Dr. Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn
About: Dr. Ahn teaches undergraduate-level research methods, graduate-level user experience research, communication theory, and advertising and society. Her research examines how social media, video/internet games, and immersive virtual environments influence user attitudes and behaviors. She also directs the Games and Virtual Environments Lab (GAVEL), and is the co-director of the new VERGE Lab.
Education
Ph.D., Communication, Stanford University
M.A., Communication, Stanford University
B.A., Communication/Business Administration, Seoul National University
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Ahn is the director of the Games and Virtual Environments Lab and the co-director of the VERGE Lab. Her main program of research investigates how interactive digital media transform traditional rules of communication and social interactions, looking at how virtual experiences shape the way the way that people think, feel, and behave in the physical world. Her work has helped establish foundations for the theoretical advancement of virtual experiences in mediated environments and how their effects transfer into the physical world in four different contexts: health, consumer psychology, conservation, and education. Her ongoing work includes a NSF funded project exploring the application of virtual agents to promote STEM learning for children in informal learning environments, such as children’s museums. Her work has been published in a number of flagship outlets, including Journal of Advertising, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Research, Journal of Health Communication, Human-Computer Interaction, and Media Psychology.
Abstract: Building favorable destination image and evoking positive feelings toward tourism ads are essential to the success of destination marketing in the competitive tourism business environment. The current study investigated the potential of virtual reality (VR) in providing new and innovative avenues for promoting destination image in tourism and testing its impact on advertising engagement […]
Read MoreLee, Joomi (Grady postdoctoral research associate), Ahn, Sun Joo (Grace), Wu, D., Lin, J.-H., & Kim, Jooyoung. (2021). A second chance to protect yourself and others: The impact of interactivity and efficacy messages on influenza vaccination intentions in virtual reality
Read MoreAbstract: The global COVID-19 pandemic forced all large in-person events to pivot to virtual or online platforms. IEEEVR2020 coincided with rising concerns and restrictions on travel and large gatherings, becoming one of the first academic conferences to rapidly adapt its programming to a completely virtual format. The global pandemic provided an impetus to re-examine the […]
Read MoreAbstract: Crises, whether society-wide or personal, are endemic to the human condition. Yet academia and its associated institutions persist in having insufficient scaffolding to support its members during periods of crisis. No one knows this more acutely than academic caregivers of children, elders, disabled adults, and other loved ones with special needs. Academic caregivers are disproportionately women, and the COVID-19 […]
Read MoreAbstract: The open science (OS) movement has advocated for increased transparency in certain aspects of research. Communication is taking its first steps towards OS as some journals have adopted OS guidelines codified by another discipline. We find this pursuit troubling as OS prioritizes openness while insufficiently addressing essential ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and […]
Read MoreAbstract: Virtual reality (VR) tourism provides individuals with a brief, but realistic, preview of travel destinations. Despite the increasing popularity of VR tourism in destination advertising, outcomes and underlying mechanisms of virtual tours remain underexplored. Guided by the theoretical framework of spatial presence perception, this experiment (N = 118) investigated how VR tourism affects behavioral intentions to travel […]
Read MoreSmink, Anne R. (former Grady visiting doctoral student), Hahn, Lindsay (former Grady postdoctoral research associate), Trude, Bryan (Grady doctoral student), & Ahn, Sun Joo (Grace) (2021). Embodied congruence as a framework for understanding user experiences with immersive technologies. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, virtual conference due to COVID-19, August 4-7. ** Top Theory Paper in the […]
Read MoreHatfield, Haley (Grady doctoral student), Ahn, Sun Joo (Grace), Klein, Matthew (Grady doctoral student), & Nowak, K. N. (2021). Confronting whiteness through virtual humans: A systematic review of 20 years of research in prejudice and racial bias using virtual environments. Paper to be presented at the National Communication Association Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, November 18-21. ** Top Paper in the Human […]
Read MorePIs and Co-PIs: Matthew Browning (Multiple PI, Clemson University), Jill Gambill (Co-PI, University of Georgia) Funding Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Total Amount: $499,931 Project period: 2 years Project Summary: The project will be looking at using virtual reality (VR) to better communicate and educate about the risks of climate change among coastal […]
Read MoreAbstract: Only one-third of adults 18 to 49 years old in the United States receive a recommended annual influenza vaccination. This study examined whether supplementing vaccine information statements (VIS) with an immersive virtual reality (VR), short video or electronic pamphlet story designed to convey the community immunity benefits of influenza vaccination would improve influenza vaccine […]
Read MorePoster presented at the World Congress of Pain of the International Association for the Study of Pain, September 12-16, Boston, MA.
