
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
- 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.
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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.
- 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.
- 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