Dr. Rebecca Forster

Dr. Rebecca (Riva) Tukachinsky Forster is an associate professor in the School of Communication. She studies media psychology, namely how individuals choose, comprehend and can ultimately be influenced by media.

Her research considers the following questions:

• Media involvement - While watching a movie, reading a novel, or following a celebrity, many individuals experience powerful emotions and some even develop long-lasting, meaningful emotional connections with characters and media personae as if they were part of their social milieu. What leads to these experiences and how do they contribute to persuasion?
• Identity and well-being – Belonging to an esteemed group is an important component of people’s personal identity and sense of self-worth. What role does media consumption play in how individuals experience their identity and relate to other social groups? For instance, how do media relate to endorsement of ethnic/racial stereotypes, health stigmatization, psychological well-being, and intergroup dynamics?

Dr. Tukachinsky Forster teaches classes in the domain of media effects and mass communication theory, media literacy, education-entertainment (i.e., using entertainment programs to promote health and pro-social outcomes) and media research methodologies. She enjoys combining teaching and research. She offers students an opportunity to engage in research in the classroom, invites them to work with her on projects that she leads, and mentors students on their own research projects in undergraduate senior seminars, undergraduate and graduate independent studies, and as part of her graduate student advising. Students that worked with Dr. Tukachinsky Forster presented their work at the Chapman University Student Research Symposium and the National Communication Association convention, and published in academic journals such as the International Journal of Communication, Psychology of Popular Media, The Communication Review, and Journal of Media Psychology.

Here are just a few examples of her recent research projects:

• When media figures disappoint us – What happens when our favorite celebrity makes political statements we disagree with – do we change our mind? Dismiss it? Cancel the celebrity? The answer depends on different factors, Dr. Tukachinsky Foster’s research with her student shows (see here). Her current research looks at cancel culture, hate watching, and celebrity star power going wrong.
• When actors don’t walk the talk - Adults know the difference between an actor and a fictional character, and realize that actors only do their job playing characters that aren’t real. Right? Think again. Dr. Tukachinsky Foster’s research shows that viewers project negative attributes of a fictional character’ onto the actor that plays that character and this diminishes the actor’s subsequent persuasive power. Read the study here.
• Celebrity crush explained – Did you ever have a crush on a celebrity? If yes, you are in a good company. Over 80% of college students and more than two thirds of adults in the U.S. did at least once. Drs. Forster Tukachinsky investigates why this happens and what are the consequences (for good or for bad) of these experiences. Read all about this in her book. Her recent work looks into how people can even feel jealous when their celebrity crush engages in a romantic relationship (see here).
• Media and Intergroup Relationships – Ample research, including that by Dr. Tukachinsky Forster, demonstrates that diversity in mainstream media has important implications for both members of the dominant group (see research on the effects on Whites)  as well as the members of the marginalized groups (read here about effects on Black and Latinx individuals). Her work with senior seminar students examined the psychological predictors of media users’ interest in diversity in the media (see here) and the effect of media representations (see here a publication with senior seminar students about visual framing of police use of deadly force).

Dr. Tukachinsky Forster believes that this knowledge should be used to promote positive social outcomes. To this end, in 2014 Dr. Tukachinsky Forster began working with students on offering a bilingual (English/Spanish) media literacy program to the community. Students participate in a service learning course in which they work with parents/caregivers and children to deliver interactive workshops. The class offers research-backed tips on healthy media habits and provides various resources for helping parents to instill in children lifelong positive media habits and help their children grow to be sophisticated, critical and savvy media consumers.