Research

My research lies at the intersection of persuasion, social influence, and health communication. I study how persuasive messages capture attention and shape behavior, and how emotions, identity, and culture influence these effects.

I apply these insights to design messages for specific audiences and to test them where people actually encounter them, from community health campaigns to virtual reality environments and AI-mediated information spaces.

Audience-Centered Message Design

Understanding audience needs and designing and testing messages tailored to diverse communities

Attention and Message Processing

Using eye tracking, virtual reality, and physiological measures to examine how people attend to, process, and resist persuasive messages

AI and Misinformation

Examining how people evaluate AI-generated information and building tools that help them identify mis/disinformation

Social Norms and Environment

Testing how social norms, financial incentives, and scientific information shape people’s pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors

Peer-Reviewed Publications

10. Cho, H. J., Jeon, M.*, & Turner, M. M. (in print). The use of effective persuasive strategies in obesity prevention campaigns: A content analysis. Health Promotion Practice. (First and second authors contributed equally*.) https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399261493467

9. Lim, S., Cho, H. J., Jeon, M.*, Cui, X., & Schmälzle, R. (in print). Immersive media messages that catch the eye: Examining factors that elicit attention and replicating the link between attention and memory. Journal of Media Psychology. (Second and third authors contributed equally*.)

8. Jeon, M., Lim, S., Lapinski, M. K., Bente, G., Spates, S. A., & Schmälzle, R. (2026). Visual attention and retention effects of a design element in culturally targeted messages: Introducing the virtual billboard paradigm. Communication Quarterly, 74(2), 165–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2026.2629568

7. Jeon, M., & Kim, Y. (2026). The role of fear, hope, message fatigue, and message shocking value in promoting the public’s understanding and support toward COVID-19 wastewater monitoring. JMIR Formative Research, 10, e83060. https://doi.org/10.2196/83060

6. Rasul, M. E., Oh, Y. J., Jeon, M., Cho, H. J., & Calabrese, C. (2026). When distrust shapes news choice: Perceptions of mis- and disinformation and news consumption across traditional and social media outlets. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 29(3), 151–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/21522715261424695

5. Oh, Y. J., Jeon, M., Cho, H. J., & Rasul, M. E. (2026). Narcissism predicts misinformation engagement through information seeking: Evidence from a representative survey. Acta Psychologica, 262, 106155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106155

4. Liu, J., Mi, R. Z., Jeon, M., Fabbricatore, J., Wicke, R., Cojulun, L., & Yang, S. (2025). Visual attention and memory retention of cannabis warning labels: An eye-tracking experiment with young adults. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 59(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaaf094

3. Rasul, M. E., Calabrese, C., Oh, Y. J., Cho, H. J., Jeon, M., & Boukes, M. (2025). “It’s all fake news!”: How perceptions of misinformation and disinformation influence news consumption across traditional media, social media, and AI. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(4), 993–1019. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990251373085

2. Lapinski, M. K., Kerr, J. M., Miller III, H. W., Jeon, M., & Tracey, K. (2024). Persuasive communication, financial incentives, and social norms: Interactions and effects on behaviors. Current Opinion in Psychology, 59, 101851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101851

1. Jeon, M., Kim, Y., & Bouslavskaya, T. (2024). Do body positive images improve our body perception? The role of social comparison on body perception and moods. Asian Communication Research, 21(3), 385–403. https://doi.org/10.20879/acr.2024.21.023

Selected Conference Presentations and Awards

Turner, M. M., Cho, H. J., Du, Y., Lim, J., Jeon, M., & Yoon, H. (2026). Measuring emotional flow: Assessing self-report and psychophysiological indicators with multi-trait multi-measure methodology. NCA, New Orleans, LA. Top Paper, Communication and Social Cognition Division
Turner, M. M., Yoon, H., Jeon, M., Cho, H. J., & Lim, J. I. (2025). How low can you go? Testing the efficacy threshold for the Anger Activism Model. ICA, Denver, CO. Top Paper, Information Systems Division
Lim, S., Cho, H. J., Jeon, M., & Schmälzle, R. (2024). Leveraging virtual reality (VR) with eye-tracking and generative artificial intelligence (AI) for message effects research. Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY. Top Six Honorable Mention
Jeon, M., Zhang, X., & Oh, Y. J. (2026). AI as a tool vs. a colleague: How user openness and AI mind perception shape responsibility attribution for AI errors. NCA, New Orleans, LA.
Jeon, M., & Lapinski, M. K. (2026). The role of social identity in ego-defensive processing from in-group or out-group message source. NCA, New Orleans, LA.
Jeon, M., Lapinski, M. K., Wang, Y., Lucas, T., & Dawadi, A. (2025). The moderating role of racial identity in culturally-targeted health messaging: Predicting SARS-CoV-2 serology testing among Black Americans. NCA, Denver, CO.
Jeon, M., Lim, S., Lapinski, M. K., Bente, G., & Schmälzle, R. (2024). Effects of cultural tailoring on visual attention: A virtual reality (VR) eye-tracking study using a billboard paradigm. ICA, Gold Coast, Australia.

25 conference presentations in total at NCA, ICA, SRNT, KCHC, and the NIH HINTS Data Users Conference. Full list in CV.

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