Field of Teaching

Communication Science and Media Psychologie

Projects

Ongoing projects

• Digital Wellbeing: The project aims to promote the digital wellbeing of teachers at universities and supports them in developing healthy habits in dealing with digital technologies. Based on a study analysing teachers' problems and ways of dealing with digital technologies, a workbook for peer mentors and a booklet and online course for teachers will be developed to promote their own and students' digital wellbeing with the help of meaningful and stable working methods.
  Duration: 02/2022-04/2024. Funding: EU. Cooperation partners: Transilvania University Brasov (Romania), VID University (Norway), Diak University (Finland).
  
  
• ReSy - Reducing Stigmata by Virtual Reality: The aim is to analyse the potential of VR and AR technologies for reducing stigmata in mental illness. Among other things, this involves the possibilities of simulating specific symptoms and thus the possibilities of directly experiencing symptoms and their effects in the social environment. In a multi-experimental approach, variables of the VR environment are experimentally manipulated and effects on explicit and implicit attitudes and on behaviour are analysed.
  Duration: 07/21-07/2024. Funding: own funds - HTA.
  
  
• ProPere - Subproject Academic Personnel Development: Aim of the subproject: Establishment of academic personnel development structures, through

           -  Professional onboarding measures for newly appointed professors

           -  Measures to retain professors at the THWS

            - Promotion of a culture of exchange and networking

        Duration: 06/2021-05/2027 Funding: BMBF.

Completed projects (selection)

• VARyFAST Virtual and Augmented Reality in the FAST network - in cooperation with the Technical University of Applied Sciences Aschaffenburg and the University of Würzburg (Digital Campus Bavaria)
• Loneliness - an analysis for conceptual clarification and evidence-based conceptualisation (Bay. StMAS)

Publikationen (Auswahl)

Neuderth, S., Lukasczik, M., Thierolf, A., Wolf, H., van Oorschot, B., König, S., Unz, D. & Henking, T. (2019). Use of standardized client simulations in an interprofessional teaching concept for social work and medical students: first results of a pilot study. Social Work Education, 38 (1), 75-88. DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2018.1524455

Menne, I. M., Lange, B. P. & Unz, D. C. (2018). My Humorous Robot: Effects of a Robot Telling Jokes on Perceived Intelligence and Liking. Proceedings HRI '18 Companion of the 2018 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction,  193-194; doi.org/10.1145/3173386.3177015

Suckfüll, M. & Unz, D. C. (2016). Understanding Film Art: Moments of Impact and Patterns of Emotional Reactions. In M. S. Magnusson, J.K. Burgoon & M. Casarrubea (eds.). Discovering Hidden Temporal Patterns in Behavior and Interaction – T-Pattern Detection and Analysis with THEME (pp. 165-181). New York: Springer.

Unz, D. C. & Schwab, F. (2016). Mediengeschichten als moralisch-emotionale Planspiele. In C. Hennighausen, B. Lange & F. Schwab (eds.) Evolution des Sozialen (S.41-51). Lengerich: Pabst.

Unz, D. C. & Taube, V. (2016). Implementierung von evidenzbasierten Programmen in der Sozialen Arbeit: Forschungsergebnisse, Herausforderungen und Desiderata. In S. Borrmann & B. Thiessen (Hrsg.), Wirkungen Sozialer Arbeit, Potentiale und Grenzen der Evidenbasierung für Profession und Disziplin (S. 125-142). Opladen: Barbara Budrich.

Unz, D. C. (2016). Beiträge zu Framing, Cultivation of mental skills, Konstruktivistische Lernumgebungen, Displacement, Agenda Setting, Kultivierung, Two-Step-Flow-Modell. In N. Krämer, S. Schwan, D. Unz & M. Suckfüll (Hrsg.), Medienpsychologie: Schlüsselbegriffe und Konzepte (2. vollständig aktualisierte und überarbeitete Auflage). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

Glock, S., Kovacs, C. & Unz, D. C. (2014). Implicit Attitudes toward Smoking: How the Smell of Cigarettes Influences College-Age Smokers and Non-Smokers. Journal of Health Psychology, 19 (5), 629-641

Unz, D. & Brill, M. (2014). Serious Games und Soziale Arbeit. In O. Bertsche & F. Como-Zipfel (Hrsg.). Digital-Interaktive Medien und Soziale Arbeit. Diskurse, Optionen, Risiken (S. 197-220). Hamburg: tredition.

