Nick Bowman

Biography

Dr. Bowman joins the faculty at Texas Tech University having spent the past eight years at West Virginia University, with a brief stint at Young Harris College (Georgia). A graduate of Michigan State University, his research focuses on entertainment and persuasive applications of interactive media, such as video games, augmented and virtual reality, and social media. He has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and presented nearly 200 different works at regional, national, and international conferences, and has co-authored two textbooks - one focused on mediated communication and the other on entertainment media.

He was the editor of Communication Research Reports from 2017 to 2019, and is an associate editor with the Journal of Media Psychology. Nick has taught courses in the US, Germany, and Taiwan. In Spring 2020, he has been awarded a J. William Fulbright grant to teach at the National Chengchi University in Taipei, while conducting augmented and virtual reality research in their Media Psychology Lab. Prior to his academic career, Nick was a journalist in St. Louis, where he covered high school and college sports, before helping found regional news coverage in Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan with Courthouse News Service. He also worked briefly in public relations, and was a registered lobbyist in Missouri.

A native of St. Louis, Nick is an avid sports fans - a quick visit to his office will serve as a reminder of (a) how large Cardinals Nation is and (b) how scrappy the Stanley Cup-champion St. Louis Blues are. When not on campus, he can usually be seen around town driving his mostly restored 1975 MGB, his not-at-all-restored 1964 Triumph Spitfire, or growing his comic book and video game collections.

Research

Dr. Bowman's research broadly considers the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social demands of interactive media, so that we can better understand (a) human motivations to engage interactive media and (b) the effects of that usage on myriad dimensions.

Selected Publications

• Koban, K., & Bowman, N. D. (2020). Further validation and replication of the Video Game Demand Scale. Journal of Media Psychology. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000280
• Liebold, B., Bowman, N. D., & Pietschmann, D. (2020). Natural in the eyes of the (be)holder: A survey on novelty and learning effects in the enjoyment of naturally mapped video game controllers. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 9(2), 255-265. doi: 10.1037/ppm0000215
• Pressgrove, G., & Bowman, N. D. (2020). From immersion to intention? Exploring advances in prosocial storytelling. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing. doi: 10.1002/nvsm.1689
• Bowman, N. D., Banks, J., & Rittenour, C. (2020). Country Roads through 1s and 0s: Sense of place for and recognition of West Virginia following long-term engagement with Fallout 76. Technology, Mind, & Behavior, 1(1). doi: 10.1037/tmb0000001
• Bowman, N. D., & Goodboy, A. (2020). Evolving considerations and empirical approaches to construct validity in communication science. Annals of the International Communication Association. doi: 10.1080/23808985.2020.1792791
• Dienlin, T., Johannes, N.*, Bowman, N. D., Masur, P., Engesser, S., Kümpel, A. S., Lukito, J., Bier, L. M., Zhang, R., Johnson, B. K., Huskey, R., Schneider, F. M., Breuer, J., Parry, D. A., Vermeulen, I., Fisher, J. T., Banks, J., Weber, R., Ellis, D. A., Smits, T., Ivory, J. D., Trepte, S., McEwan, B., Rinke, E. M., Neubaum, G., Winter, S., Carpenter, C. J., Krämer, N., Utz, S., Unkel, J.,
• Wang, X., Davidson, B. I, Kim, N., Won, A. S., Domahidi, E., Lewis, N. A., & de Vreese, C. (2020). An agenda for open science. Journal of Communication. doi: 10.1093/joc/jqz052
• Wulf, T.*, Bowman, N. D., Velez, J., & Breuer, J. (2020). Once upon a game: Exploring video game nostalgia and its impact on well-being. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 9(1), 83-95. doi: 10.1037/ppm0000208
• Banks, J. Bowman, N. D., Lin, J-H, Pietschmann, D., & Wasserman, J. (2019). The Common Player-Avatar Interaction Scale (cPAX): Expansion and Cross-Language Validation. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.03.003
• Lin, J-S., Bowman, N. D., Lin, S-F., Chen. S. (2019). Setting the digital stage: Defining game streaming as an entertainment experience. Entertainment Computing, 31. doi: 10.1016/j.entcom.2019.100309
• Bowman, N. D. (2018). Video games: A medium that demands our attention (Ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-81537-687-9
• Hemenover, S., & Bowman, N. D. (2018).Video games, emotion, and emotion regulation: bridging the gap. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(2), 125-143. doi: 10.1080/23808985.2018.1442239.
• Banks, J. Bowman, N. D., Lin, J-H, Pietschmann, D., & Wasserman, J. (2019). The Common Player-Avatar Interaction Scale (cPAX): Expansion and Cross-Language Validation. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.03.003
• Lin, J-S., Bowman, N. D., Lin, S-F., Chen. S. (2019). Setting the digital stage: Defining game streaming as an entertainment experience. Entertainment Computing, 31. doi: 10.1016/j.entcom.2019.100309
• Bowman, N. D. (2018). Video games: A medium that demands our attention (Ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-81537-687-9
• Hemenover, S., & Bowman, N. D. (2018).Video games, emotion, and emotion regulation: bridging the gap. Annals of the International Communication Association, 42(2), 125-143. doi: 10.1080/23808985.2018.1442239.

Teaching Focus

• CMI2310: Introduction to Creative Media Industries
• CMI2330: Media Literacy
• MCOM5366: Seminar in Mass Communication Theory

 

Leadership & Awards

 

• Fulbright-Wu Jing-Jyi Arts and Culture Fellow, 2019-2020
• J. William Fulbright Scholarship, Spring 2020
• Chair, Game Studies Division, National Communication Association
• Past Chair, Game Studies Division, National Communication Association
• Past Chair, Game Studies Division, International Communication Association
• Editor, Communication Research Reports
• Associate Editor, Journal of Media Psychology