University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Erica Scharrer

Professor, Communication
Family Research Scholar, 2003-04

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Research: 

Erica Scharrer studies media effects on aggression and socialization, particularly the impact of television and videogames on gender role socialization, and the influence of media violence and hyper-masculinity on antisocial behavior. She has also examined the portrayal of fathers on TV.

She has coauthored two books, Television: What's on, who's watching, and what it means, which was nominated for the International Communication Association Book Award, and Pointing the finger of blame: News media coverage of popular culture culpability. Her current work investigates how media violence influences children's opinions, decisions, and use of media throughout their adolescent years. She consults regularly to parent organizations and schools regarding the use of media with children and adolescents, and designs school and family intervention programs for use with adolescents. Dr. Scharrer was a Lilly Teaching Fellow, a Teagle Fellow (for community-service learning activities), and a recipient of the College's Outstanding Teaching Award. She has received two Faculty Research Grants, as well as numerous grants for her service learning activities.

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