Lee T
- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

Expertise

Psychology, Self-Presentation on Social Media/New Media

Bio

I'm a Ph.D. graduate in human-computer interaction. I'm interested in the human side, looking at how people present themselves differently on different media and the motivation or reasoning behind these presentations. I look at a variety of attributes such as affordances of the media (what a certain medium allows you to do), social norms on that media (what people feel is appropriate for that medium), and individual differences (how individual people present themselves differently). When I'm not working on these sorts of projects, I also keep busy with different hobbies, such as fencing. I enjoy mentoring students, and I've been lucky to work with a variety of skilled and wonderful undergraduates. In my research lab, I help train them in research methods such as interviewing techniques, research design, qualitative coding, and statistical analysis.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Who am I on TikTok?

This project would investigate self-presentation on TikTok, looking at how people express themselves on it and if some are more or less authentic there compared to offline.

My friend, the Lo-Fi Beats study girl

This project would investigate how people form bonds with animated characters they spend time with, such as with the popular live stream "lofi hip hop radio - beats to relax/study to"

Coding skills

Python

Teaching experience

I regularly work as a teaching assistant in classes where I hold weekly lectures, meet with students in small groups to work on projects, and/or grade homework and assignments. I also have multiple research assistants who I train in using different research methods and lead on different stages of research

Credentials

Education

University of California Irvine (UCI)

BA Bachelor of Arts (2011)

Psychology and Social Behavior

University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

MA Master of Arts (2018)

Cognitive Psychology

University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

Computational Media

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Lee T - Research Program Mentor