Associate Professor

Research Interests:

• Dynamics in communication, emotion, cognition, and decision

• Media processing, choices, and effect

• Quantum probabilistic and dynamic models of decision

Currently I am an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and direct the Communication and Psychophysiology (CAP) Lab. I received my Ph.D. in Communications & Cognitive Science at Indiana University-Bloomington (2007). Mywork here at OSU has been supported by National Science Foundation (2008-2013) and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (2012-2015).

Much of my research tries to understand how our cognition and decision are contextualized. Of the three Discovery themes at OSU, I’ve been particularly interested in improving health and wellness, but I’m also interested in using communication and decision research to achieve a better world with cleaner energy and environment.  

One of my research interests is the use of real time and longitudinal data (e.g., psychophysiological measures, longitudinal life experience sampling) in conjunction with formal cross-level dynamic models to study how people process information, and how their attention, emotion, motivation, decision and choices are affected by this information. A current focus is the reciprocal causality between information processing and choice behaviors. One application of this research is to help us better understand effective communication strategies and message designs to change health related behaviors, such as substance use, diet, and exercises.  

Another research interest is to study contextual influences on judgment and decision by building new probabilistic and dynamic systems based upon quantum rather than traditional classical probability principles. Quantum probability theory turns out to be highly suitable for explaining puzzles associated with the highly contextual nature of choice and judgment.  I have applied the dynamic quantum models to study paradoxical findings on interpersonal interactions (e.g., categorization-decision interference effects), measurement order effects (e.g., order effects of attitude questions), and episodic memory overdistribution effects. Welcome to check out a new special issue that I co-edited on The Potential of Quantum Probability for Modeling Cognitive Processes (Topics in Cognitive Science, 2013, Vol. 5). Also, I’m co-editing the Oxford Handbook of Computational and Mathematical Psychology (Oxford University Press, 2014).