Current Projects in the HMC Lab

Current work:

Lab director, Dr. Cameron Piercy, is currently co-editing with Dr. Alaina Zanin (Arizona State) a book called Teaming with Machines, under contract with Wiley-Blackwell. 

At weekly lab meetings, members are working on extending Social Exchange Theory to Sociotechnical Exchange Theory. Find our initial theorizing here: https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.10.3 

KU Emerging Scholars, KU COMS PhD students, and Lab directors are working on several projects advancing communication theory applications in HMC. If you are interested in joining, email Lab Director, Dr. Cameron Piercy (cpiercy@ku.edu). 

 

Check out our existing publications here:

Publications

Extending Social Exchange Theory to human–machine relationships; machine heuristics and how workers weigh the costs and rewards of complex work technologies.

  • Jung, B., Piercy, C. W., & Spence, P. R. (2026). Normalizing AI: The evanishing effect and rethinking the machine heuristic. Human-Machine Communication, 12(1), 139–162. https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.12.7
  • Piercy, C. W., & Turner-Leatherman, R. (2025). Socio-technical exchange with machines: Worker experiences with complex work technologies. Human-Machine Communication, 10(1), 43–66. https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.10.3

Job search networks, workplace tie management, knowledge sharing across teams, and collaboration networks.

Workplace AI and automation, algorithmic hiring, AI-generated news releases, pharmacy work, remote/in-person work, and online reviews of organizations.

  • Ryu, J. S., & Lee, S. K. (2026). Motivational and usage differences in freemium AI adoption: A comparative study of ChatGPT users in the workplace. In Proceedings of the 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2026.691
  • Cui, W., Piercy, C. W., Smith, S. A., & Zhu, Y. (2026). Big Five traits and self-determination in preferences for working in person: The moderating role of communication overload. Journal of Communication Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-06-2025-0136
  • Baumler, R., & Piercy, C. W. (2026). Who’s the fairest of them all: An experiment testing how source, outcome, and process description affect perceived fairness in hiring decisions. Media Psychology, 29(4), 716–740. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2025.2546113
  • Alhammad, A., Etheridge, C., & Piercy, C. W. (2026). Credibility and organizational reputation perceptions of news releases produced by artificial intelligence. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 31(1), 88–101. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-01-2025-0005
  • Gist-Mackey, A. N., Piercy, C. W., & Bates, J. M. (2024). Pharmacy work: Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic rewards across role and setting. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 64(1), 104–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2023.11.008
  • Piercy, C. W., & Carr, C. T. (2024). Reading into reviews: Contrasting star ratings and review aggregation in reviews of organizations. Journal of Communication Technology, 6(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.51548/joctec.6.2.2024.01
  • Zhu, Y., & Piercy, C. W. (2024). Impact of online patient reviews: Three choice-based conjoint experiments of hospital and physician ratings. Journal of Communication Technology, 6(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.51548/joctec.6.1.2024.01
  • Carr, C. T., Hayes, R. A., & Piercy, C. W. (2023). “Posts are my own”: Effects of social media disclaimers on perceptions of employees and their organizations from tweets and retweets. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(5), 724–743. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-06-2022-0058
  • Piercy, C. W., & Gist-Mackey, A. N. (2021). Automation anxieties: Perceptions about technological automation and the future of pharmacy work. Human-Machine Communication, 2, 191–208. https://doi.org/10.30658/hmc.2.10

Trust in robots and digital assistants, performance failures, expectation gaps, and repair strategies.

  • Song, Y. J., Park, J., & Lee, S. K. (2026). Disappointed with Siri: Expectation–experience gaps in human–AI interaction. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 225, Article 124540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2026.124540
  • Lee, S. K., Park, H., & Kim, S. Y. (2024). Gender and task effects of human–machine communication on trusting a Korean intelligent virtual assistant. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(16), 4172–4191. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2024.2306136
  • Zhang, X., & Lee, S. K. (2024). “Sorry, I don’t understand…”: Effects of task type, personality presentation and performance error on user trust of a personal digital assistant. Information Technology & People, 37(8), 154–174. https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-01-2022-0058
  • Zhang, X., Lee, S. K., Kim, W., & Hahn, S. (2023). “Sorry, it was my fault”: Repairing trust in human-robot interactions. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 175, Article 103031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103031
  • Zhang, X., Lee, S. K., Maeng, H., & Hahn, S. (2023). Effects of failure types on trust repairs in human–robot interactions. International Journal of Social Robotics, 15(9), 1619–1635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-023-01059-0
  • Lee, S. K., & Sun, J. (2023). Testing a theoretical model of trust in human-machine communication: Emotional experience and social presence. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(16), 2754–2767. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2145998

Trust in robots and digital assistants, performance failures, expectation gaps, and repair strategies.

