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Amsterdam School of Communication Research / ASCoR ASCoR

Dr. D.S.W. (Dominique) Wirz

Assistant Professor
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
CW : Youth & Media Entertainment
Visiting address
  • Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
Postal address
  • Postbus 15791
    1001 NG Amsterdam
Contact details
Social media
  • Profile

    Dominique Wirz focuses on media use and effects, especially on positive effects of digital media use, such as entertainment, recovery, or knowledge gain.

    Current research

    • News consumption and infotainment on social media
    • Psychological richness as a dimension of entertainment experiences
    • Media use and recovery
    • Emotions in political communication

    Research expertise

    • Media use and effects
    • Media Psychology
    • Experimental research & digital trace data
  • Research

    Research methods

    • Experiments
    • Surveys
    • Digital Trace Data
    • Experience Sampling
    • Content Analysis

    Current research projects

    News Consumption and Infotainment on Social Media (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation): How does an entertaining presentation of news on Instagram or TikTok affect knowledge and attitudes about news issues?

    Research grants & honours

    • 2025: Top Paper Award by the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) 
    • 2022: Project grant from the research pool, University of Fribourg (CHF 24’590)
    • 2022: OFCOM research grant (CHF 46’258)
    • 2022: Top Paper Award by the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) 
    • 2021: SNF Ambizione Grant (CHF 612’788)
    • 2020: Fulbright Visiting Scholar Grant (USD 10’850.-)
    • 2018 Kaid-Sanders Award for the best article of the year by the Political Communication division of the  International Communication Association (ICA)
    • 2018 Dissertation Award of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research
    • 2018 Best Paper Award by the Political Communication Division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
    • 2017 Best Paper Award by the Media Effects Division of the German Communication Association (DGPuK)
       
  • Teaching
    • Developing Media Entertainment
  • Publications

    2025

    • Ulusoy, E., Wirz, D. S., Eden, A., & Ellithorpe, M. E. (2025). Boundaries on a binge: Explicating the role of intentionality in binge-watching motivations and problematic outcomes. Acta Psychologica, 252, Article 104666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104666
    • Wirz, D. S., & Blassnig, S. (2025). A matter of perception? investigating subjective and objective exposure to hate speech with a survey and mobile longitudinal linkage study. Information Communication and Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2461646
    • Wirz, D. S., & Wirth, W. (2025). An Unholy Alliance? The Influence of Negative Emotions Elicited by Media Reports on the Persuasiveness of Populist Communication. Mass Communication and Society, 28(1), 174-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2349909
    • Wirz, D. S., & Zai, F. (2025). Infotainment on Social Media: How News Companies Combine Information and Entertainment in News Stories on Instagram and TikTok. Digital Journalism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2464062
    • Wirz, D. S., Eden, A., Ulusoy, E., & Ellithorpe, M. E. (2025). Beyond pleasurable and meaningful: Psychologically rich entertainment experiences. PLoS ONE, 20(2), 1. Article e0315596. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315596

    2024

    • Ellithorpe, M. E., Eden, A., Ulusoy, E., Wirz, D., & Grady, S. (2024). Is bedtime media use good or bad? A competitive analysis between the sleep displacement hypothesis and the media recovery hypothesis. Media Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2024.2400571
    • Gadino, N., Ellithorpe, M. E., Ulusoy, E., Wirz, D. S., & Eden, A. (2024). Binge-Watching to Feel Better: Mental Health Gratifications Sought and Obtained Through Binge-Watching. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(3), 407-415. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000485
    • Wirz, D. S. W., & Zai, F. (2024). Politischer Journalismus auf Instagram: Informations-und Unterhaltungspotenzial Schweizer Nachrichtenmedien. In C. Nuernbergk, N. F. Schumacher, J. Haßler, & J. Schützeneder (Eds.), Politischer Journalismus (pp. 259-276). Nomos. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748939702

    2023

    2022

    • Wirz, D. (2022). Emotions and Populist Communication. In The Populism Interviews: A Dialogue with Leading Experts (pp. 91-94). Taylor and Francis Inc.. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003250388-18
    • Wirz, D. S., Ort, A., Rasch, B., & Fahr, A. (2022). The Role of Cliffhangers in Serial Entertainment: An Experiment on Cliffhangers’ Effects on Enjoyment, Arousal, and Intention to Continue Watching. Psychology of Popular Media, 12, 186-196. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000392

    2021

    • Hameleers, M., Schmuck, D., Schulz, A., Wirz, D. S., Matthes, J., Bos, L., Corbu, N., & Andreadis, I. (2021). The Effects of Populist Identity Framing on Populist Attitudes Across Europe: Evidence From a 15-Country Comparative Experiment. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 33(3), 491–510. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edaa018 [details]
    • Ort, A., Wirz, D. S., & Fahr, A. (2021). Is binge-watching addictive? Effects of motives for TV series use on the relationship between excessive media consumption and problematic viewing habits. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 13, Article 100325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100325
    • Zerback, T., & Wirz, D. S. (2021). Appraisal Patterns as Predictors of Emotional Expressions And Shares on Political Social Networking Sites. Studies in Communication Sciences, 21, 27-45. https://doi.org/10.24434/J.SCOMS.2021.01.003