Unz, D. C. (2014). Schemas. In W. Donsbach (ed.), The Concise International Encylopedia of Communication. Wiley.

Schwab, F. & Unz, D. (2013). Telling the Right Science Stories? Emotional and cognitive processes while watching entertaining scientific TV shows. In F. Schwab, A. Carolus, M. Brill, & C. Hennighausen (Eds.), Media Psychology: Media Research: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Proceedings of the 8th Conference of the Media Psychology Division of the German Psychological Society (p.22). Würzburg: Universität Würzburg. URN: nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97403. ISBN: 978-3-923959-93-8

Unz, D. C. (2013). Exposure to News. (Updated entry). In W. Donsbach (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford, UK and Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Unz, D. C. (2013). Mediennutzung. In M. Blanz, A. Florack, U. Piontkowski (Hrsg.). Kommunikation. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung (S. 159-167). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

Unz, D. & Blanz, M. (2013). Kommunikation und Massenkommunikation. In M. Blanz, A. Florack, U. Piontkowski (Hrsg.). Kommunikation. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung (S. 107-123). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

Unz, D. C., Glock, S. & Kovacs, C. (2013). “Bitte ein …!“Alkoholwerbung, Einstellungen und Alkoholkonsumverhalten. In M. Hastall & C. Rossmann (Hrsg), Medien und Gesundheitskommunikation: Befunde, Entwicklungen, Herausforderungen (S.81-96). Baden-Baden: Nomos.

Glock, S., Unz, D. C. & Kovacs, C. (2012). Beyond fear appeals: Contradicting positive smoking outcome expectancies to influence smokers’ implicit attitudes, perception, and behavior. Addictive Behaviors, 37 (4), 548-551.

Möller, B., Brezing, C. & Unz, D. C. (2012). The influence of Gestalt principles and visualization in website design on the degree of acceptance and recommendation. Behavior & Information Technology. DOI 10.1080/0144929X.2011.642893

Geißler, S., Hellwig, L., Herrmann, F., Bertram, J. & Unz, D. (2011). Changing mental illness stigma by media presentation. In O. Odag, M. Schreier & Y. Thies-Brandner (eds.). Media Psychology Focus Theme: Cognitive and Emotional Involvement during Media Reception. Proceedings of the 7th Conference of the Media Psychology Division of the German Psychological Society. 09.-12. August 2011, Bremen (p. 21). Lengerich: Papst.

Grunow, J., Schwab, F. & Unz, D. (2011). Why do they watch …? A uses and gratifications of scientific television programs among teenagers. In O. Odag, M. Schreier & Y. Thies-Brandner (eds.). Media Psychology Focus Theme: Cognitive and Emotional Involvement during Media Reception. Proceedings of the 7th Conference of the Media Psychology Division of the German Psychological Society. 09.-12. August 2011, Bremen (p.49). Lengerich: Papst.

Schlemmer, B., Weigl, M. & Unz, D. (2011). The story-setting-effect in the light of construal-level-theory. In O. Odag, M. Schreier & Y. Thies-Brandner (eds.). Media Psychology Focus Theme: Cognitive and Emotional Involvement during Media Reception. Proceedings of the 7th Conference of the Media Psychology Division of the German Psychological Society. 09.-12. August 2011, Bremen(p.  85), Lengerich: Papst.

Schwab, F., Grunow, J., Niemcyzk, J. & Unz, D. (2011). Zeitverschwendung? Oder machen uns die Medien mit der Zeit immer schlauer? In M. Suckfüll, H. Schramm & C. Wünsch (Hrsg.), Rezeption und Wirkung in zeitlicher Perspektive (S. 161-180). Nomos Verlag.

Biography in short

Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences since 2015; Professor at FHWS since 2013

Dagmar Unz earned a Psychology degree (Diplom) in 1992 in Saarbrücken, followed by a PhD in 2000 at the University of Tübingen. She worked at the German Institute for Research on Distance Learning (DIFF), the Saarland Research Institute for Media Psychology (MEFIS), and the Media and Organizational Psychology Department at the Saarland University. After her “habilitation” (postdoctoral research and lecture qualification) in 2009, she was an interim professor at the Social Psychology Department at Saarland University and at the Media and Social Psychology Department at the University of Cologne, followed by a visiting professorship at the University of the Arts Berlin.

field of teaching: communication studies and media psychology;

Research Focus: use of interactive technology and media in the areas of social work, empirical methods for the analysis of the usage patterns of digital media services, and emotional and cognitive processing, emotional and cognitive effects of the use of interactive technologies and media