Rabindra (Robby) Ratan
- Associate Professor and AT&T Scholar
- Dept. of Media & Information
- College of Communication Arts & Sciences
- PhD, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
- MA, Communication, Stanford University
- BA, Science, Technology & Society, Stanford University
- 404 Wilson Rd.
- Communication Arts and Sciences Building
- East Lansing, MI 48824
- 517.355.3490
- rar@msu.edu
Links
Current Research
Dr. Ratan conducts research within the field of media psychology, examining how interactive environments (e.g., video games, the road) and factors within them (e.g., avatars, automobiles) influence meaningful outcomes (e.g., education, health). More specifically, Dr. Ratan studies the psychological experience and effects of interactive mediated environments, broadly defined (e.g., virtual worlds, online courses, the road). He is particularly interested in how avatars -- also broadly defined (e.g., game characters, automobiles) -- influence the psychological experience of media use, and how different facets of this psychological experience (e.g., embodiment, identification) affect a variety of outcomes, including education behaviors (e.g., classroom performance), health-related behaviors (e.g., food choice), and prejudicial/prosocial attitudes (e.g., gender/race bias). His work also emphasizes the social implications of media use with respect to gender and race-related disparities in meaningful contexts (e.g., STEM fields).
Expertise
- Media Psychology