A summer throwback! ☀️ @yqpan.bsky.social recently attended the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science and had the opportunity to explore new computational methods. We’re proud to see lab members continue learning new approaches to research. We hope you had a rewarding experience, Ying Qi!

[1/2] Join us next week at UCLA on August 5th! @nibasaleem.bsky.social will be speaking on how today’s media shapes young people’s religious identity.

New research from @yqpan.bsky.social @stephanieherrera.bsky.social @yifeiw1.bsky.social examines how AI is portrayed in the U.S. news from an integrated threat theoretical perspective, identifying 5 major topics surrounding AI-threat coverage. Read more here: doi.org/10.1080/0883... #AI #commsky

Communicating risk helps people make informed decisions. But what happens when risk perceptions are elevated over time? With students Tammy Teo and Cameron Tan, @ismaharif.bsky.social found that increasing perceived risk predict later declines in well-being. Read more here: doi.org/10.1111/aphw...

Excited to announce that our lab member @yqpan.bsky.social has been invited to attend the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS) hosted in Singapore. We’re so proud of her and hope she has an enriching experience while enjoying everything Singapore has to offer! sicss.io

It’s a wrap! We’re closing out the academic year with our final lab meeting for the quarter with @stephanieherrera.bsky.social presenting her MA thesis research work for the Summer. Next up: finals, grading, and a well-earned Summer break! 🌴🧉✈️

Honored to receive the Putnam Interdisciplinary Scholar Award from the department for the work I do! I’m grateful to my mentors, colleagues and friends who have supported and challenged me along my career to be both social psychologist and communication scientist! 🎉 #commsky #ucsb #nusingapore

Media MOSAIC Lab@mediamosaiclab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We’re excited to share that our lab member @ismaharif.bsky.social has received the Putnam Interdisciplinary Scholar Award from the UCSB Department of Communication! We're so proud to see his interdisciplinary research intersecting communication and psychology recognized through this award! 🎉🤝

We’re excited to share that our lab member @ismaharif.bsky.social has received the Putnam Interdisciplinary Scholar Award from the UCSB Department of Communication! We're so proud to see his interdisciplinary research intersecting communication and psychology recognized through this award! 🎉🤝

Excited for #ICA26 starting today! Do check out our lab's @yqpan.bsky.social @ismaharif.bsky.social @stephanieherrera.bsky.social work on identity threats, emotions and media framing if you're in town! 💻💬🌍 #ICA2026 #ICA26 #commsky #psych

Media MOSAIC Lab@mediamosaiclab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📢 #ICA2026 is in a few days! If you’re at Cape Town, check out some of the ongoing work by our lab members @yqpan.bsky.social @ismaharif.bsky.social @stephanieherrera.bsky.social Details of our upcoming talks are in the comments [1/4] #commsky #ucsb

📢 #ICA2026 is in a few days! If you’re at Cape Town, check out some of the ongoing work by our lab members @yqpan.bsky.social @ismaharif.bsky.social @stephanieherrera.bsky.social Details of our upcoming talks are in the comments [1/4] #commsky #ucsb

We’re thrilled to share that our incredible lab member @len-s.bsky.social successfully defended her dissertation, “Reconceptualizing Racial Diversity in Entertainment Media Using an Audience-Centered Approach for Media Evaluations and Behaviors.” 🎉 🥳 We’re so proud of you Dr. Sovannie Len! 🥳

✨New paper out @nature.com ✨ For 8 weeks around the 2024 US election, we randomly assigned 2,000 people to use social media algos we built ourselves. Do engagement-based algorithms amplify intergroup, moral & emotional (IME) content—and does that distort how we see political norms? 🧵🔗 👇

#ICYMI Exciting research from our lab member @stephanieherrera.bsky.social led by @lupitamiamour.bsky.social was presented at @priec.bsky.social this year!

Stephanie Herrera@stephanieherrera.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I’m so excited to be working on this project with @lupitamiamour.bsky.social!

📢 When do social media users participate politically online? In a study led by @yqpan.bsky.social, social media social capital played a key role, amplifying engagement but also reflecting gender differences in digital participation. Read more here! doi.org/10.1080/1520... #commsky

#ICYMI Amazing work by @nibasaleem.bsky.social and @ismaharif.bsky.social at @priec.bsky.social hosted by UCSB! Here's some snapshots of our research 💻📢 #commsky #psychsky #PRIEC

Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium@priec.bsky.social · 3mo ago

11. Media Context of Reception: Intergroup Symbolic Environments & Migration Muniba Saleem & Ismaharif Ismail, UCSB Q: does negative media of minorities process diff for maj & min groups? A: for maj group -> support for policy harmful to Muslims; min group -> less gov trust #PRIEC

Do check out @nibasaleem.bsky.social talk tomorrow if you're attending PRIEC at @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social! 📅 May 8 | 1:30–2:50 PM (PT) 📍 HSSB 6020, UC Santa Barbara