  • Li, X., Cui, W., Olatunji, S., & Piercy, C. W. (2026). Effects of empathetic responses, agent identity, and gender match on users’ self-disclosure of depression and perceptions in human–chatbot interactions. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2026.2692012
  • Edwards, C., Edwards, A., Rijhwani, V., Mostafa, H. K., Ebo, D., & Doku, D. (2026). Beauty and the bot: Perceptions of human and AI fitness influencers on Instagram. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 42(10), 7318–7335. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2558025
  • Lin, X., Lachlan, K. A., Spates, S. A., Spence, P. R., Kaufmann, R., & Jung, B. (2025). Revisiting identity cues and helpfulness heuristics in online learning: Does knowing who helps matter? Communication Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2025.2558959
  • Lee, S. K., Ryu, J., Jie, Y., & Ma, D. H. (2025). Motivations and affordances of ChatGPT usage for college students’ learning. Media and Communication, 13, Article 9508. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.9508
  • Piercy, C. W., Montgomery-Vestecka, G., & Lee, S. K. (2025). Gender and accent stereotypes in communication with an intelligent virtual assistant. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 195, Article 103407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103407
  • Lee, S. K., Kavya, P., & Lasser, S. (2021). Social interactions and relationships with an intelligent virtual agent. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 150, Article 102608.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102608

How people take up and make sense of social media, streaming, AR, and mobile technologies. 

  • Lee, S. K., Sun, J., & Wong, N. (2026). Perceived media affordances on TikTok and YouTube among U.S. college students. Comunicar, 34(85), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19690421
  • Laberger, M., Tartarin, A., & Lee, S. K. (2026). Exploring consumer satisfaction with an AR beauty app based on the technology acceptance model and experience economy theory. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 14(1), 308–325. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41270-024-00360-9
  • Lee, S. K., Sugiyama, S., Park, J., Lee, H., & Katz, J. E. (2025). Fashion attentiveness and influencer engagement: Exploring social media appropriation in South Korea. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 30(2), 258–274. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-01-2025-0033
  • Lee, S.-J., & Lee, S. K. (2025). Exploring the determinants of satisfaction and continuous intention to use TVing. International Journal of Contents, 21(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.5392/IJoC.2025.21.1.011
  • Jung, J., Yoon, S.-H., Kengesbay, D., & Lee, S. K. (2025). Qualitative comparison between TikTok and YouTube. International Journal of Contents, 21(1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.5392/IJoC.2025.21.1.023
  • Lee, S. K., & Cionea, I. A. (2024). A test of the mobile phone appropriation model. Western Journal of Communication, 88(1), 194–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2022.2158687
  • Zhang, X., Piercy, C. W., & Lee, S. K. (2023). A test of the mobile phone appropriation model: A comparison between Chinese and US samples. Asian Communication Research, 20(2), 95–124. https://doi.org/10.20879/acr.2023.20.012
  • Sun, J., & Lee, S. K. (2023). “No more COVID-19 messages via social media, please”: The mediating role of COVID-19 message fatigue between information overload, message avoidance, and behavioral intention. Current Psychology, 42(24), 20347–20361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04726-7

Identity communication, mediated and intergroup relationships, and mental health in technology-rich contexts. 

  • Corder, M. D., Kirk, B., & Piercy, C. W. (2026). Hyperpersonal relationships in social virtual reality. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 7, Article 1781529. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2026.1781529
  • Cui, W. (2026). Body positivity and beauty standards on Xiaohongshu: A quantitative content analysis. Southern Communication Journal, 91(4), 323–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2026.2639702
  • Cui, W. (2026). Social power motives, gendered traits, and aggression in eSports: Evidence from two survey waves. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, Article 1833661. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1833661
  • Baumler, R., Palomares, N. A., & Piercy, C. W. (2025). Exploring gender identity cues in email signature blocks: An experimental study. Psychology of Language and Communication, 29(1), 391–420. https://doi.org/10.58734/plc-2025-0018
  • Baumler, R., & Piercy, C. W. (2025). Crystallized trans identity: How authenticity and identity communication affect job and life satisfaction. Communication Research, 52(7), 859–884. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241234840
  • Zhang, Y. B., Harwood, J., Piercy, C. W., Liu, N., & Ruble, R. A. (2023). Accommodation, social attraction, and intergroup attitudes on social media: The effects of outgroup self-presentation and ingroup accommodation. Language Sciences, 99, Article 101563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2023.101563