Issue Fatigue

Responsible: Christina Schumann

Project duration: 2016 - until now

Many countries are currently facing political problems that will remain on the political agenda for a long time. Climate change, the war in Ukraine, the coronavirus, migration or right-wing populism are just a few examples. News media report intensively on these topics. Studies from the field of agenda setting generally point to the positive effects of such intensive reporting. Citizens rate such topics as important or process the information provided more intensively.

However, as found in a pilot study by the EMPK department, prolonged and intensive reporting can also have negative effects: Citizens feel annoyed when confronted with such topics in the news indicate that they no longer want to hear or see any more information on the topic in question. We call this phenomenon issue fatigue.

What is issue fatigue?

Definition, causes, consequences, progression and international significance

Scientists still do not know much about the phenomenon of "issue fatigue", which is why the aim of the EMPK research group is to investigate the phenomenon in more detail. In particular, we are working on a theoretically derived definition and empirically analyzing the causes, consequences and developments of issue fatigue.

In summary, the present results show that issue fatigue...

  • is made up of emotional and cognitive components, in particular a feeling of being annoyed, information overload and a reduced motivation to process further information.

  • is a widespread phenomenon and occurs in relation to various topics such as coronavirus, the refugee crisis, climate change and the energy transition.

  • is caused by a negative perception of news coverage as too detailed, untrustworthy, unreliable and overshadowing other important topics (issue victimization),

  • leads to people avoiding news and conversations about the topic in question and deleting social media accounts that disseminate information on the topic from their timelines

  • leads to issue-related dissatisfaction among citizens with the performance of politicians and political processes (= policy malaise).

  • is widespread internationally, as international comparative studies in the field show. For example, studies were conducted with colleagues from Indonesia and Pakistan

Digitization in education

Responsible for the project: Priscila Berger and Jens Wolling

Project duration: 2014 - 2024

ICTs (information and communication technologies) have permeated schools and universities since the Grünwald Declaration of 1983 pointed out the gap between the use of media in educational programs and young people's actual media experiences. This research area examines the role that digital media plays in education. The focus is on the effects on teaching practice.

Several projects were carried out in this research area:

 
  • Digitalization at Thuringian schools:The project, funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, accompanyed 20 pilot schools in Thuringia in their digitalization from September 2020 to March 2024. The schools selected in 2019 received financial support to expand their digital infrastructure and integrate digital media. The project evaluates these efforts, develops empirical analysis tools and documents the results in research reports.
  • Media education in Thuringian schools: This project, funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, examined the development of media education in secondary schools in Thuringia. Interviews, surveys and case studies showed that although most teachers recognize the importance of media education, the way in which they teach it in their lessons varies greatly. This variance can be explained primarily by how the teachers assess their own media skills, how often they use ICTs themselves, what media-related training they have and the respective school subject and type of school.
  • Teachers as media educators: International perspectives:The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) tests the computer and information literacy of eighth graders and collects data on students, schools and teachers in several countries. Based on the data from the 2013 study, a multi-level analysis revealed that students who have little access to ICT at home and students in countries with a lower ICT development index are more dependent on teachers to develop computer and information literacy.
  • Attitudes of university teachers towards students' media use: In this study, university teachers from 11 countries were surveyed about their attitudes towards students' use of media in the classroom. Four patterns of attitudes emerged: critical-oppressor, aware-active, aware-passive, and enthusiast-welcoming.

Communication as a reference to the world

Responsible: Christoph Kuhlmann

Project duration:2000 - until today

 

The theory of communication as a reference to the world was developed by Christoph Kuhlmann. The theory offers an integrative perspective for analyzing media content on the one hand and reception and impact phenomena on the other. In essence, it deals with the question of which connections can be found between the world reference structure in the media (references to emotions, cognitions, actions, communications, etc.) and the analog references of the recipients. The theory can be applied to many topics. However, the focus of the research was on communication on environmental and sustainability issues. Both the traditional mass media and social networks are of interest here. The research area also includes the development of new methodological instruments for content analysis and survey research.

Specific projects are implemented as part of research seminars and final theses.