معرفی
Dr. Karin Fikkers is an Assistant Professor in the Language & Communication group of the Department of Languages, Literature and Communication at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities, and is affiliated with the Institute for Language Sciences. She has been at Utrecht University since January 2019, teaching primarily in the Bachelor program Communication and Information Sciences and occasionally in the Master program Communication and Organization. She serves as chair of the curriculum committee for the bachelor program and coordinates tutor guidance for both the program and the faculty.
Dr. Fikkers earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Communication from Radboud University Nijmegen (2007), followed by a cum laude Research Master in Language and Communication from Radboud University and Tilburg University (2010). She completed her PhD cum laude at the University of Amsterdam in 2016, where she conducted research at the Center for Research on Children, Adolescents, and the Media (CcaM) under Professor Patti Valkenburg's ERC-funded project "The entertainization of childhood."
Dr. Fikkers' research focuses on understanding how stories can contribute to positive changes in people's behavior, with particular interest in sustainable behaviors. Her work sits at the intersection of three key themes: stories and narrative media, sustainability and climate change communication, and persuasive processes. She investigates how cognitive, emotional, and arousal responses to media content affect people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, particularly among youth. Much of her early work examined media violence effects on aggression, but she has increasingly focused on how interactive stories can strategically contribute to positive social change, especially regarding sustainability.
Dr. Fikkers' publication record reveals a methodological sophistication with strong emphasis on longitudinal designs, survey research, and advanced statistical analysis using Mplus. Her recent work shows a clear trajectory toward examining how interactive narratives and digital media can influence sustainable behaviors, while maintaining her expertise in media effects and youth development. She frequently collaborates across disciplines to address complex communication challenges related to societal issues.
Dr. Fikkers has received notable recognition for her scholarly work:
- Kyoon Hur dissertation award from the Mass Communication division of the International Communication Association
- PhD dissertation awarded cum laude distinction from the University of Amsterdam
As an educator, Dr. Fikkers coordinates and teaches courses including Multimodal Communication and Communication, Media & Interaction. She supervises bachelor thesis students, particularly on topics related to climate-related persuasive communication. Within the academic community, she is active in the Netherlands-Flanders Communication Association (NeFCA) and the International Communication Association (ICA), where she previously served as Secretary of the Children, Adolescents, and the Media division. She is currently a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Children and Media and Media Psychology.
Dr. Fikkers leads several innovative research projects, including an interdisciplinary study on how interactive documentaries can contribute to sustainable outcomes, research on the effects of hopeful versus fearful climate communication on sustainable behaviors, and the development of the online escape room "Last Contact" to promote knowledge about Open Science.
