Media Effects Research Lab fosters new research on information processing

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. From the moment we wake up to the second we go to sleep, we're bombarded by media and technology. We read the news on our smartphones, play the latest apps on our tablets and catch up on the newest TV and movies on Hulu and Netflix. The way these different types of media affect us has become a hot topic of study. The Media Effects Research Lab , a specialized lab on Penn State's University Park campus, is dedicated to examining just this - from how social media changes our communication to why we love to be scared by horror movies. And one researcher, communications professor Bu Zhong , is interested in how we process the news, whether online or in the newspaper. Zhong says he's long been interested in the psychological effects the media have on consumers.