Julie Ancis

Professor, Informatics

  • Newark NJ UNITED STATES

Dr. Julie Ancis explores cyberpsychology, the relationship between technology and human behavior, diversity and gender.

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Spotlight

1 min

How misinformation spreads online and shapes behavior

With the Internet as a font of information, particularly during a major crisis or conflict, a simple Google search can produce a stream of conjecture, conspiracy and alternative facts. Then there’s the firehose of “news” flooding social media feeds. By headlines alone, it’s near impossible to separate wheat from chaff.Coupled with that user frustration is a vulnerability to bad actors who push agendas under the guise of news. Indeed, on its worst days, the internet is a disinformation machine.Understanding that dynamic and its impact on our moods and behavior is NJIT’s Julie Ancis, a behavioral psychologist who’s a pioneer in the field of cyberpsychology. Her research examines how disinformation spreads and shapes how we act online and in person. As she explains on her blog for Psychology Today:“The speed and flow of information online has enabled information to be transferred on a mass global scale, galvanizing social movements such as the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and #MeToo. In short, the ways in which we consume information and communicate with others both locally and globally have fundamentally changed.”To interview Ancis, click on the button below.Julie's Profile

Julie Ancis

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Biography

Dr. Julie Ancis is an expert in how technology impacts human behavior — particularly in the realm of social media. She brings a cogent perspective that's rooted in her study of cyberpsychology. She's also an independent thinker with a passion for transformative conversations about diversity. Dr. Ancis leads workshops on implicit bias, intercultural and multicultural competence and women's leadership programs and delivers presentations at conferences and forums around the world.

Dr. Ancis is the Founding Director of Cyberpsychology at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to this position, she served as the Associate Vice President for Institute Diversity at Georgia Institute of Technology and faculty member at the School of Psychology. Her extensive scholarly publications include four books, more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports, and hundreds of professional presentations focused on issues of diversity, multicultural competence, and the legal system. Scholarly books include The Complete Women’s Psychotherapy Treatment Planner (Wiley), Culturally Responsive Interventions: Innovative Approaches to Working with Diverse Populations (Routledge), and Promoting Student Learning and Development at a Distance: Student Affairs Concepts and Practices for Televised Instruction and Other Forms of Distance Learning. Her co-edited book with Corinne Datchi entitled Gender, Psychology and Justice: The Mental Health of Women and Girls in the Legal System with NYU press was recently published.

Dr. Ancis is known for her down-to-earth and warm style. She has a firm grounding in science and can work with any audience. She has set herself apart through her academic background combined with her ability to empathize and breakdown barriers.

Areas of Expertise

Technology and Human Behavior
Counseling Psychology
Cyberpsychology
Multicultural Competence
Mental Health of Women
Women's Psychotherapy
intercultural Relations
White Privilege
Leadership
Diversity

Accomplishments

Fellow, Society of Counseling Psychology, Division 17, American Psychological Association

2011

Fellow, Psychology of Women, Division 35, American Psychological Association

2015

Cambridge Who’s Who, Listing

2009

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Education

University at Albany - State University of New York

Ph.D.

Counseling Psychology

1995

University at Albany - State University of New York

M.A.

Counseling

1988

University at Albany - State University of New York

B.A.

Psychology

1986

Affiliations

  • Member, American Psychological Association, Division 17, Fellows Committee

Media Appearances

Massive Study Discounts Adverse Effects of Internet on Mental Health

TechNewsWorld  online

2023-11-29

A study of the psychological well-being of two million individuals from 2005 to 2022 in 168 countries released Tuesday by the Oxford Internet Institute found “smaller and less consistent associations than would be expected if the internet were causing widespread psychological harm.”

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Julie Ancis: Cyberpsychology will become a leading discipline

Cuadernos de Securidad  online

2023-03-29

Julie Ancis, founding director of the Cyberpsychology Laboratory at New Jersey Institute of Technology, wrote the book "Gender, Psychology, and Justice," which offers several points of analysis on the discipline.

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The Connection Between Cyberpsychology and the Pandemic

Think Tank with Steve Adubato  tv

2021-05-22

Steve Adubato speaks with Julie Ancis, Ph.D., Professor & Cyberpsychology Director, New Jersey Institute of Technology, about the connection between cyberpsychology and the pandemic, the ways children are using social media and technology throughout the crisis and the challenges of managing misinformation online.

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Articles

The Age of Cyberpsychology: An Overview

Technology, Mind and Behavior

Julie R. Ancis

2020-09-18

Five major areas identified in the literature as especially relevant to the field are examined, including online behavior and personality; social media use and psychological functioning; games and gaming; telepsychology; and virtual reality, artificial intelligence and applications. In addition, future directions in cyberpsychology as it relates to ethics, clinical work, age and disability, education and training, and research are discussed.

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Women's Experiences With and Perceptions of Guardians ad Litem in Divorce and Custody Disputes

Family & Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly

This article gives voice to the experiences of 16 protective mothers who speak to the critical importance of the role played, for better or for worse, by guardians ad litem -- attorneys who represent the children or claim to speak on behalf of their "best interests." Sadly, these legal agents tend to fall under the seductive sway of the narcissistic abuser, who turns reality on its head by insisting that it is the protective mother who is the perpetrator and the abuser who is the victim.

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Therapist effects, working alliance, and African American women substance users.

Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology

Telsie A. Davis, Julie R. Ancis, Jeffrey S. Ashby

2015-01-01

African American (AfA) women with substance use disorders experience low rates of treatment retention compared to other groups of substance abusers. This is problematic since substance abuse treatment is effective only to the extent clients are retained. A weak working alliance is a significant barrier to treatment retention for AfA women. Thus, identifying therapist characteristics that facilitate a strong working alliance among this population stands as a promising step toward reducing disparities in treatment retention for this group.

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