Johnny Sparks

Assistant Professor of Telecommunication & Film

Ph.D., Indiana University, 2006.

Dr. Sparks's primary graduate teaching responsiblities include mass communication theory, cognitive approaches to media, and psychophysiological methods. His research focuses on theory-driven social scientific approaches to understanding cognitive processing of media. Specifically, he is interested in how the structure and content of media influence what people remember and how they think about complex issues, such as health and science of public importance and political significance.

Selected Publications

Lang, A. Bradley, S., Sparks, J. V., & Lee, S. (2007). Measuring individual differences in motivational activation: Predicting physiological and behavioral indicators of appetitive and aversive activation. Communication Methods and Measures, 1, 113-136.

Stocking, H. S., & Sparks, J. V. (2007). Communicating the scientific complexities and uncertainties of behavioral science. In M. K. Welch-Ross & L. G. Fasig (Eds.), Handbook on communicating and disseminating behavioral science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

McBride, K. R., Sanders, S. A., Janssen, E., Grabe, M. E., Bass, J., & Sparks, J. V., et al. (In press). Turning sexual science into news: Sex research and the media. Journal of Sex Research.