Maura Snyder

Office Hours:

• Monday, 10am-12pm
• And by appointment

Expertise and Activities

My interest in children’s media piqued while receiving my B.S. in psychological science in the hometown of Mr. Fred Rogers. During my time working in the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College, I started to explore and question the children’s media world. I am particularly interested in how fantastical elements on TV impact children’s learning and application of intended lessons. This has led me to UW – Madison’s Ph.D. program in Communication Arts. I am currently working on my dissertation with Dr. Lyn Van Swol examining the most effective ways to offer advice to parents on how to on mediate their children’s media use.

As a Future Faculty Partner in the UW-Madison Teaching Academy, teaching is my favorite part of being a grad student in the department! I value reciprocal teaching, utilizing consistent feedback from students to meet their needs. I love working with students to help make research accessible and understandable.

Honors/Awards

• Future Faculty Partner, University  of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching Academy
• Chancellor’s Fellowship, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2018
• Top Undergraduate Poster Award, Eastern Communication Association Conference, 2016
• Who’s Who Among American Universities and Colleges, 2015
• Fred Rogers Scholar at Saint Vincent College, 2013

Publications

• Peebles, A., & Snyder, M. N. (2020). Media use and socioemotional learning. The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology
• Snyder, M. N., & Mares, M. L. (2021). Preschoolers’ choices of television characters as sources of information: Effects of character type, format, and topic domain. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 203.

Other

• 2016. Correlations between childhood and adolescent television viewing and adult academic self-efficacy and grit. Poster Presentation. Eastern Psychological Association Conference.
• 2016. 123, ABC getting parents to Sesame Street. Poster Presentation. Eastern Communication Association Conference.
• 2015. The effects of adult guidance on children’s persistence. Poster Presentation. Eastern Psychological Association Conference.

Courses

• CA100 Introduction to Speech Composition
• CA 272 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
• CA 325 Media & Human Behavior