Associate Professor

About

  • Office Hours:

    Wednesday 12 - 2 pm

  • Role:

    Faculty

  • Position:

    • Associate Professor

  • Concentration:

    • Health Communication,Persuasion, Media Effects

  • Department:

    • Journalism & Media Communication

  • Education:

    • Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Biography

Dr. Gayathri Sivakumar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication, Colorado State University. She has conducted research in the areas of health communication, political communication, and children and media. Her research is centered around examining the cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects of mediated communication. She is most interested in understanding how people use mediated communication to shape their beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and even behaviors related to these issues.

Publications

Shaw, B.R., Sivakumar, G., Balinas, T., Chipman, R. & Krahn, D. (2013). Testing the feasibility of mobile audio-based recovery material as an adjunct to intensive outpatient treatment for veterans with substance abuse disorders. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 31(4), 321-336.

Mares, M.L., & Sivakumar, G (2014). ‘Vamenos means go, but that’s made up for the show’: Young children’s reality confusions and learning from educational TV. Development Psychology, Vol 50(11), 2498-2511.

Mares, M. L., Sivakumar, G., & Stephenson, L. (2015). From meta to micro: Examining the effectiveness of educational TV. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(14), 1822-1846.

Sivakumar, G., Mares, M.-L. (2016). The Doctor Versus the Internet: Effects of Low-, Medium-, and High Quality Websites on Intentions to Follow the Doctor’s Advice. Health Communication, 1-9.

Yan, W., Sivakumar, G., & Xenos, M. A. (2017). It’s not cricket: examining political discussion in nonpolitical online space. Information, Communication & Society, 1-17.

Lutz, S., Sivakumar,G. (2020). Leaking the Secret: Women’s Attitude Towards Menstruation and

Menstrual – Tracker. Gender, Technology and Development

Anderson, A. A., & Sivakumar, G. (2021). Risks Elaborated vs. Risks Downplayed: The Effect of Risk Comparisons in Mainstream Media During Covid-19 on Risk Perceptions and Anxiety Levels. Frontiers in Communication, 6, 121.

Kelp, N. C., Witt, J. K., & Sivakumar, G. (2021). To Vaccinate or Not? The Role Played by Uncertainty Communication on Public Understanding and Behavior Regarding COVID-19. Science Communication, 10755470211063628

Sharma, N & Sivakumar,G. (2022). Social media, political discourse and the 2019 elections in India:

        Journalists’ perspectives on the changing role of the mainstream media in setting political agenda.

        Global Media and Communication Journal.

Courses

  • JTC 414: Media Effects

    Syllabus

    This course explores the role and effect of mass media on our lives. We will consider social scientific theories and empirical studies on people’s use of media and the consequences of such usage.

  • JTC 270: Analyzing Data for Journalism and Media

    Syllabus

    This course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the fundamental concepts of basic statistics. By the end of this course, you should gain a good understanding of how to interpret and present statistics and data to better communicate with one’s audience. In this class, you will develop skills for data description, visualization, estimation, and testing of differences and associations.