Media MOSAIC Lab@mediamosaiclab.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Join us next week at the Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium (PRIEC) this year for an upcoming talk by @nibasaleem.bsky.social on how media representations shape intergroup relations and migration! 📅 May 8 | 1:30–2:50 PM (PT) 📍 HSSB 6020, UC Santa Barbara

Join us next week at the Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium (PRIEC) this year for an upcoming talk by @nibasaleem.bsky.social on how media representations shape intergroup relations and migration! 📅 May 8 | 1:30–2:50 PM (PT) 📍 HSSB 6020, UC Santa Barbara

📢 New research with @stephtorrespantoja.bsky.social , Julian Unkel, Lisa Rhee, @nibasaleem.bsky.social, and @joebayer.bsky.social What counts as “social media”? We find major disagreement across platforms and age groups, with implications for how people perceive its effects and role in society.

[1/2] People love anti-heroes but when are they seen as villains? 🎞️ With mixed-methods, @len-s.bsky.social showed that the media character’s race affects perceptions of morally ‘ambiguous’ vs ‘bad’ characters. White audiences surprisingly favored minorities but were biased against White characters.

After a decade since conceptualizing it, our paper on goal communication is finally out! 🎉 doi.org/10.1007/s110... We often talk about our goals with our family, friends or colleagues. We tell them what we’ve been up to, celebrate successes or vent about frustrations. (1/3) 🧵

[1/2] New pub with @len-s.bsky.social and @kyungin-kim.bsky.social! Calls for greater racial diversity in movies are an ongoing conversation, but how about diversity within racial groups? Our mixed-method study of 30 years of film examines how Asian American subgroups are narratively represented.

Missed @nibasaleem.bsky.social talk at the International Society for Research on Aggression Speaker Series this year? You can now watch it online here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Yf... #commsky #ucsb

2026 ISRA Seapker Series - Dr. Muniba Saleem

YouTube video by ISRA Society

youtube.com

We’re excited to share that @nibasaleem.bsky.social was featured by @spspnews.bsky.social for her research informing policy at federal, social media platform and nonprofit levels! 🏛️💻💬 Read more here: spsp.org/news/newslet... #spsp #commsky #psychsky

📰Research we did in Singapore and US was featured in the Berkeley's Greater Good Magazine! #NUS #UCSB #wellbeing #selfcontrol

We Need Well-Being More Than Willpower to Reach Our Goals

A new study suggests that if your aim is changing bad habits, you can build self-control by focusing on increasing your well-being.

greatergood.berkeley.edu

Ismaharif I.@ismaharif.bsky.social · 9mo ago

🚨New Paper 🚨 There is no shortage of interventions to address self-control in education or employee performance. Yet, they rarely address the core problem of whether individuals have the capacity to exert self-control (e.g., poor financial well-being; challenging life events). (1/3)

🚨New Paper 🚨 There is no shortage of interventions to address self-control in education or employee performance. Yet, they rarely address the core problem of whether individuals have the capacity to exert self-control (e.g., poor financial well-being; challenging life events). (1/3)

Congrats to lab member @ismaharif.bsky.social, who has received UCSB OISS funding through the African & Asian Students in STEM Scholarship to support fieldwork leading the Singapore team in a 23+ country Global Social Media Experiment. The Registered Report has in-principle acceptance at Nature! 🥳👏🏽

We hope everyone has been having a wonderful #SPSP2026! This is a reminder that @ismaharif.bsky.social will be presenting in just a few hours!! 🗣️📄 Come chat about methods, theory, findings, and support a great talk and engage with the lab! 👋🏽 #socialpsyc #socialpsych #academicsky Session Update ⬇️

#SPSP2026 kicks off tomorrow in Chicago! The Media MOSAIC Lab is ecstatic for the next few days of #socialpsyc conferencing! 👋🏽🤩 We are excited for @ismaharif.bsky.social's presentation on Saturday. He will be presenting his paper with our lab PI @nibasaleem.bsky.social! 🗣️📄 For session info, see ⬇️

Media MOSAIC Lab member @garciaerick.bsky.social highlighted some intersting points at this top paper presentation! Make sure to reach out to him if you'd like to chat more about online hate or counterspeech. Way to go Erick! 👏🏽 #NCA2025 #COMMSky #AcademicSky #SciComm

Erick Garcia@garciaerick.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I had the privilege of sharing my research on counterspeech, bystander intervention, source effects, and support for victims of online hate at the National Communication Association. I'm grateful to be recognized with a Top Student Paper award in the Group Communication Division. #COMMSky #NCA2025

Way to go @len-s.bsky.social on showcasing some of the awesome work we do at the Media MOSAIC Lab! 👏🏽 #NCA2025 #COMMSky #AcademicSky #SciComm

Sovannie Len@len-s.bsky.social · 9mo ago

I presented three talks at #NCA2025 including @kyungin-kim.bsky.social and mine's content analysis which won the Top Paper Award in the Communication and Social Cognition division. We're so grateful ♡ It was also wonderful seeing so many scholars and innovative research !!!