2001 to 2006: program of study in Psychology at the University of Hamburg; October 2006: Diplom in Psychology. From January 2007 to December 2010: academic staff member at the Hamburg Media School. April 2009 to June 2011: academic staff member in the DFG project “Socialization in the Social Web” at the Social Psychology research unit of the University of Hamburg. From August to October 2009: DAAD doctoral candidate scholarship for a research stay at the Department of Communication, Michigan State University, USA. November 2010: doctorate at the faculty of Psychology, University of Hamburg, on the topic of recovery and psychological need satisfaction in the use of entertainment media. January 2011 to January 2012: Post-Doc at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies (chair Prof. Dr. Peter Vorderer) at the University of Mannheim. From February 2012 to July 2017: junior professor of Communication Studies with a focus on Online Communication, and since August 2017: Professor of Media Effects and Media Psychology at the Institute for Communication Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

In his current research, Leonard Reinecke addresses various questions from the field of reception and effects research. His current research areas include:

• Media psychological entertainment research
• Interplay of media use and psychological well-being
• Media use and resilience
• Media use, self-control, and procrastination
• Mobile internet use, “always-on” behavior, constant availability, and online vigilance
• Digital stress

Leonard Reinecke was Co-Editor of Media Psychology from January 2001 to December 2024.

He is a member of the editorial board of the journals Human Communication Research and Journal of Media Psychology.

Furthermore, he serves as a reviewer for numerous other national and international journals in the field of Communication Studies and Media Psychology, including the Journal of Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Research, Mass Communication and Society, New Media and Society, Computers in Human Behavior, and Media and Communication Studies (M&K).

Additionally, he serves as an evaluator for the conferences of the International Communication Association (ICA), the German Association for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK), and the German Psychological Society (DGPs).

2024

• Top Paper Award of the Reception and Effects Research subject group of the German Association for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK)

2023

• Best Paper Award of the Media Psychology subject group of the German Psychological Society (DGPs)

2022

• Top Poster Award of the Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association (ICA)

2021

• Top Paper Award of the Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association (ICA)
• Best Paper Award of the Reception and Effects Research subject group of the German Association for Journalism and Communication Studies (DGPuK)

2017

• Top Paper Award of the Mass Communication Division of the National Communication Association (NCA)

2015

• Top Paper Award of the Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association (ICA)
• Teaching award of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz