Professor
Director, Institute of Communications Research
Affiliations
- Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising
- Institute of Communications Research
- Gies College of Business
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Education
- Ph.D. Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
- B.A. Psychology & Film Studies double majors, University of California, Santa Barbara
Course Specialties
- Online privacy
- Technology mediated communication
- Technology and advertising
- Programmatic advertising
Research and Creative Endeavor
Mike Yao’s research focuses on the social and psychological impacts of interactive digital media. He conducts research and writes on a variety of topics such as online behavior, digital literacy, and computer-mediated communication. His current interest is in how users perceive and manage personal boundaries on social media. Specifically, he examines people’s attitudes, beliefs and self-protective behaviors related to online privacy from a psychosocial perspective by considering the influence of cognitive appraisal, social norm, and individual differences. A second area of Mike’s active research is the psychological impacts of digital media use. He examined the influence of various interactive media, such as video games and social media, on users’ online and offline social behavior. He is currently trying to extend this line of research to developing an integrated theory of digitally mediated human behavior.
