Research 

In one program of research, I investigate the dynamic social media experience, where accessible norm cues emerged  when scrolling others’ online self-presentation (observation), a quick touch to add a popular filter to one’s self-images (engagement), swift feedback received from paralinguistic one-click cues such as likes and thumbs up (feedback), and a popup of the “throw-back” memories from one’s past posts (loop). Social media stores a digital self-constructed autobiographical memory for past-current self-continuity.

In my program of research, I try to understand how the engagements and interactions with algorithmic-driven social media influence users' psychological process and mental wellbeing dynamically.

Liu, H. (Under Review). Discrepancies and Dynamic Changes of The “Self” During Social Media Usage: Introducing A Dynamic S4D4 Framework on Self and Social Media.

Liu, H., Lei, S. Y., Rhodes, N., Ewoldsen, D. R. (Under Review). Understanding “Likes” as “Resources” on Social Media Using Zero-Sum Game Paradigm: The Amplifying Effect of Zero-Sum Beliefs on Social Media Ostracism Experiences.

Liu, H., Katz, S. J. (2022). Delay or Right Away? Synchronicity of Social Media Use (SMU) and Its Impact on State Social Anxiety Arising from Social Media Use (SASMU). 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Paris, France, May 26–30, 2022.

Lim, C., Ratan, R., Foxman, M., Meshi, D., Liu, H., Hales, G. E., & Lei, Y. S. (2024). An Avatar's worth in the metaverse workplace: Assessing predictors of avatar customization valuation. 

Scrolling through social media alone, socially anxious young adults are drawn to mental health messagings that seems to describe exactly how they feel. Algorithm-driven platforms expose users to curated mental health content that often mirrors their personal struggles. However, this potentially contributes to self-diagnosis without clinical input, which may reshape their self-perceptions, and misdirect help-seeking decisions for the matched symptoms. Repeated exposures with such narratives may foster biased perceptions of normative mental health experiences and skew their reference points for self-evaluations.

My research addresses the influence of mental health messaging in the current algorithmic-driven social media platforms. 

Liu, H., Ewoldsen, D. (2025). An Experience Sampling Study Investigating Momentarily Changes of Self-Perception Towards Sociability and Social Media Use. Association of Educators of Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) 108th Annual Conference. San Francisco, California, US, August 7–10, 2025.

Liu, H., Ewoldsen, D., Rhodes, N. (2025). Rumination vs. Imagination: Exploring the Different Trajectories of Rumination and Retrospective Imaginative Involvement (RII) on Psychological Well-being. 75th Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Denver, Colorado, US, June 12–16, 2024

Research across various contexts has shown that different forms of ostracism result in negative psychological experiences. The pervasive usage of social media and the proliferation of one-click feedback cues (e.g., “likes”, thumbs up, emojis) have made it easier than ever for users to exchange evaluative judgements. My program of research explores the underlying mechanisms and potential moderators of online ostracisms.

Liu, H., Lei, S. Y., Ewoldsen, D. (2024). Understanding “Likes” as “Resources” on Social Media Using Zero-Sum Game Paradigm: The Catalyst Effect of Perceived Value of ‘Likes’ and Zero-Sum Beliefs on Social Media Ostracism Experience. 74th Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Gold Coast, Australia, June 20–24, 2024.

Lei, Y., Liu, H., Ewoldsen, D. R., Rhodes, N. (2025). Can direct reciprocity mend the effects of ostracism on group identification? 75th Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Denver, Colorado, US, June 12–16, 2024.

 Liu, H., Lei, S. Y., Rhodes, N., Ewoldsen, D. (2025). I Want to Belong, So I Change My Attitudes to Fit in: Social Media Ostracism and Attitudinal Changes Towards Group Norms. 75th Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Denver, Colorado, US, June 12–16, 2024.

Social media and online platforms are filled with cues that subtly remind us of “ourselves” and “others.” You might recall receiving a notification about a new “memory” featuring your past posts, or being prompted to revisit something you once shared with friends, leading you to scroll through your previous content. These self-relevant cues unobtrusively enhance the accessibility of attitudes related to the self, while cues that highlight others can unconsciously increase the accessibility of descriptive norms.

My research specifically explores how attitude and norm accessibility influence people’s experiences and decision-making in social media environments.

Liu, H., Ewoldsen, D. (2024). Implicitly Inhibit the Negative Selfs When I Browsed My Past Posts: Implicit and Explicit Self Evaluation Process on Social Media. 74th Annual International Communication Association (ICA). Gold Coast, Australia, June 20–24, 2024.

Liu, H., Ewoldsen, D. (2023). I Adapt and I Believe: Online Self-presentation and Malleability for Socially Anxious Individuals. National Communication Association (NCA) 109th Annual Convention, National Harbor, Maryland, United States, November 16–19, 2023.

Imagine you are on the metro and see a vaping ad; later, the same brand appears in your social media feed. How does this cross-platform exposure shape your attitudes toward vaping, the brand, and the ad itself?

This question lies at the heart of another key area of my research and my collaborated work. I examine how social media and synced advertising influences consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions, with a particular focus on health communication and public psychological well-being.

Liu, H. (Ongoing). Symptomizing the Self: Algorithm-Driven and AI-Powered Social Media Loops in the Internalization of Mental Health Messages on Social Media for Emerging Adults

Abdollahi, M., Fang, Y., Liu, H., Segijn, C.M. (2023). Examining Affect, Relevance, and Creepiness as Underlying Mechanisms of Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Synced Ads in Valenced Contexts. In: Vignolles, A., Waiguny, M.K. (eds) Advances in Advertising Research (Vol. XII). European Advertising Academy. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-40429-1_5

Katz, S. J., Petersen, A., Liu, H., Cohen, E., & Hatsukami, D. (2022). Vaping Flavors and Flavor Representation: A Test of Youth Risk Perceptions, Novelty Perceptions, and Susceptibility. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac192