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Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D.

Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Chair - Department of Public Relations

Office: 2085 Weimer

Phone: 352-273-1220

Email: myiahhutchens@ufl.edu

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Myiah Hutchens, Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Chair - Department of Public Relations

Dr. Myiah Hutchens is a political communication scholar whose research examines how communication functions in democratic processes – that is, to help or hinder political processes. In particular, she studies what leads people to seek out diverse perspectives – particularly views they disagree with and how individuals then process that disagreement.

Hutchens' work can be found in several high-impact journals, and has been cited over 2500 times. She currently serves on the editorial board for Communication Research and Communication Methods and Measures.

Prior to joining the University of Florida, she was a faculty member at Washington State University, University of Arizona, and Texas Tech University.

Areas of Expertise

Disinformation / Misinformation, Media Psychology and Media Effects, Political Communication, Trust

Education

Ph.D., Ohio State University, 2010
M.A., Washington State University, 2006
B.A., Washington State University, 2004.

News

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

Hmielowski, J., DuBosar, E., Beam, M. A., & Hutchens, M. (2025). Effects or use?: Examining the over-time effects of media use and racial resentment. Communication Quarterly. DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2024.2383413

DuBosar, E., Shaughnessy, B., & Hutchens, M. (2025). Seeing red (and blue): Partisan identity, emotion, and selective exposure. Media Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2024.2347237

Hmielowski, J., Gibbons, S., Beam, M. A., & Hutchens, M. (2025). To seek or not to seek?: An assessment of partisan media avoidance and its correlates. Communication Studies. DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2024.2412868.

Hutchens, M., Shaughnessy, B., & DuBosar, E. (2025). Populist hyper-partisans? The interaction between partisan media exposure and populism in the 2020 US Presidential election. Mass Communication and Society. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2023.2264265

DuBosar, E., & Hutchens, M. (2024). Looking beyond the punchline: The effect of political entertainment on evaluations of political candidates. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 32(4), 512-525. DOI: 10.1080/15456870.2023.2207700

Romanova, E., & Hutchens, M. (2024). Does anxiety make us “informed” citizens? The mediating effect of information-seeking and internal political efficacy on forming political attitudes. Political Studies Review. DOI: 10.1177/14789299231179090

DuBosar, E., Hmielowski, J., Hutchens, M., & Beam, M. A. (2024). Celebrating wins, lamenting losses in the aftermath of presidential elections: Examining BIRGing, CORFing, information utility, and identity repair. Journal of Media Psychology.

Shaughnessy, B., Hutchens, M., & DuBosar, E. (2024). That is so mainstream: Understanding US alternative media audiences and their relationship with misperceptions. International Journal of Communication, 18, 1561-1581. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/21055

Hutchens, M., Romanova, E., & Shaughnessy, B. (2023). The good, the bad, and the evil media: Influence of online comments on media trust. Journalism Studies, 24(11), 1440-1457. DOI: 10.1080/1461670X.2023.2216811

Lee, D., Hutchens, M., George, T. J., Wilson-Howard, D., Cooks, E. J., & Krieger, J. (2022). Do they speak like me? Exploring how perceptions of linguistic difference may influence patient perceptions of healthcare providers. Medical Education Online, 27(1), 1-7. DOI: 10.1080/10872981.2022.2107470

Hmielowski, J., Staggs, S., Hutchens, M., & Beam, M. (2022). Talking politics: The relationship between supportive and opposing discussion with partisan media credibility and use. Communication Research, 49(2), 221-244. DOI: 10.1177/0093650220915041

Lee, D., Hutchens, M., & Krieger, J. (2022). Resolving the do/do not debate: Communication perspective to enhance sustainable lifestyles. Sustainability, 14(2), 796. DOI: 10.3390/su14020796

Hutchens, M., Hmielowski, J., Beam, M., & Romanova, E. (2021). Trust over use: Examining the roles of media use and media trust on misperceptions in the 2016 US Presidential election. Mass Communication & Society, 24(5), 701-724. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2021.1904262

Hmielowski, J., Hutchens, M., & Beam, M. (2020). Asymmetry of partisan media effects? Examining the reinforcing process of conservative and liberal media with political attitudes. Political Communication, 37(2), 852-868. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2020.1763525

Hmielowski, J., Kelvin, B., Hutchens, M., Silva, D., Beam, M., Donaway, R., & York, C. (2020). Communication behaviors during the Presidential elections: An examination of time, events and Battleground states. Public Opinion Quarterly, 84(S1), 309-331. DOI: 10.1093/poq/nfaa013

