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I am trained as a social psychologist with methodology expertise in basic research (including experimental design, survey research, and content analysis). However, my research touches on many applied topics as well.
I am trained as a social psychologist with methodology expertise in basic research (including experimental design, survey research, and content analysis). However, my research touches on many applied topics as well.
Media Content and Health
Media Content and Health
This line of research focuses on how health attitudes and behavior are affected by media. It started with cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental research examining how seeing portrayals of cigarette smoking in movies increased the risks of adolescent smoking. This research expanded to examine smoking and vaping attitudes (explicit and implicit) and behaviors in college students.
Although this is not my most active area of research currently, I continue to be interested in what shapes health attitudes and behavior in college students and how media may influence those outcomes. Some of my more recent projects have examined:
the social-media driven phenomenon of Autonomous Sensory Meridien Response (ASMR) including people's knowledge about ASMR, experience with ASMR, use of online ASMR communities, and the reach of various media-promoted ASMR trends
the effects of content about bodies and sexuality in online social networks
Media Format Effects: Virtual Reality
Media Format Effects: Virtual Reality
In the late 2010s I became interested in an observation that virtual reality (VR) technology was getting a lot of media coverage and advertising hype, yet few people I knew were actually interested in using it. This started a line of research that has examined questions such as the following:
What attitudes exist about virtual reality technology? Why are people interested (or not) in using it?
If people are given an opportunity to use virtual reality technology, does experiencing it change attitudes toward the technology or its potential?
Are there benefits to virtual reality technology for psychological outcomes compared to non-virtual formats (e.g., 2D computer or more traditional formats of presentation)? For example, do people learn better from VR videos than 2D videos? Are they more motivated by it? Are the effects of media activities on mood or stress stronger in VR than other formats?
In this research we typically conduct laboratory research studies where we compare outcomes from participants who experience something in VR compared to similar non-VR formats. RAs are trained to guide participants through the process of using a VR headset in the laboratory. Survey research has also been used to address some questions.
Media Format Effects: Online v. In-Person Formats
Media Format Effects: Online v. In-Person Formats
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, my media format research extended to include examinations of how online presentation of information would differ from in-person presentations and how specific features of online formats might affect behavior. My lab has examined questions such as:
Does camera-on versus camera-off versus hidden-from-self mode in Zoom affect outcomes such as memory, attention, and self-focus?
Does virtual implementation of a health intervention (e.g., for body image) work as well as in-person implementation of the same intervention?
Does differential eye gaze when interacting on Zoom lead to differences in trust and self-disclosure?
Other Research Interests
Other Research Interests
My research experience and interests span a variety of other topics including:
The effects of social norms on decision making (e.g., economic decision making)
Factors that influence teacher self-efficacy (engagement, perceptions of success) and how self-efficacy influences teacher behavior in the classroom
Stereotype content in media and combatting stereotypes with media
Stigma in interpersonal interactions
Gender and sexuality studies
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