Media Effects Lab Facility | LSU Manship School of Mass Communication

Media Effects Lab Facility

 

 

 

The Media Effects Lab (MEL) leverages some of the latest in research technology to conduct studies geared towards understanding the cognitive and emotional effects of mediated messages and formats on individuals.

Professor talking with research participant

The Computer Lab Area

The computer lab area is equipped with:

  • Multiple computer stations featuring software (MediaLab, DirectRT) for computerized multimedia experiments and tools for cognitive perception tasks
  • Tobii eye tracking and mobile eye tracking stations to gauge attention to and engagement with digital and web-based content
  • iMotions suite to create synchronized studies integrating eye tracking, heart rate, facial expression analysis and other biometric measures into one platform

 

MEL Living Room

The Living Room Area

The Living Room area is designed to mimic a real-world media-viewing experience. The featured amenities include

  • Gaming systems (Wii, Xbox360, etc.)
  • 52” high definition flat panel TV and DVD player
  • Home theater speaker system
  • Observation cameras for recording of viewer behavior

Professor preparing student for experience

The Observation/Office Area

The Observation/Office area consists of four additional computer stations. Researchers use this space as a base of operations, creating study materials, monitoring study sessions or analyzing collected data. The biometric/physiological capabilities include:

  • Heart rate as indicator of emotional and cognitive responses
  • Skin conductance (SC) measuring intensity of responses to media messages
  • Electromyogram (EMG) measuring facial muscle contraction as indicator of emotional response
  • Eye tracking to indicate attention and level of media engagement
  • Facial expression analysis
  • Perception analyzers/dial testers to gauge moment-to-moment responses to messages

 

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