Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal profile
Rong Ma is an assistant professor in the Department of Media and Communication. She uses quantitative social scientific methods to research persuasive health messaging and the role of social identities in health communication. Dr. Ma has published articles in top-tier communication journals such as the Journal of Communication, Communication Monographs, and the Journal of Health Communication.
Dr. Ma is currently accepting Ph.D. students.
Research interests
Areas of research: persuasion, health message design, social identity (threat), psychological reactance, intergroup communication
Methodology: experiment, survey, quantitative content analysis, structural equation modeling
Experience
Education:
Ph.D. in communication (2019), University of Maryland, College Park, USA
M.A. in communication (2016), University of Maryland, College Park, USA
B.A. in Spanish (2011), Shanghai International Studies University, China
Employment:
Assistant Professor (2020-2024), Butler University, USA
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research areas
- Health Communication
- Intergroup Communication
- Social Identity
- Quantitative Research Methods
Person Types
- Staff
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Active
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Silver Stories: How Narratives About Older Adults Shape Public Perceptions on Social Media Platforms
19/10/24 → …
Project: Internal Research Project
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Sexual Identity-Related Shame as a Barrier to Mpox Prevention Among Gay and Bisexual Men
Lake, S., Zhao, X. & Ma, R., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Health Communication.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The Role of Narratives in Countering Health Misinformation: A Scoping Review of the Literature
Ma, Z. & Ma, R., 2025, In: Health Communication. 40, 11, p. 2353-2364 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Analyzing narrative contagion through digital storytelling in social media conversations: An AI-powered computational approach
Zhao, X., Ma, Z. & Ma, R., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: New Media & Society.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access5 Citations (Scopus) -
How gay and bisexual men respond to mpox messages through risk- versus identity-based mechanisms: An integrated model
Ma, R. & Zhao, X., 2024, In: Communication Monographs. 91, 2, p. 301-324 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Present, empathetic, and persuaded: a meta-analytic comparison of storytelling in high versus low immersive mediated environments
Ma, Z., Ma, R., Chen, M. & Walter, N., 1 Jan 2024, In: Human Communication Research. 50, 1, p. 27-38 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
6 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
- 1 Organising an event e.g. a conference, workshop, …
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Navigating Cross-Cultural Communication in the Digital Age: Opportunities and Challenges
Zhang, X. (Organiser), Kuang, X. (Organiser), Adhikari, D. (Organiser), Herold, D. K. (Organiser), Huang, G. (Organiser), Pellitteri, M. (Organiser), Ma, R. (Organiser), Hu, H. (Organiser), Ji, D. (Organiser), Han, J. (Chair), Jiang, Y. (Chair), Gao, C. (Chair), Liu, L. (Chair), Zhang, H. (Chair), Milić, V. (Chair), Wang, Z. (Chair), Lin, Y. (Chair), Ong, S. W. (Chair), Wu, K. (Chair), Zhu, Z. (Chair), Wang, Q. (Chair), Zhu, Y. (Chair), Mu, H. (Chair), Liu, X. (Participant), Bilby, J. (Participant), Andriano-Moore, S. A. (Participant), Yang, L. (Participant), Lewis, A. (Participant), Zhang, J. (Participant), Wang, Q. (Participant), Liu, Z. (Participant), Prieler, M. (Participant), Chen, Y. (Participant), Liu, Y. (Participant), Van Mensel, L. (Chair), Tang, B. (Member of programme committee) & Ruan, Z. (Member of programme committee)
28 Mar 2025 → 29 Mar 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising an event e.g. a conference, workshop, …