    2020

    • Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Steenbergen, M., Schemer, C., Müller, P., Wirz, D. S., & Wirth, W. (2020). Measuring populism across nations: Testing for measurement invariance of an inventory of populist attitudes. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 32, 284-305. https://doi.org/10.1093/IJPOR/EDZ018

    2019

    • Blassnig, S., & Wirz, D. S. (2019). Populist and Popular: An Experiment on the Drivers of User Reactions to Populist Posts on Facebook. Social Media and Society, 5. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119890062
    • Wettstein, M., Esser, F., Büchel, F., Schemer, C., Wirz, D. S., Schulz, A., Ernst, N., Engesser, S., Müller, P., & Wirth, W. (2019). What Drives Populist Styles? Analyzing Immigration and Labor Market News in 11 Countries. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 96, 516-536. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699018805408
    • Wirz, D. S., Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Ernst, N., Schemer, C., & Wirth, W. (2019). How populist crisis rhetoric affects voters in Switzerland. Studies in Communication Sciences, 19, 69-83. https://doi.org/10.24434/j.scoms.2019.01.006

    2018

    • Schulz, A., Müller, P., Schemer, C., Wirz, D. S., Wettstein, M., & Wirth, W. (2018). Measuring Populist Attitudes on Three Dimensions. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 30, 316-326. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edw037
    • WIRZ, DOMINIQUE. S. (2018). Persuasion Through Emotion? An Experimental Test of the Emotion-Eliciting Nature of Populist Communication. International Journal of Communication, 12, 1114-1138.
    • Wettstein, M., Esser, F., Schulz, A., Wirz, D. S., & Wirth, W. (2018). News Media as Gatekeepers, Critics, and Initiators of Populist Communication: How Journalists in Ten Countries Deal with the Populist Challenge. International Journal of Press/Politics, 23, 476-495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218785979
    • Wirz, D. S., Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Müller, P., Schemer, C., Ernst, N., Esser, F., & Wirth, W. (2018). The Effects of Right-Wing Populist Communication on Emotions and Cognitions toward Immigrants. International Journal of Press/Politics, 23, 496-516. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161218788956

    2017

    • Müller, P., Schemer, C., Wettstein, M., Schulz, A., Wirz, D. S., Engesser, S., & Wirth, W. (2017). The Polarizing Impact of News Coverage on Populist Attitudes in the Public: Evidence From a Panel Study in Four European Democracies. Journal of Communication, 67, 968-992. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12337

    2014

    • Ryffel, F. A., Wirz, D. S., Kühne, R., & Wirth, W. (2014). How emotional media reports influence attitude formation and change: the interplay of attitude base, attitude certainty and persuasion. Media Psychology, 17(4), 397-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2014.933850 [details]

    2024

    • Nai, A., Bos, L., Wirz, D. S. W., & Saadettin, M. (2024). Great vengeance and furious anger: Populist rhetoric and the roots of voters’ rage against the system. Paper presented at ECREA European Communication Conference, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
    • Saadettin, M., Nai, A., Bos, L., & Wirz, D. S. W. (2024). Great vengeance and furious anger: Populist rhetoric and the roots of voters’ rage against the system. Abstract from Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap 2024, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

    2023

    • Nai, A., Bos, L., Saadettin, M., & Wirz, D. S. W. (2023). Great vengeance and furious anger: Populist rhetoric and the roots of voters’ rage against the system . Paper presented at ECPR General Conference, Prague, Czech Republic.
    • Wirz, D. S. W., Oschatz, C., & Möller, J. E. (2023). Infotainment in sozialen Medien: Wie wirken sich Dynamik, Narration und Interaktivität auf das Wissen über Nachrichtenthemen aus? [Infotainment on social media: How do dynamic presentation, narration and interactivity affect knowledge about news?]. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Swiss Association of Communication and Media Research (SGKM), 20-21 April, in Lucerne, Switzerland.
    • Wirz, D. S. W., Oschatz, C., & Möller, J. E. (2023). Infotainment on social media: How do dynamic presentation, narration and interaction affect knowledge about news issues?. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), 25-29 May 2023, Political Communication Division, Toronto, CA.

    2013

    • Ryffel, F., Wirz, D., Wirth, W., & Kühne, R. J. (2013). How emotional media reports influence attitude formation and change. Paper presented at Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), London.

    Others

    • Wirz, D. (examiner) (31-3-2023 - 10-11-2023). Doctorate Committee (examination).
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