UC Davis Communication Scholars Shine at the NCA 111th Annual Convention

The UC Davis Department of Communication will make a strong showing at the National Communication Association’s 111th Annual Convention, held November 20–23, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. This year’s theme, “Communicate to Elevate,” reflects a dual commitment to “lifting as we climb” through mentorship and collaboration, and to advancing scholarship, teaching, and service through innovation. UC Davis faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers embody these ideals across leadership roles, award-winning research, and diverse scholarly presentations.

In total, our department will present 23 papers, panels, and posters across a range of divisions, representing cutting-edge work in media effects, health communication, political communication, interpersonal communication, and computational social science.

Leadership and Service

Dr. Laramie Taylor serves as Chair of the Mass Communication Division’s Research Committee, helping guide the division’s scholarly direction and mentoring members in advancing their research agendas.

Excellence in Research – Top Paper Awards

Two UC Davis-led projects earned Top Paper honors at NCA 2025:

• “Rejection of Cross-cutting News Depends on News Sources, Content, and Cultural Contexts: Evidence from Online Trace Data” – Wonjeong “Claire” Jo and Magdalena Wojcieszak.
• “Manipulating Working Memory Demands for Children Playing a Virtual Reality Game: Effects on Learning” – Allyson Snyder, Camren Allen, Sofia Rhea, Drew Cingel, Richard Huskey, Valerie Klein, Millie Fong, and Ana Cervantes.

These recognitions highlight the department’s interdisciplinary strengths, methodological range, and contributions to both theory and practice.

PhD Candidates Named to NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar

PhD candidates Rachel McKenzie and Sofia Rhea have been selected for the competitive 2025 NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar, where they will receive mentorship from leading scholars as they advance their dissertation research in interpersonal communication and media effects.

Research that Elevates

UC Davis scholars will share new insights on topics ranging from news bias and partisan media effects, to AI-enhanced analyses of health communication, to supportive communication in online communities and music fandoms. Faculty and students are also advancing understanding in areas such as video game engagement, fan cultures, hate speech, and gender differences in social media’s effects on life satisfaction.

Below is the full list of UC Davis-affiliated presentations:

1. Experiential Learning in Communication Division Meeting – Jennifer Becker, Wendy Raney, Heather Hether
2. The Communication Capstone and Program Assessment: Ideal Match or Mismatch? – Heather Hether
3. SPARK: Elevating a Campaigns Course by Integrating the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Heather Hether
4. Elevation or Degradation?: A Comparison of Traditional and Technological Idea Generation Techniques for Problem Solving – Heather Hether, Steven Brunner
5. Rejection of Cross-cutting News Depends on News Sources, Content, and Cultural Contexts: Evidence from Online Trace Data – Wonjeong “Claire” Jo, Magdalena Wojcieszak (Top Paper)
6. Balancing Users' Expectancies and Chatbot Supportive Capabilities: A Cross-Regional Study on the Role of Cognitive and Affective Empathy – Daeun Grace Lee, Yihan Danny Jia, Lisa Jihyun Hwang, Rachel McKenzie
7. The Language of Remembrance: Using Topic Modeling and Semantic Networks to Study US Obituaries – Haojian Li, Ping Hu
8. Exchange Structures, Multi-Actor Supportive Communication, and the Emergence of Solidarity in Online Communities – Wang Liao, Chelsea Kim, Bo Feng
9. Examine the Mediation Models of Hate Speech Exposure, Desensitization, and Norm Disruption on Aggression: An Experimental Study – Zhengyi Liang, Jaeho Cho
10. Artificial Intimacy: The Role of Anthropomorphism and Attitudes Towards Technology in Creating Parasocial Relationships with Media Figures Among Young Adults – Sydney Lopez, Abraham Rutchnick
11. Understanding HPV Vaccination Hesitancy: A Global Taxonomy of Parental Beliefs Using AI-Enhanced Analysis – Emily McKinley, Dagyong Kim, Christopher Calabrese, Jingwen Zhang
12. Linguistic Agency and Causality in Support Seeking: Effects on Politeness in Online Support Messages – Rachel McKenzie, Lisa Jihyun Hwang
13. Interpersonal Persuasion: The Language of Relational Development and its Role in Relational Outcome – Yoo Jung Oh, William Donohue, Emily McKinley, Maria Molina, Wei Peng
14. From Digital Traces to Public Vaccination Behaviors: Leveraging Large Language Models for Big Data Classification – Yoo Jung Oh, Muhammad Ehab Rasul, Emily McKinley, Christopher Calabrese
15. Motivations for Video Game Engagement: The Impact of Uses and Gratifications, Self-Determination, and Identification on Genre Preference, Replay Intentions, and Enjoyment – Jorge Peña, Camren Allen, Saba Kolahchian
16. Red, Blue, and the Ballot: Examining the Influence of Partisan Media Use on Voter Fraud and Foreign Interference Concerns – Muhammad Ehab Rasul, Jay Hmielowski
17. Staying Sexy and Not Getting Murdered: True Crime’s Influence on Fans’ Perceptions of Crime and Policy Attitudes – Sofia Rhea, Laramie Taylor
18. Understanding Fan Interaction From the Supportive Communication Perspective: Support Seeking and Provision Behaviors on Popular Music Subreddits – Sofia Rhea, Rachel McKenzie, Aimie Nguyen, Sydney Lopez, Laramie Taylor
19. Exploring the Prevalence of Age Non-congruent Casting in Older Adolescents’ Favorite Television Programs – Sofia Rhea, Jane Shawcroft, Samantha Vigil, Drew Cingel, Sarah Coyne
20. Understanding Gender Differences in the Association Between Social Media Use and Life Satisfaction: A Cross-National Perspective – Jane Shawcroft, Drew Cingel, Matthew Shawcroft, Richard Huskey
21. Manipulating Working Memory Demands for Children Playing a Virtual Reality Game: Effects on Learning – Allyson Snyder, Camren Allen, Sofia Rhea, Drew Cingel, Richard Huskey, Valerie Klein, Millie Fong, Ana Cervantes (Top Paper)
22. Proposing and Validating Scales for Measuring Upward State Social Comparison in the Context of Social Media Use and Psychological Well-Being – Muheng Yu, Drew Cingel
23. The Negativity Bias For News: A Value-Based Decision Making Study – Ziyu Zhao, Xuanjun Gong, Rachael Kee, Allyson Snyder, Elizabeth Riggs, Jason Coronel, Ezgi Ulusoy, Allison Eden, Amber Boydstun, Richard Huskey

With a strong presence across divisions, leadership in NCA service, and award-winning scholarship, UC Davis Communication researchers are living the 2025 theme, Communicate to Elevate, in both spirit and action.