Faculty

My interests primarily concern the social processes at play when people interact with one another using communication technologies. Specifically, I am interested in how people form and manage impressions of themselves and others when they use communication technologies. Also, I’m interested in how specific types of impressions (e. g. credibility impressions) may impact social influence processes in a variety of online contexts.

A number of the studies that I have published have tested theoretical models of how technology influences social processes in the context of the popular online social networking website Facebook. My current work deals with impression formation in the context of Facebook as well as other online venues where individuals’ credibility is of paramount importance (e. g. online commerce websites). Another of my research interests explores how individuals evaluate (or in some cases ignore) different types of social information as they form impressions of others. Finally, I am interested in the ways that individuals may use communication technologies to carefully manage their self-presentations.