Ritterfeld is a scholar of media effects, Entertainment-Education, health communication, and aesthetic judgments. She serves as research director for the Mental Health Media Partnership and as director for ASC Games (Annenberg Studies on Computer Games). In her current research she focuses on media usage and learning with special emphasis on preschoolers, media literacy, interactive theaters, and (violent) computer game playing. She also develops and assesses entertainment education tools for (mental) health communication.