University of Haifa
Jonathan Cohen (Ph.D., University of Southern California, 1995) has been teaching at the Department of Communication at Haifa University since 1995. He teaches courses on the psychology of entertainment, graduate courses in research methods and on media effects theories, and a doctoral workshop. His research focuses on narrative persuasion, the relationships people develop with mediated characters, and perceptions of media influence and hostile media. His work has been funded by various foundations including the Israel Science Foundation and the Second Authority for Radio and Television. He served as an associate editor of Communication Theory and is currently the chair of the Mass Communication Division, and a board member of, the International Communication Association. His publications have appeared in many journals among them in: Journal of Communication, Communication Research, Media Psychology, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Communication Theory, and Critical Studies in Media Communication. He was a member of the council of the Israeli Second Authority for Television and Radio.
Cohen, J. (2001). Defining identification: A theoretical look at the identification of audiences with media characters. Mass Communication and Society, 4(3), 245-264.
Tal-Or, N. & Cohen, J. (2010). Understanding Audience Involvement: Conceptualizing and Manipulating Identification and Transportation. Poetics, 38, 402-418.
Slater, M. D., Johnson, B. K., Cohen, J., Comello, M. L. G. and Ewoldsen, D. R. (2014), Temporarily Expanding the Boundaries of the Self: Motivations for Entering the Story World and Implications for Narrative Effects. Journal of Communication, 64: 439–455.
Tal-Or, N., & Cohen, J. (2016). Unpacking Engagement: Convergence and Divergence in Transportation and Identification. Annals of the International Communication Association, 40(1), 33-66.
Cohen, J., Weimann-Saks, D., & Mazor-Tregerman, M. (2018). Does character similarity increase identification and persuasion? Media Psychology, 21(3), 506-528.