Position Title
Assistant Professor
- [email protected]
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=duu3b-IAAAAJ&hl=en
- https://junwenhu.github.io/
About
Junwen Hu is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, Davis. He studies how people pursue "compatible" relationships--relationships that sustain and make impacts.
His work has been published in Communication Research and Information, Communication & Society, among other journals. You may also find reports of his research in media outlets like Psychology Today.
He received his Ph.D. In Communication at Michigan State University, where he won a top student paper award at the annual conference of the International Communication Association as the sole author.
Research Focus
Hu's research focuses on how communication makes possible the pursuit of compatible relationships--relationships that match personal preference, last, and impact personal choices (sometimes unconsciously). He uses online experiments, large-scale content analysis, and multilevel survey data to understand how media and message designs shape this process. Broadly speaking, his work aims to enhance interpersonal belonging, social integration, and the flow of social resources through effective communication.
- Ph.D., Communication, Michigan State University
- M.A., Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University
- B.A., Advertising, Nanjing University
- Hu, J. M., & Markowitz, D. M. (2026). Re-examining relational pursuit and mate selection in online dating. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 43(8), 2262-2285. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261429319
- Hu, J. M., & Oh, Y. J. (2025). Stronger algorithmic beliefs were associated with more benign interpretations in unideal online dating scenarios. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 28(8), 594-598. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2025.0085