Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States⎜August 2025 

 Ph.D. in Mass Communication (Advertising Concentration)

• Dissertation: Closing the human-chatbot gap for interactive public service announcements:The match and mismatch of chatbot social cues and user characteristics  

• Major Advisor: Dr. Hye Jin Yoon 

Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea⎜August 2021

 M.A. in Mass Communications 

• Thesis: The impact of Instagram fitspiration images on women’s health behavior intention: The mediating role of inspiration and the moderating role of general self-efficacy 

• Major Advisor: Dr. Jung-Hyun Kim  

Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea⎜February 2019

 B.A. in Psychology

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

 Undergraduate student in the School of Literature, Science & Arts⎜September 2014 – May 2015

 Undergraduate student in the Department of Dance⎜September 2013 – May 2014

AWARD, HONORS, and SCHOLARSHIPS

2025 American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Doctoral Dissertation Award ($2000)⎜March 2025⎜American Academy of Advertising

• Proposal title: Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots for online conversational advertising: The effects of shared identity and emotional expression levels

2024 AEJMC Advertising Division Washington Media Scholars Foundation (WMSF) 2024 Graduate Research Scholarship⎜July 2024⎜Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

• Proposal title: Designing AI chatbots for online public service advertising (PSA): The effects of shared identity and experiential mind levels

2024 HSAD Global Research Award⎜July 2024⎜Korean Advertising Society 

• Paper title: How does a chatbot with an experiential mind persuade people? The mediating roles of emotions and cognitive absorption

2024 Summer Doctoral Research Assistantship ($3,792)⎜Summer 2024⎜University of Georgia

• Proposal title: Can a chatbot initiate “buying less” to vote with our wallets? The effects of shared identity and responsibility attribution on closing the human-chatbot gap for environmental conservation

AAA 2024 Grad Student Conference Scholarships ($750)⎜March 2024⎜The American Academy of  Advertising

Graduate Student Travel Scholarship ($500)⎜December 2023⎜University of Georgia 

2023 Summer Research Grant ($1,350)⎜May 2023⎜University of Georgia 

AAA 2023 Grad Student Conference Scholarships ($500)⎜March 2023⎜The American Academy of  Advertising 

Best Paper Runner-Up Award⎜November 2020⎜Korean Safety Health Environment Foundation

Top 3 Graduate Student Paper Award⎜July 2020⎜Korean Society for Journalism & Communication Studies

GS SHOP Contents Leader Scholarship⎜October 2019⎜Korean Society for Journalism & Communication Studies

Albatross Fellowship (Full Tuition Waived)⎜Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020⎜ Sogang University

Distinction Award (Top 1%)⎜Fall 2017⎜Sogang University

University Honors⎜Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015⎜University of Michigan

PUBLICATIONS

9. Seo, J. K., Yoon, H. J., Kim, H., & Han, J. Y. (2025). Sequencing of humor and risk information in social media public service announcements on vaccines: The moderating role of vaccination calculation. Journal of Social Marketing, 15(2-3), 338-362. doi: 10.1108/JSOCM-06-2024-0146  

8. Seo, J. K., Kim, H., Yoon, H. J., Ko, Y., Han, J. Y., & Seo, Y. (2025). Are interactive PSA formats always effective? The interaction between empathy-inducing message content, carousel formats, and connectedness with nature in pro-environmental campaigns. International Journal of Advertising, 1-33. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/02650487.2025.247053  

7. Seo, J. K., & Yoon, H. J. (2025). Promoting mindful consumption through a chatbot with an experiential mind. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 42(4), 498-511. doi: 10.1108/JCM-05-2024-6844  

6. Seo, Y., Kim, H., Ko, Y., Yoon, H. J., Han, J. Y., Lee, J., & Seo, J. K. (2025). The power of “Likes”: the effects of “Liked By” and number of likes cues on perceived descriptive norms and behavioral intention to receive the flu vaccine. Journal of Marketing Communications, 31(3), 284-300. doi:10.1080/13527266.2023.2235753

5. Kim, H., Yoon, H. J., Han, J. Y., Seo, J. K., & Ko, Y. (2024). The order effects of humor and risk messaging strategies in public service advertisements: The moderating role of trust in science and mediating role of psychological reactance. International Journal of Advertising, 1-29. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/02650487.2024.2430853

4. Han, J. Y., Kim, H., Yoon, H. J., & Seo, J. K. (2024). How do individuals with conspiracy beliefs respond to humorous public service announcements promoting COVID-19 vaccination? The role of scientific consensus and vaccine confidence. International Journal of Communication, 18, 2456-2478.