Read MoreAbstract: This chapter explores how video games interact with individual characteristics to afford unique opportunities for behavior change. It first considers how video games differ from traditional media, and more specifically how they create virtual situations that may be perceived differently from those naturally occurring in reality. In this regard, the concept of situational affordance […]
Read MoreAbstract: Embodied experiences in virtual reality (VR) involves the reproduction of sufficiently realistic sensory information so that users are able to see, hear, and feel experiences as if they are going through them at the moment. A growing body of literature evinces that the effects of these virtual experiences carry over into the physical world […]
Read MoreAbstract: Virtual simulations allow users to feel and manipulate objects as they would in the physical world. Guided by exemplification theory and risk communication research, a virtual exemplar was developed to allow users to feel the weight of the caloric density of unhealthy snacks (e.g., potato chips) to heighten risk perceptions on snack choices. A […]
Read MoreAbstract: Although previous research has shown that individuals take on aspects of the avatars they embody in virtual environments, studies have not yet tested whether this phenomenon, known as the Proteus Effect, extends to traits that are undesirable to have, such as narcissism. One hundred thirty-three female participants completed a shopping simulation in virtual reality. […]
Read MoreAbstract: Gamification is an increasingly popular form of health intervention but its efficacy remains elusive due to a lack of clarity in its conceptualization and operationalization. This study aimed to isolate and determine the direct causal effect of one of the most popular game elements used in gamified interventions, the points-based reward system, on PA […]
Read MoreAbstract: Virtual simulations allow individuals to concretely view future negative health consequences of present dietary choices. Integrating exemplification theory with risk communication research, the effect of using virtual simulations to exemplify health risks of soft drink consumption was assessed across three weeks. A three-group pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test design (N= 62) compared the effect of […]
Read MoreTeaching Specialties
Dr. Ahn’s teaching specialties include advertising research, user experience research, advertising society, communication theory, media processes and effects, digital media technology, and communication and children.
Experience
Prior to obtaining her Ph.D. degree, Dr. Ahn worked as the Assistant Manager of the Survey & Research Division for the Korea Foundation for Asian Culture Exchange under the Korean Ministry of Culture & Tourism. She also worked as an interpreter and translator at the Korean Ministry of Finance & Economy and holds over a decade’s experience in interpretation and translation as a freelancer.
Awards and Fellowships
2019: AEJMC Krieghbaum Under-40 Award
2019: University of Georgia Office of Instruction First-Year Odyssey Teaching Award
2017: University of Georgia Charles B. Knapp Early Career Scholar Award
2017: AEJMC Emerging Scholar Grant
2017: Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Outstanding Teacher Award nominee
2015: Mary Alice Shaver Promising Professor Award, American Academy of Advertising
2015: Top Paper/Poster in the Health Communication Division, International Communication Association
2014: Top Paper in the Communication and Technology Division, International Communication Association
2014: Best Paper at IEEE VR 2014 Conference
2014: University of Georgia’s Superstar Researcher Recognition, Office of the Provost
2014: University of Georgia Career Center Faculty Recognition for high impact on student career development
2013: University of Georgia, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Faculty Summer Support ($5,000)
2009: Top Paper Award in the Nonverbal Communication Division, National Communication Association
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