Dr. Dongyoung Sohn
Assistant Professor
Contact Information
School of Communication
The Ohio State University
3026 Derby Hall
154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1339
Tel: 614-247-1691
Fax: 614-292-2055
sohn.42@osu.edu
Qualifications
B.A. Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea
M.A. The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin
Profile
My primary research interests have revolved around the question of how people understand and respond to the social environment consisting of other people, especially on the Internet where individuals are constantly exposed to the distributions of others’ choices and opinions. To grasp the collective dynamics in this computer-mediated environment, I have examined the psychological and social factors affecting individuals’ motivation to participate and share resources (e.g., information) in virtual communities. Related to this, I am also interested in the effects of communication technology on media users, and how the effects vary depending on their expectation, expertise, and information processing motivation.
For teaching, the courses I taught or will teach include advertising research methods, media planning & strategy, digital media seminar, and contemporary persuasion theory. In my class, students are strongly encouraged to learn how to breed their own questions and to reach logical conclusions among many alternatives. I firmly believe that only through this process is it possible for students to make the scientific knowledge in books and articles truly their own.
In my spare times, I enjoy watching well-made documentaries about history, science, unsolved mystery and more.
Recent Publications
Sohn, Dongyoung (2008). “Disentangling the Effects of Social Network Density on Electronic Word-of-Mouth Intention,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, (forthcoming).
Yoon, Doyle, Sejung Choi, and Dongyoung Sohn. “Building Customer Relationships in an Electronic Age: The Role of Interactivity of E-Commerce Websites,” Psychology & Marketing, forthcoming.
Sohn, Dongyoung, Cunhyeong Ci, and Byung-Kwan Lee (2007). “The Moderating Effects of Expectation on the Patterns of the Interactivity-Attitude Relationship.” Journal of Advertising, 36(3): 109-120.
Sohn, Dongyoung and John D. Leckenby (2007). “A Structural Solution to Communication Dilemmas in a Virtual Community.” Journal of Communication, 57(3): 435-449.