Centers and Labs
The collaborative labs and learning spaces in our college allow us to produce groundbreaking research, help our community and teach the next generation of communicators. Innovative journalism and multimedia experiences are at the heart of what we do.
Centers and Labs
Labs and centers focused on journalism, social media, game development and design, augmented and virtual reality and communicative sciences.
Social science and technology researchers focus on the intersection behaviors, information and technology.
Learn more about the Behavior Information and Technology Lab (BIT)
The Center for Avatar Research and Immersive Social Media Applications is focused on the interdisciplinary study of the effect of virtual reality experiences on human interaction.
Communicative Sciences and Disorders research facilities are located in the ComArtSci and the Oyer Speech & Hearing buildings on the Michigan State University campus. There are eight research laboratories, as well as shared research spaces for faculty and student use. These communication labs have several sound-treated booths, an anechoic chamber, as well as a highly reverberant room. All laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art hardware and software to enable researchers in conducting the highest quality research. The department also provides several opportunities, space and resources for students (undergraduate and graduate) to participate in research.
Games for Entertainment and Learning Lab designs innovative prototypes, techniques and complete games for entertainment and learning.
Health and Risk Communication Center is engaged in communication-based education, outreach and research related to risk reduction and health promotion.
The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism teaches student and professional journalists how to better report on the issues affecting the environment.
Media and Advertising Psychology Lab is focused on the study of media and advertising using biopsychological approaches, methods and theories.
As the only public broadcaster granted an experimental ATSC 3.0 license by the FCC, researchers at MSU are exploring the future of TV. Teams at ComArtSci and WKAR and working together to study outcomes related to education and public media content.
The Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law is focused on stimulating and informing debate on media, communication and information policy for our digital age.
The Theoretical and Applied Research on Media Affect and Cognition (TARMAC) lab is a state of the art media psychology lab featuring four separate areas including: a welcome room, a room with 12 computers for web-based and reaction-time studies, a “living-room” area for television and video game research, and a virtual reality and gaming area with four computers equipped with eye-tracking and Oculus Rift headgear
Current studies include research on virtual reality and entertainment, games and violence, the social appeal of movies, and the role of motivation in media appeal.
In the CASE laboratory, our faculty are fundamentally interested in the role of emotion on the processes underlying effects of human communication. Our faculty study risk perception, health communication, and mass communication effects—but, we all share a common fascination with emotion as a mechanism explaining impacts of communication.
We investigate how the human brain processes socially communicated information. The lab is especially interested in how information conveyed through social media motivates us and influences our decisions—humans are particularly drawn to positive, rewarding social information, such as “likes” on social media. Social media platforms are a relatively new phenomenon, but they tap into social cognitive processes that have been hardwired into our brains over years of evolution. The lab’s research program focuses on the brain and behavior of both adults and adolescents to elucidate these processes. To answer our research questions, we conduct behavioral experiments both in the lab and online. We also conduct neuroimaging experiments to examine brain activation and structures related to social information processing. Ultimately, with the knowledge gained by our research, the lab hopes to contribute to a better understanding of socially motivated human behavior.
Featured Research
Social Circles Protect against Depression in Elderly Adults, Research Finds
A new study published in Psychology and Aging shows that robust social networks can protect against depression in older adults, with MSU researchers taking a look at the layers that exist in older adults’ social circles.
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Spartan Newsroom and Immersive Media Center
Offering the latest in motion capture and learning technologies for classroom collaboration, production and immersion, the college's new Spartan Newsroom and Immersive Media Studio invite students to collaborate, gain real-life experiences and build professional skills.
The innovative, cross-functional spaces equip students for 21st century jobs by engaging them in the development and delivery of news, animation, game design and immersive interactive media content involving motion capture, augmented and virtual realities.