He holds a Ph.D. (Dr.rer.nat.) in Psychology (Berlin University of Technology, Germany) and an M.D. (Dr.rer.medic.) in Cognitive Neuroscience (RWTH University Aachen, Germany). He also holds Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in Communication and Business Administration with an emphasis on econometrics and statistics. In his academic research he focuses on mass communication/audience behaviors and effects as a product and determinant of complex cognitions. He develops and applies both traditional social scientific and neuroscientific methodology (e.g., fMRI) to test media related theories. His research has been published in major communication and neuroscience journals, in numerous book chapters, and in three books.