Eveland, W. P., Song, H., Hutchens, M. J., & Levitan, L. C. (2019). Not being accurate is not quite the same as being inaccurate: Variations in reported (in)accuracy of perceptions of political views of network members due to uncertainty. Communication Methods and Measures, 13(4), 305-311. DOI: 10.1080/19312458.2019.1612865

Hutchens, M. J., Hmielowski, J., & Beam, M. A. (2019). Reinforcing spirals of political discussion and attitude polarization. Communication Monographs, 86(3), 357-376. DOI: 10.1080/03637751.2019.1575255

Hutchens, M. J., Hmielowski, J., Silva, D. E., & Cicchirillio, V. J. (2019). What’s in a username?: Civility, group identification and norms. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 16(3), 203-218. DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2019.1633983

Relly, J. E., & Hutchens, M. J. (2019). The influence of “dark networks” on citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions in Mexico. The Social Science Journal, 55(4), 555-564. DOI: 10.1016/j.soscij.2018.10.005

Silva, D. E., Hutchens, M. J., Donaway, R. R., & Beam, M. A. (2018). 300 Million Clicks and Political Engagement via Facebook in the 2016 American Presidential Election: How Online Activity Changes Across Time and Sources. Mass Communication and Society, 21(6), 742-762. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2018.1497660

Beam, M. A., Child, J. T., Hutchens, M. J., & Hmielowski, J. (2018). Context collapse and privacy management: Diversity in Facebook friends increases online news reading and sharing. new media & society, 20(7), 2296-2314. DOI: 10.1177/1461444817714790

Beam, M. A., Hmielowski, J., & Hutchens, M. J. (2018). Democratic Digital Inequalities: Threat and Opportunity in Online Citizenship From Motivation and Ability. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(8), 1079-1096. DOI: 10.1177/0002764218764253

Hmielowski, J., Kim, S., Hutchens, M. J., & Beam, M. A. (2018). Engaged or Disengaged? Examining the Relationship Between Electoral Ambivalence and Indicators of Political Engagement in the 2012 US Election. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 26(1), 32-45. DOI: 10.1080/15456870.2018.1398164

Hutchens, M. J., Eveland, W. P., Morey, A. C., & Sokhey, A. E. (2018). Evaluating Summary Measures of Heterogeneous Political Discussion: The Critical Roles of Excluded Cases and Discussion with People Holding Extreme Views. Communication Methods and Measures, 12(4), 276-294. DOI: 10.1080/19312458.2018.1479844

Beam, M. A., Hutchens, M. J., & Hmielowski, J. (2018). Facebook news and (de) polarization: reinforcing spirals in the 2016 US election. Information, Communication & Society, 21(7), 940-958. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2018.144478

Hutchens, M. J. (2018). Learning to Straddle the Fence. Political Communication, 1-3. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2018.1477505

Yamamoto, M., Hmielowski, J., Beam, M. A., & Hutchens, M. J. (2018). Skepticism as a political orientation factor: A moderated mediation model of online opinion expression. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 15(2), 178-192. DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2018.1460287

Hmielowski, J., Beam, M. A., & Hutchens, M. J. (2017). Bridging the partisan divide? Exploring ambivalence and information seeking over time in the 2012 US presidential election. Mass Communication and Society, 20(3), 336-357. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2017.1278775

Wang, M. Y., Hmielowski, J., Hutchens, M. J., & Beam, M. A. (2017). Extending the spiral of silence: partisan media, perceived support, and sharing opinions online. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 14(3), 248-262. DOI: 10.1080/19331681.2017.1338980

PytlikZillig, L. M., Hutchens, M. J., Muhlberger, P., & Tomkins, A. J. (2017). Prompting deliberation about nanotechnology: Information, instruction, and discussion effects on individual engagement and knowledge. Journal of Public Deliberation, 13(2), 2. Retrieved from https://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol13/iss2/art2/

Hutchens, M. J., Hmielowski, J., Pinkleton, B. E., & Beam, M. A. (2016). A spiral of skepticism? The relationship between citizens’ involvement with campaign information to their skepticism and political knowledge. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 93(4), 1073-1090. DOI: 10.1177/1077699016654439

Beam, M. A., Hutchens, M. J., & Hmielowski, J. (2016). Clicking vs. sharing: The relationship between online news behaviors and political knowledge. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 215-220. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.02.013

Hmielowski, J., Beam, M. A., & Hutchens, M. J. (2016). Structural changes in media and attitude polarization: Examining the contributions of TV news before and after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 28(2), 153-172. DOI: 10.1093/ijpor/edv012

