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Faculty in Persuasion and Social Influence

The following faculty contribute to our study of Persuasion and Social Influence. Each explains the relationship of their work to your study. We invite you to read more about these faculty elsewhere on our website.

Deborah Cai, Associate Professor (Ph.D., Michigan State University)

Dr. Cai’s research focuses on how people from different cultures emphasize different cognitive processes and the effect such differences may have on decision-making. Her research has included studies on cultural differences in negotiation plans, enactment of face-management strategies, and the mediating effects of role on culture in business negotiation. She teaches intercultural communication, persuasion, negotiation and conflict management, and communication theory. Her research is published in the field's premier journals and serials, including Communication Monographs, Communication Yearbook, Human Communication Research, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and International and Multicultural Organizational Communication.

Edward L. Fink, Professor and Chair (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin)

Dr. Fink is an internationally recognized expert in persuasion and research methods. He studies the creation and testing of mathematical models of the communication process. Some of his research focuses on the cognitive processes involved in persuasion, some on the cultural and social aspects of information diffusion. In addition, he has published work concerning the problems of measurement and analysis associated with empirical research. He teaches persuasion, communication theory, research methods, and data analysis. A former editor of Human Communication Research, Dr. Fink is the 2003 recipient of ICA’s B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award.

Meina Liu, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Purdue University)

Dr. Liu’s research focuses on message production processes, the effect of national culture on negotiation, and the mutual influence that negotiators have on each other. She teaches courses in intercultural communication, negotiation and conflict management, organizational communication, and quantitative research methods. Her research appears in such journals as Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Business Communication, Communication Research, and Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Torsten Reimer, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Free University of Berlin, Germany)

Dr. Reimer studies how communication principles facilitate decision making by guiding information processing and reducing information overload. Applied issues of his research include the design of persuasive messages and risk communication. He has taught courses in social, cognitive, and organizational psychology at the Universities of Potsdam, Berlin, and Basel, and was a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (Berlin). An award-winning teacher and researcher, he has over 30 publications, including articles in Cognitive Science, Theory and Decision, Marketing Letters, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, and Management Revue.

Monique Mitchell Turner, Assistant Professor (Ph.D., Michigan State University)

Dr. Turner’s research examines the effect of emotion on the cognitive processing of persuasive messages, the effect of perceptions of others' emotions on interpersonal judgments, and the development of emotion-based messages. In addition, Dr. Turner has been developing theories related to anger and guilt appeals, primarily in the domains of risk and health communication. She teaches persuasion, conflict management, and research methods. Her research appears in such journals as Communication Monographs, Communication Studies, and Communication Research Reports. Dr. Turner is currently associate editor of Communication Research Reports and is the director of the university’s Center for Risk Communication Research.

Leah Waks, Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies (Ph.D., University of Michigan)

Dr. Waks teaches communication theory, persuasion, and group dynamics. She is an expert in leadership training, mediation, and conflict management. Her main research interest is in the interplay of cognitions, attitudes, and emotions in conflict creation and conflict management, in organizations and in groups. She has published in the Journal of Communication, the Howard Journal of Communication and elsewhere.