My research interest is media psychology, new communication technology, advertising/social marketing. I am interested in studying how mass media and new media technology influence consumer, health and pro-environmental motivation, attitudes and behaviors.
Specifically I am interested in the multi-cultural marketing area. I’ve done a research project which examined the influence of online reviewer ethnicity — together with review valence — on perceived reviewer trustworthiness and the effectiveness of eWOM. An interesting finding was that white participants endorsed the Asian American reviewer more when the review is positive, whereas were more susceptible to the African American reviewer’s when the review is negative. Check out more results here
From a social marketing perspective, another project explored effects of marketing narrative and peer influences on college students’ perceptions and purchase intention of single use bottled water. As I told the reporter at UConn Today when interviewed, “Usually advertisers package the product as pure or from natural sources. They package it like an energy or athletic product, so all those things would contribute to how students look at it. Through all of our research, we find most of the misconceptions actually come from advertisements and other promotional material.”
Current Projects:
- Newsfeed advertising in social media
- COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake, Misinformation and Information-Seeking
Refereed Journal Articles
Lin, C.A. & Xu, X. (2021). Exploring Bottled Water Purchase Intention Via Trust in Advertising, Product Knowledge, Consumer Beliefs and Theory of Reasoned Action. Social Sciences, 10(8), 295-312. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10080295
Xu, X., Wu, T-Y., & Atkin D. J. (2021). Effects of website credibility and brand trust on responses to online behavioral advertising. Journal of Communication Technology, 4(2), 32-57. https://doi.org/10.51548/joctec-2021-009
Wu, T., Xu, X., & Atkin, D. (2020). The Alternatives to Being Silent: Exploring Opinion Expression Avoidance Strategies for Discussing Politics on Facebook. Internet Research.
Lin, C. A., Xu, X., Dam, L. (published online). Information Source Dependence, Presumed Media Influence, Risk Knowledge and Vaccination Intention. Atlantic Journal of Communication.
Park, S., Xu, X., Rourke, B., & Bellur, S. (2019). Do you enjoy TV, while Tweeting? Effects of multitasking on viewer’s transportation, emotions and enjoyment. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 63(2). 231-249.
Xu, X. & Lin, C. A. (2018). Effects of Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Factors on College Students’ Bottled Water Purchase Intentions. Communication Research Reports, 35(3), 245-255.
Lin, C. A., & Xu, X. (2017). Effectiveness of online consumer reviews: The influence of valence, reviewer ethnicity, social distance and source trustworthiness, Internet Research, 27(2), 362 -380.
Radin, M., Wu, T. Y., Xu, X., Rainear, A. M, & Atkin, D. J. (2017). The Impact of Environmental Attitudes and Waste Signage on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors About Recycling. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 9(2), 29-44.
Xu, X., Zhu, X., & Bresnahan, M. (2016). Fighting Back: Inner-City Community Responses to Food Insecurity. American Behavioral Scientist, 1(16), 1306-1321. [Issue won the outstanding faculty publication award of Michigan State University Director of Libraries].
Zheng, P., & Xu, X. (2011). Cultural identity and acculturation strategies of mainland students in Hong Kong: A case study of mainland students in Hong Kong University (in Chinese). Youth Exploration, 5, 29-34.
Book Chapter
Lin, C.A., Park, S., & Xu, X. (forthcoming). K-pop as a case of inter-group similarity and acceptance in cross-cultural communication. In D. Kim (Ed.), The Korean wave: Diffusion of Korean pop culture in Western countries. Seoul: Seoul, Korea: National University Press.
Correspondence Journal Articles
Zheng, P., & Xu, X. (2009). Grass-root oriented, but elites controlled: Reflection on citizen journalism blog (in Chinese). Youth Journalist, 21, 92.
Xiaowen's Communication World 