Karin Fikkers is assistant professor in the Language & Communication group of the department Languages, Literature & Communication and the Institute for Language Sciences. She teaches in the bachelor Communication and Information Sciences and is also the chair of the curriculum committee of this programme.
Research-wise, she studies the effects (interactive) stories can have on the feelings, thoughts and behavior of people. In her dissertation research, Karin studied which teens are more (or less) susceptible to the negative effects of violent media entertainment on aggressive behavior. In 2016, Karin defended her dissertation with honors ('cum laude') at the University of Amsterdam. For her dissertation, she received the Kyoon Hur dissertation award of the Mass Communication divisie of the International Communication Association. Together with various colleagues, Karin has also won multiple prizes for her papers.
Current projects I'm involved in:
- With the help of a seed fund from Pathways of Sustainability, together with an interdisciplinary team I'm studying how an interactive documentary can contribute to more sustainable outcomes. We will study this through interviews, and this project will be completed with a transdisciplinary symposium.
- Together with Tina Venema and Laura Weiss, I'm researching the effects of hopeful versus fearful climate communication on happiness and sustainable outcomes.
My most recent completed projects:
- Does the interactive documentary Grandfather's Century lead to more positieve attitudes about sustainable behavior compared to a non-interactive version?
Together with Renske van Enschot, Judith Prins, and Christian Roth. Read the article here. - Can an escape room contribute to more knowledge and favorable attitudes towards Open Science?
Together with Anita Eerland and Alexander Gierholz, I developed the online escape room Last Contact. Read more about the project - or play the escape room yourself!
For more information about my research interests, see my personal website.
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