Digital Media Attention and Cognition Lab

People

	Bart Wojdynski, Ph.D., Lab Director and PI Bartosz W. Wojdynski is a behavioral social scientist studying the effects of digital message design on attention and understanding. He is currently Jim Kennedy New Media Professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Georgia, where he has directed the Digital Media Attention and Cognition (DMAC) Lab since 2014. Wojdynski's research examines how the design of digital messages shapes understanding, persuasion, and behavior, with a focus on the mediating role of attention.
	Charlotte Varnum, M.A., Senior Research Associate Charlotte Norsworthy Varnum is the executive director at The Red & Black, a nonprofit independent student newsroom, and a part-time journalism instructor at the University of Georgia. Varnum's research areas include trust and credibility, leadership, and podcasting.
	Jeffrey Duncan, M.A., J.D., Senior Research Associate Jeffrey (Jeff) Duncan is a Ph.D. student in the journalism department at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. His research focuses on media law, using a mixed methods program of psychophysiological experiments and cultural studies to inform legal analysis and regulation on issues such as social media advertising disclosures, contracts in mobile applications, and video game loot boxes. Prior to attending Grady, Jeff practiced intellectual property and social media law for five years.
	Alex Frank, M.A., Senior Research Associate Alex is a third-year PhD student in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Alex is interested investigating how people process and respond to emotion-laden messages related to science and health communication. Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2019) and a Master of Arts in Mass Media Studies from the University of Georgia (2021).
	Jongmin Lee, M.A., Senior Research Associate Jongmin is a Ph.D. student in advertising at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communiation. His research examines the adoption of innovative media technologies and its influence on persuasion. He currently endeavors to explore how adoption of artificial intelligence impacts on the brand-consumer relationships and advertising.
	Sohyun Park, M.A., Research Associate Sohyun Park, M.A., is a Ph.D. student in Journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Her major research interests focus on media effects on political attitudes in the high-choice media environment, particularly regarding controversial issues. She further studies cross-national comparisons of politics and media portrayals of marginalized groups.
	Brittany Shivers, M.A., Research Associate Brittany Shivers is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia. Shivers’ research focuses on the psychological processing of disinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as the societal implications of information disorder exacerbated by social media.
	Jiyoung Yeon, M.A., Research Associate Jiyoung Yeon is a Ph.D. student at Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her research interests center on the impact of online humor and entertainment content on citizen attitudes and behavior, approached from a psychological perspective. She is currently exploring how the public perceives and detects AI-manipulated audiovisual content (i.e., deepfakes) within the context of political and science communication.