3. Ko, Y., Kim, H., Seo, Y., Han, J. Y., Yoon, H. J., Lee, J., & Seo, J. K. (2023). The persuasive effects of narrative PSAs on COVID-19 vaccination intention: The mediating role of empathy and psychological reactance. Journal of Social Marketing, 13(4), 490-509. doi:10.1108/JSOCM-09-2022-0185

2. Yoon, H. J., Lee, J., Han, J. Y., Ko, Y., Kim, H., Seo, Y., & Seo, J. K. (2023). Using humor to increase COVID-19 vaccination intention for the unvaccinated: The moderating role of trust in government. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 22(5), 1084-1095. doi:10.1002/cb.2181

1. Cho, J., Kim, S., Jeong, G., Kim, C.H., & Seo, J. K. (2021). Investigation of Influential Factors of Predicting Individuals’ Use and Non-Use of Diet and Fitness Apps on Smartphones: Application of Machine Learning Algorithm (XGBoost). American Journal of Health Behavior, 45(1), 111-124. doi:10.5993/AJHB.45.1.9

CONFERENCE PAPER

14. Cho, K. W., Han, J-Y., Kim, H., Seo, J. K., & Yoon, H. J. (2025, August). The Role of Message Format and Content: How Carousel Format and Verbal Anchoring Shape Audience Responses to Environmental Public Service Announcements on Social Media. Paper to be presented at the Advertising Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.

13. Yoon, H. J., Kim, H., Seo, J. K., Han, J-Y., Ko, Y., & Seo, Y. (2025, June). Fighting Anti-Vaccine Memes with Memes: Individual’s Past Disease Experience Effects. Paper presented to the International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA) Annual Conference, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

12. Yeon, J., Yoon, H. J., Kim, H., Han, J-Y., Seo, J. K., Seo, Y., & Ko, Y. (2025, March). Fighting Back with Memes: The Effect of Meme-based Public Service Announcements on Counter-arguing Anti-vaccine Memes Across Different Attack Types. Paper presented to the American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.

11. Seo, J. K. & Yoon, H. J. (2024, August). Conversations with A Pro-Environmental Chatbot with an Experiential Mind: Engaging and Persuading through Eeriness and Amazement. Paper to be presented to Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

10. Kim, H., Zhang, W., Han, J. Y., Yoon, H. J., Seo, J. K., Yeon, J. (2024, August). AI Chatbot Use for Mental Health: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Stress Reduction Through Perceived Message Contingency and Social Support. Paper to be presented to Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

    ** 2nd place top paper

9. Seo, J. K. & Yoon, H. J. (2024, July). How does a chatbot with an experiential mind persuade people? The mediating roles of emotions and cognitive absorption. Paper presented to the 2024 Korean Advertising Society Global Colloquium, Seoul, Korea.

      ** HSAD Global Research Award

8. Yoon, H. J., Lee, Y., & Seo, J. K. (2024, July). Increasing Effectiveness of Green Demarketing Campaigns for Sustainable Fashion Brands using the SHIFT Framework. Paper to be presented to Global Fashion Marketing Conference (GFMC), Milan, Italy.

7. Seo, J. K., Zhao, W., & Himelboim, I. (2024, June). Who Can Help? A Social Network Approach to Understanding Alcoholism Social Support at the r/stopdrinking Subreddit. Paper to be presented to International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA) Sunbelt Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland

6. Kim, H., Zhang, W., Seo, J. K., Han, J. Y., Yoon, H. J., & Ko, Y.  (2024, June). Talking with AI  about Mental Health: The Role of Perceived Message Contingency and Outcome Relevant Involvement. Paper to be presented to Human-Machine Communication Division of the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.

    ** Top paper award

5.  Seo, J. K., Kim, H., Ko, Y., Han, J. Y., & Lee, J. (2024, March). Are Interactive PSA Formats Always Effective? The Role of Connectedness with Nature in the Interplay between Message Content and PSA Formats for Pro-environmental Campaigns. Paper presented to American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Portland, OR.

4. Kim, H., Yoon, H. J., Han, J. Y., Seo, J. K., & Ko, Y. (2023, August) The Order Effects of Humor and Risk Messaging Strategies in Public Service Announcements Promoting COVID-19 Vaccinations: The Moderating Role of Trust in Science. Paper presented to Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

3. Seo, J. K., Kim, H., Ko, Y., Yoon, H. J., Han, J. Y., & Seo, Y. (2023, March). Are Interactive PSA Formats Always Good? Testing the Identifiable Victim Effect with Instagram Carousel Posts for Pro-Environmental Campaigns. Paper presented to American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Denver, CO.

2. Seo, J.K., & Jin, Y. (2022, August) Mask-wearing as an Unspoken Statement of One’s Identity during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Paper presented to Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Detroit, MI.

1. Ko, Y., Kim, H., Seo, Y., Han, J. Y., Yoon, H. J., Lee, J., & Seo, J. K. (2022, May). The Persuasive Effects of Narrative PSAs on COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: The Mediating Role of Empathy and Psychological Reactance. Paper presented to Health Communication Division of the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Paris, France.