Hutchens, M. J., Cicchirillo, V. J., & Hmielowski, J. (2015). How could you think that?!?!: Understanding intentions to engage in political flaming. New media & society, 17(8), 1201-1219. DOI: 10.1177/1461444814522947

Hutchens, M. J., Hmielowski, J., & Beam, M. A. (2015). Rush, Rachel, and Rx: Modeling partisan media's influence on structural knowledge of healthcare policy. Mass Communication and Society, 18(2), 123-143. DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2014.902968

Cicchirillo, V., Hmielowski, J., & Hutchens, M. J. (2015). The mainstreaming of verbally aggressive online political behaviors. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking, 18(5), 253-259. DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2014.0355

Hmielowski, J., Hutchens, M. J., & Cicchirillo, V. J. (2014). Living in an age of online incivility: Examining the conditional indirect effects of online discussion on political flaming. Information, Communication & Society, 17(10), 1196-1211. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2014.899609

Eveland, Jr, W. P., Hutchens, M. J., & Morey, A. C. (2013). Political network size: Micro and Macro implications. Political Communication, 30, 371-394. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2012.737433

Eveland, Jr, W. P., & Hutchens, M. J. (2013). The role of conversation in developing accurate political perceptions: A multilevel social network approach. Human Communication Research, 39(4), 422-444. DOI: 10.1111/hcre.12011

PytlikZillig, L. M., Hutchens, M. J., Muhlberger, P., Wang, S., Harris, R., Neiman, J. L., & Tomkins, A. J. (2013). The varieties of individual engagement (vie) scales: Confirmatory factor analyses across two samples and contexts. Journal of Public Deliberation, 9(2), 8. Retrieved from http://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol9/iss2/art8/

Morey, A. C., Eveland, Jr, W. P., & Hutchens, M. J. (2012). The “who” matters: Types of interpersonal relationships and avoidance of political disagreement. Political Communication, 29(1), 86-103. DOI: 10.1080/10584609.2011.641070

Eveland, Jr, W. P., Morey, A. C., & Hutchens, M. J. (2011). Beyond deliberation: New directions for the study of informal political conversation from a communication perspective. Journal of Communication, 61(6), 1082-1103. DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01598.x

Hutchens, M. J., & Eveland, Jr, W. P. (2009). Contextual antecedents and political consequences of adolescent political discussion, discussion elaboration, and network diversity. Political Communication, 26(1), 30-47. DOI: 10.1080/10584600802622837

Eveland, Jr, W. P., Hutchens, M. J., & Shen, F. (2009). Exposure, attention, or “use” of news? Assessing aspects of the reliability and validity of a central concept in political communication research. Communication Methods and Measures, 3(4), 223-244. DOI: 10.1080/19312450903378925

Eveland, Jr, W. P., & Hutchens, M. J. (2009). Political discussion frequency, network size, and “heterogeneity” of discussion as predictors of political knowledge and participation. Journal of Communication, 59(2), 205-224. DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01412.x

Hutchens, M. J., & Eveland, Jr, W. P. (2009). The Long-Term Impact of High School Civics Curricula on Political Knowledge, Democratic Attitudes and Civic Behaviors: A Multi-Level Model of Direct and Mediated Effects through Communication. CIRCLE Working Paper\# 65. Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Retrieved from http://www.civicyouth.org/PopUps/WorkingPapers/WP_65_Eveland.pdf

Books

PytlikZillig, L. M., Hutchens, M., Muhlberger, P., Gonzalez, F. J., & Tomkins, A. J. (2018). Deliberative Public Engagement with Science: An Empirical Investigation. Springer.

Book Chapters

Hutchens, M. (2019). Political discussion online: Intersections between interpersonal communication and technology. In Reflections on interpersonal communication research (pp. 189-207). Cognella.

Hmielowski, J., Hutchens, M., Haridakis, P. M., & Beam, M. A. (2017). Social media, news platforms, and partisan exposure: Voters’ media preferences during the 2016 presidential campaign season. In The Presidency and Social Media (pp. 71-89). Routledge.

Hutchens, M. (2016). How We Talk and Why It Matters. In Strategic Communication (pp. 96-114). Routledge.

Eveland, Jr, W. P., Hutchens, M., & Morey, A. (2012). Social networks and political knowledge. In The SAGE handbook of political communication (pp. 241-252). Sage London, England.

Courses

Syllabi from the current and three previous semesters: