Welcome to my website!

I am a Ph.D. student in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University, studying under the supervision of Dr. S. Shyam Sundar. Before joining Penn State, I earned my Master’s degree from Boston University and my Bachelor’s degree from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

My research focuses on the media effects of AI on user cognition and behavior across digital communication. I use experiments to test individual mechanisms and computational methods to analyze the broader societal implications. I am also interested in how AI can improve accessibility and foster more inclusive communication.

I would be glad to connect if you are interested in my research!🌸

🎀 Some keywords of my interests:

Human-AI Interaction
Media Psychology
Mind Perception and Heuristics
Emotion and Public Discourse
Mixed-Methods (Experiment & Computational)

✨ News

2026.06: 🎉🎉 I attended my first trip to ICA and had the privilege of presenting two papers in the HMC Interest Group and the Instructional and Developmental Communication Division.
2026.05: 🎉🎉 I have completed my thesis and graduated from Boston University College of Communication!
2025.08: 🎉🎉 My first conference presentation, titled ‘A Mixed-Methods Study of Narrative Frames in Digital Disaster Reporting in Hong Kong and Mainland China,’ was delivered at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (News and Online News Division).

📝Conference Publications

2026 · Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (Communication Technology Division)
Digital Infrastructure as the E in E-Governance: A Scoping Review
Siru Chen,Xuening HU, Qixuan He

[Master’s Thesis]
2026 · International Communication Association (Human-Machine Communication Division)
Talking to a Chatbot Therapist: Do Avatar Likeness and Empathy Expressiveness Influence Self-Disclosure?
Xuening Hu
Advisor: Dr. Maria Betsi Grabe & Dr. Joshua Baldwin

Grounded in media psychology frameworks Computers as Social Actors (CASA) and machine heuristic
Investigated psychological mechanisms underlying user interaction with AI-powered therapeutic chatbots
Focused on individual cognition and behavioral change processes
Employed online experiments and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count(LIWC)

2026 · International Communication Association (Instructional and Developmental Communication Division)
From Classroom to Workplace: A case study of ethics and AI adoption in higher education
Zhenguan Zhu, Xuening Hu, Xiaoruo Zhang, HsuanNing Wang, Yujie Li, Rufang Bai, Shuhan Wang, Tongxin Liu, Maria Elizabeth Grabe
Advisor: Dr. Maria Betsi Grabe

2025 · National Communication Association (Communication and the Future Division)
Can AI Customer Service Be Trusted? The Impact of Anthropomorphism and Response Strategy on Memory of Service Failures
Xuening Hu, Ruochen Lvy, Shuyu Jia, Zi Deng, Jinyu Xu
Advisor: Dr. James Cummings

2025 · Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (News and Online News Division)
A Mixed-Methods Study of Narrative Frames in Digital Disaster Reporting in Hong Kong and Mainland China
Xuening HU

🎖 Honors and Awards

2025.07 Prize for Academic and Professional Achievement, Boston University
2025.06 Graduate Student Research Award, Boston University
2024.09 Merit-based Scholarship, Boston University
2024.07 Dean’s list, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2024.06 Best Executive Editor (U-beat Magazine), The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2024.01 Best Student Reporter (U-beat Magazine), The Chinese University of Hong Kong

📖 Education

2026.09 - 2030.05 (now), Ph.D. Mass Communication, Bellisario College of Communications at PennState University
2024.09 - 2026.05, MA. Emerging Media Studies, Boston University
2020.09 - 2024.06, B.S.Sc. Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
2022.08 - 2023.01, Exchange Study. Communication and New Media, National University of Singapore

👾 Manuscript in Preparation

[Under Review]
Emotions, Engagement, and National Identity: Computational Analysis of Public Discourses on AI in Chinese Weibo
Xuening Hu, Siru Chen
Advisor: Dr. Ayse Lokmanoglu

[Under Review]
From Classroom to Workplace: A Case Study of Ethics and AI Adoption in Higher Education Zhenguan Zhu, Xuening Hu, Maria Betsi Grabe
Advisor: Dr. Maria Betsi Grabe

[In Progress]
Understanding Platform Power in the AI Era: A Comparative Study on Alibaba and Amazon
Xuening Hu, Chris Chao Su, Chang Liu Advisor: Dr. Chao Su Chris

📰 My News Reports