Media Acumen Theory

A Developmental Framework for Information Credibility Assessment
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-37811-2
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 114 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 225 g

Reihe: Routledge Research in Media Literacy and Education

This book proposes a theory of Media Acumen, a developmental framework that bridges theories about how adults navigate information credibility in contemporary media environments.

Integrating established research traditions with cognitive science research on implicit associations, pattern recognition, and misconception persistence, this book explores alternatives to existing media literacy approaches. The author proposes testable predictions for empirical research, provides operationalizable constructs for behavioral assessment, and suggests design principles for informal learning interventions that work with how human cognition actually functions. Examining contemporary crises, this book demonstrates how vulnerable adults become when pattern recognition systems calibrated for 20th-century media encounter today's sophisticated manipulation tactics and misinformation.

By bringing together theory with practical intervention strategies, this book offers researchers, educators, policymakers, and media professionals a roadmap for building information literacy at population scale in the age of AI and synthetic media. It will interest academic researchers and graduate students in fields grappling with information credibility challenges, most notably media literacy, education, communication studies, and developmental and cognitive psychology.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leahy, Kelly

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Teildisziplinen der Pädagogik Erwachsenenbildung, lebenslanges Lernen
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Mediensoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: How Can We Trust in an Infodemic? Part 1: Theoretical Framework 2. Developmental Framing; 3. Human Cognition and Misinformation; 4. Media Acumen Theory Part 2: Media Acumen: Audience, Interventions, Research 5. 21st Century Media and Media Literacy; 6. Adult Learners: A Vulnerable Population; 7. Informal Learning Contexts; 8. Building Information Age Literacy; Index

Über Autor(innen)

Kelly Leahy is an assistant professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, Syracuse University, USA.