hendry, A. (2022). Inspiration on Social Media: Applying an Entertainment Perspective to Longitudinally Explore Mental Health and Well-Being. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 16(2) Article 1. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2022-2-1; Rosic, J., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Carbone, L., Vandenbosch, L., & Lobe, B. (2022). Positive Digital Communication among Youth: The Development and Validation of a Digital Flourishing Scale in Adolescence. Frontiers in Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2022.975557; Janicke-Bowles, S. H., Jenkins, B., O'Neill, B., Thomason, L., & Psomas, E. (2022). Other-focus versus self-focus: The power of self-transcendent TV shows. Psychology of Popular Media. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000441; Ji, Q., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., De Leeuw, R.N.H., Oliver, M.B. (2021). The melody to inspiration: The effects of awe eliciting music on approach motivation and positive well-being. Media Psychology, 24(3), 305-331. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2019.1693402; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Schubert, T., Blomster, J.K. (2021). Feeling moved by mediated love: Kama muta as an eudaimonic entertainment experience. In P. Vorderer & C. Klimmt (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Entertainment Theory (pp. 403-418). Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190072216.013.22; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Bartsch, A., Raney, A.A., Oliver, M.B. (2021). Transcending eudaimonic entertainment: a review and expansion of meaningful entertainment. In P. Vorderer & C. Klimmt (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Entertainment Theory (pp. 363-381). Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190072216.013.20; Clayton, R. B., Raney, A. A., Oliver, M. B., Neumann, D., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Dale, K.R. (2021). Feeling Transcendent?: Measuring Psychophysiological Responses to Self-Transcendent Media Content. Media Psychology, 24(3), 359-384. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2019.1700135; De Leeuw, R.N.H., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Ji, Q. (2021). How music awakens the heart: An experimental study on music, emotions, and connectedness. Online first at Journal of Mass Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2021.1956542; Oliver, MB., Raney, A.A., Bartsch, A., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Appel, M., & Dale, K. (2021, in press). Model of Inspiring Media. In press at the Journal of Media Psychology Special issue on Theoretical Innovation and Consolidation.; Zhao, D. & Janicke-Bowles, S.H. (2021). Media enjoyment as attitude. In J. Van en Bulck (Ed.). The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-119-01106-4; Dale, K.R., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Raney, A.A., Oliver, M.B., Huse, L.K., *Lopez, J., Reed, A., Seibert, J.C., Zhao, D. (2020). Awe and stereotypes: Examining awe as an intervention against stereotypical media portrayals of African Americans. Communication Studies.71(4), 699-707. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2020.1754264; Janicke-Bowles, S.H. (2020). Self-Centeredness As A Response To Narratives With Few Self-Transcendent Elicitors. Communication Research Reports, 37(4), 137-148. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2020.1789579; Raney, A.A., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Dale, K.R., Oliver, M.B. (2020). Introduction to Positive Media Psychology. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780367373900; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Raney, A.A., Oliver, M.B., Dale, K.R., Jones, R.P., Cox, D. (2019). Exploring the Spirit in U.S. Audiences: The Role of the Virtue of Transcendence in Inspiring Media Consumption. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(2), 428-450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699019894927; Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Rieger, D., Connor III, W. (2018). Finding meaning at work: the role of inspiring and funny YouTube videos on work-related well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(2), 619-640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-9959-1; Ji, Q., Raney, A. A., Janicke-Bowles, S. H., Dale, K. R., Oliver, M. B., Reed, A., Seibert, J., & Raney II, A. A. (2019). Spreading the good news: Analyzing socially shared inspirational news content. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 96(3), 872-893.; Dale, K.R., Raney, A., Ji, Q., Janicke-Bowles, S.H., Baldwin, J., Rowlett, J., Wang, C., & Oliver, M.B. (2019). Self-Transcendent Emotions and Social Media: Exploring the Content and Consumers of Inspirational Facebook Posts. New Media & Society, 22(3), 507-527. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819865720; Janicke, S.H., Narajan, A., Seng, A. (2018). Social media for good? A survey on millenials’ inspirational social media use. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 7(2), 120-140.; Raney, A. A., Janicke, S. H., Oliver, M. B., Dale, K. R., Jones, R. P., & Cox, D. (2018). Profiling the sources of and audiences for inspiring media content: A national survey. Mass Communication and Society, 21(3), 296-319. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2017.1413195; Oliver, M.B., Raney, A.A., Slater, M., Hartmann, T., Bartsch, A., Appel, M., Schneider, F., Janicke, S.H., Kraemer, N., Das, E. (2018). Self-Transcendent Media Experiences: Taking Meaningful Media to a Higher Level. Journal of Communication, 68, 380-389. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqx020; Ji, Q., & Janicke, S.H. (2018). Culture, Political Orientation, and Moral Foundations: A Comparison Between China and the U.S. China Media Research, 14(1), 62-75.; Janicke, S.H. Rieger, D., Reinecke, L., & Connor III, W (2017). Watching Online Videos at Work: The Role of Positive and Meaningful Affect for Recovery Experiences and Well-Being at the Workplace. Mass Communication Society. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2017.1381264; Dale, K.R., Raney, A.A., Janicke, S.H., Sanders, M., Oliver, M.B. (2017). Youtube for good: A content analysis and examination of elicitors of self-transcendent media. Journal of Communication, 67(6), 897-919. Doi:10.1111/jcom.12333

Dr. Sophie Janicke-Bowles

Biography

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

Faculty Directories by School or College