Danielle Ernstsen

I have always felt passionate about human behaviour- why we think the way we do, why we act like we do, why we make certain decisions… This is why, during my bachelor at Erasmus University College (EUC) I chose to follow the Psychology major. Alongside of my mandatory courses, I was free to choose additional courses that focused my interest in human behaviour on the digital media. The two combined is what made me realise that I needed and wanted to further understand how the media can influence our psychological decisions.

Unsurprisingly, I came across the master Psychology of the Digital Media. This master fulfilled my expectations to the most extent. It was such an inspiration that now I finally know what my first step is going to be in the development of my career.

In this master we were taught how the digital media is put into practice in Organisational Psychology, Cognitive Psychology and Educational Psychology. These three aspects offered the diversity that one expects to comprehend how the media can be used to our advantage, how it impacts our psychological wellbeing, how it impacts our cognitive processes and of course, how it impacts the way we learn.

I was used to writing academic papers at EUC or doing exams at the end of every course. In the PDM master, however, the examination assignments were much more practical and creative! Rather than an academic paper, we were asked to write an advisory report or a thorough case analysis for example. Of course, the assignments had to be academically backed up so don’t forget about your APA rules!

All in all, the courses in this master as well as the internship/thesis period gave me the focus that I needed to discover what I want to do. My thesis revolved around the use of videos for learning purposes. I now want to redirect my passion for videos to advertising purposes. Knowing how the media influences the mind, my goal is to work in a creative team where new concepts for video advertisements are made.