Communication

Danyang Zha

Danyang Zhao

Assistant Professor
324 Memorial Hall
Department Main Office Phone: (309) 298-1507
Email: D-Zhao@wiu.edu

Danyang Zhao is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Western Illinois University. She received her M.A. (2014) and Ph.D. (2018) from Florida State University. Her research focuses on understanding media uses and effects from a psychological perspective. She has examined the influence of media messages on behaviors related to mental health, and the relationships between social media consumption, positive emotions, and prosociality. Her work in these areas has been published in Patient Education and Counseling, Psychology of Popular Media, Computers in Human Behavior, and Communication Studies. She accomplished some of her scholarly work during her participation in a three-year grant project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which examined how people use and are impacted by media content that elicits self-transcendent emotions (such as awe, elevation, and hope). She has presented her research at the annual conventions (2015-2020) of the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association.

Prior to her position at WIU, she worked as a visiting assistant professor in Department of Communication Studies at New Mexico State University and visiting assistant professor of Integrated Marketing Communication in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University. Before her graduate career, she worked in the IT-based health insurance e-commerce service industry for four years. She has a passion for teaching and believes her research and professional experience inform her teaching in many aspects.

Education

Ph.D. in Communication Theory and Research, Florida State University
M.A. in Media and Communication Studies, Florida State University
B.A. in Applied English and French, Heilongjiang University

Teaching Areas

Persuasion
New Media and Society
Quantitative Research Methods
Communication Theory
Positive Media Psychology

Research Interests

Media Psychology
Processing of Persuasive Messages
Media Effects and Health Behaviors
Media Use and Well-being
New Media and Society