Assistant Professor
Contact Information
School of Communication
The Ohio State University
3045E Derby Hall
154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210
Tel: (614) 247-7072
Fax: (805) 292-2055
mahood.7@osu.edu

Qualifications
B.A., The Pennsylvania State University
M.A., The Pennsylvania State Univeristy
Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara

Profile
My primary goal in teaching any media course is to provide students with a clear understanding of both the theoretical mechanisms underlying how individuals process what they see in the media as well as the practical importance of these media effects in our everyday lives.  Why do both?  I feel that a strong emphasis on communication theory is necessary for students to understand how they can elaborate on what they have learned in class, go beyond the obvious applications of communication concepts, and apply them to new and potentially unrelated areas.  On the other hand, communication theories can sometimes be presented in an overly abstract way causing some students to fail to see how these theories can be practically applied to the real world and their everyday lives.  A focus on theoretical mechanisms fosters critical thinking, but a focus on how theory applies to the real world fosters an appreciation for communication as an important field of study.  After all, who cares about a media theory if it can’t explain how people might react to a news story they saw on CNN yesterday?  Or how playing too many violent video games like Gears of War or Doom 3 might lead to some negative effects?  Not me.

As for my academic research, my primary focus deals with the effects of violence in video games.  A growing literature in this area has demonstrated a link between violent video game play and aggression.  My work has focused on going beyond this general link in three ways: examining specific genres of violence (such as violence against police officers), examining increasingly realistic depictions of sex in video games, and exploring the mediating effects of how players play the game (such as the differing levels of frustration and provocation that players receive during the game play experience).  In general, I believe that the context of game play is just as important as the content itself.

I’m pretty new here at Ohio State, and it has been quite an adjustment from my most recent home: sunny Santa Barbara, CA.  Then again, I grew up in small town in Pennsylvania so I suppose I can get to use to the weather around here.  Plus sometimes the cold, cloudy weather gives me an excuse to stay inside and catch up on my Netflix movies or enjoy a long video game session.  That’s right, although my research does point out some of the negative effects of video game play, video games can sometimes be a very pleasant diversion.  My favorite game by far is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Now there’s a fun game.