Rebecca Frazer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Department of Public Relations
Office: 2066B Weimer
Phone: 352-294-6380
Email: r.frazer@ufl.edu
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Rebecca Frazer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Department of Public Relations
Rebecca Frazer (Ph.D., MPA, The Ohio State University) is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Relations. She is a media psychology researcher, focusing on how people process and respond to story-form (narrative) media. Her work has examined psychological processing of narratives in a variety of contexts, including entertainment television, online news, terrorist propaganda, and social media testimonials. She is particularly interested in people’s experiences of enjoyment, appreciation, social learning, persuasion, and coercion as they relate to narrative exposure.
Frazer primarily conducts experimental research, and much of her work incorporates principles of moral psychology as a lens for understanding human responses to narrative. Frazer has published work in top communication, psychology, and marketing journals, including Journal of Communication, Media Psychology, New Media & Society, Mass Communication & Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, and Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.
Frazer is an award-winning instructor and has taught courses in strategic communication, persuasion, research methods, media and terrorism, and global social change communication. She also has professional experience in public relations and communications consulting, with a focus on non-profit and government communication.
Areas of Expertise
Media Psychology, Narrative Media, Persuasion, Moral Psychology, Media and Extremism, Humanization/Dehumanization in Media, Media and Public Policy Attitudes
Education
Ph.D., Communication, The Ohio State University
Master of Public Administration, The Ohio State University
B.A., Communication (Public Relations); Political Science (International Affairs), Asbury University
News
- A new study explores the effectiveness of non-state actors in digital diplomacy (August 25, 2026)
- Rebecca Frazer to receive $10,000 AEJMC Mass Communication and Society Division 2026 Faculty Research Award (June 5, 2026)
- UFCJC faculty, graduate students and alumni represented at 2025 National Communication Association Convention (November 21, 2025)
- The Science Behind Storytelling: Why We Root for Underdogs and Resent Lucky Breaks (December 10, 2024)
- Study Examines the Role of Behavior-Independent Events on Character Likability (October 7, 2024)
- All News About Rebecca Frazer →
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Grizzard, M., Frazer, R., & Monge, C. (2025). Demystifying Schadenfreude: How disposition theorizing explains responses to social media stories of unvaccinated COVID-19 deaths. New Media & Society, 27(2), 702 - 725. DOI: 10.1177/14614448231184868
Brown, L., Grizzard, M., Francemone, C. J., Frazer, R., Dooley, A., Monge, C., & Flanagan, S. (). More or less likeable: The role of behavior-independent events in the disposition formation process. Media Psychology, Advance online publication.
Frazer, R., & Grizzard, M. (2024). Reconceptualizing selective moral disengagement mechanisms as continuums of moral influence: A theoretical expansion. Communication Theory, 34(2), 92–105. DOI: 10.1093/ct/qtae007
Fitzgerald, K., Francemone, C., Green, M., Grizzard, M., & Frazer, R. (2023). The Emotional Flow Scale: Validating a measure of dynamic emotional experiences in message reception. Media Psychology, 26(6), 790-811. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2023.2215447
Grizzard, M., Francemone, C. J., Frazer, R., Fitzgerald, K., Monge, C., & Henry, C. (2023). A comprehensive experimental test of the affective disposition theory of drama. Journal of Communication, 73(4), 289–303. DOI: 10.1093/joc/jqac053
Frazer, R., Grizzard, M., Francemone, C. J., Fitzgerald, K., & Henry, C. (2023). Character individuation and disposition formation: An experimental exploration. Media Psychology, 26(2), 172-200 . DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.211389
Frazer, R., & Moyer-Guse, E. (2023). Engaging the dark side: Exploring identification with morally complex antagonists. Mass Communication and Society, 26(2), 177-200 . DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2021.1968436
Frazer, R. (2023). Marketing against extremism: Identifying and responding to moral disengagement cues in Islamic State terrorist propaganda. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 42(1), 36-55. DOI: 10.1177/07439156221096394
Frazer, R. (2022). Experimental operationalizations of anthropomorphism in HCI contexts: A scoping review. Communication Reports, 35(3), 173-189. DOI: 10.1080/08934215.2022.2108472
Frazer, R., Moyer-Guse, E., & Grizzard, M. (2022). Moral disengagement cues and consequences for victims in entertainment narratives: An experimental investigation. Media Psychology, 25(4), 619-637. DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2034020
Knobloch-Westerwick, S., Robinson, M., Frazer, R., & Schutz, E. (2021). “Affective news” and attitudes: A multi-topic experiment of attitude impacts from political news and fiction. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(4), 1078-1103. DOI: 10.1177/1077699020932883
Frazer, R., Robinson, M., & Knobloch-Westerwick, S. (2021). Narratives’ impacts on attitudes: Do signaling of persuasive intent and fictionality matter?. Communication Studies, 72(3), 347-365. DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2021.1876127