Ines Yu

Biography

My research interests center on understanding how features of interactive media shape individuals’ attention, motivation, engagement, and decision-making. Drawing on media psychology and social psychological theories, I study how people process and respond to content across video games, social media, and other emerging media environments. My research focuses particularly on video games and game-based experiences, including media multitasking, rewards and motivation, gamification, and persuasive communication in interactive environments.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Velez, J. A., Yu, I. H., Smith, X., Lee, S. H., Lin, Y., Chae, S. W. (2025). Trolling is in the eye of the beholder: An attributional approach to predicting perceptions of trolling and vigilantism in online games. Communication Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251334420

Yu, I. H. & Kim, H. (2020). The Influence of Characteristics of Independent Media Creator Contents on Purchase Intention: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Brand Authenticity. The Journal of the Korea Contents Association, 20(1), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.5392/JKCA.2020.20.01.045

Under Review

Ni, Y., Lin, Y., Yu, I. H., Booth, M. A., Yan, H., Peng, T., Leibowitz, G., Potter, R. F. (2025). Real-Time Impact of Video Gameplay Variables on Motivated Behaviors, Affective States, and Cognitive Resource Allocation. Manuscript submitted for publication at Motivation and Emotion.

Research in Progress

Yu, I. H., Lin, Y., & Velez, J. A. (2025). The Effect of Multitasking on Productivity and Perceived Productivity. (Manuscript in Preparation)

Lin, Y., Yu, I. H., Ni, Y., Booth, M. A., Yan, H., & Potter, R. F. (2025). The Effects of Game Learning Efficiency on Cognitive and Emotional Trajectories. (Manuscript in Preparation)

Yu, I. H., Ni, Y., Kumar., S., Saroha, J., & Velez, J. A. (2025). The Effect of In-game Currency on Game Player’s Purchasing Experience. (Data Collection)

Conference Presentations

Yu, I. H., Ni, Y., Kumar., S., & Velez, J. A. (November 20–23, 2025). Diamonds Are a Player’s Best Friend: The Effect of In-game Currency on Game Player’s Purchasing Experience. [Conference Presentation]. National Communication Association 111^th Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Yu, I. H., Lin, Y., & Velez, J. A. (June 12–16, 2025). Good Task is Done Task: The Effect of Video Game Multitasking on Productivity and Perceived Productivity. [Conference Presentation]. International Communication Association (ICA) 75th Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Lin, Y., Yu, I. H., Ni, Y., Booth, M. A., Yan, H., & Potter, R. F. (June 12–16, 2025). Master the Failure: The Effects of Game Learning Efficiency on Cognitive and Emotional Trajectories in Response to Failure Events. [Conference Presentation]. International Communication Association (ICA) 75th Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Velez, J. A., Yu, I. H., Smith, X., Lee, S. H., Lin, Y., Chae, S. W. (June 20–24, 2024). Trolling is in the eye of the beholder: Perceptions of trolling motivations in others predict vigilantism in video games. [Conference Presentation]. International Communication Association (ICA) 74th Annual Conference, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.

Ni, Y., Lin, Y., Yu, I. H., Booth, M. A., Yan, H., Peng, T., Leibowitz, G., Potter, R. F. (June 20–24, 2024). The Impact of Internal and External Motivational Variables on Behavior and Affect in Video Game Play. [Conference Presentation]. International Communication Association (ICA) 74th Annual Conference, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.

Yu, I. H., Ni, Y., & Velez, J. A. (2024, April 12–13). Diamonds are a players’ best friend: the effect of in-game currency on game player’s purchasing experience [Conference Presentation]. Indiana University Media School Common Ground 2024, Bloomington, US.

Yu, I. H. & Chang, B. -H. (2020, May 20–21). The Influence of Game Usage Patterns and Game Motivations on Game Leadership and Social Capital [Conference Presentation]. World Media Economics and Management Conference, Rome, Italy. (Canceled Due to COVID-19)

Baek, S.-K., Chang, B. -H., Yu, I. H., & Kim, H. (2020, May 20–21). Exploring Factors Affecting the Game Device Repertoires of Users in South Korea [Conference Presentation]. World Media Economics and Management Conference, Rome, Italy. (Canceled Due to COVID-19)

Yu, I. H. (2019, June 14). The Influence of Online and Offline Relationship Factors on the Social Capital of Game Users [Conference Presentation]. 2019 Spring Conference of Korea Entertainment Association, Seoul, South Korea.

Yu, I. H. & Kim, H. (2019, April 26–27). The Influence of Characteristics of Independent Media Creator Contents on Consumer Attitude and Purchase Intention [Conference Presentation]. 2019 Spring Conference of Korean Association for Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies, Jeju, South Korea.