Fangxin Xu
M.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Journalism and Mass Communication)
B.A. Indiana University Bloomington (Telecommunications)
Email: fxu@utexas.edu
Fangxin is a doctoral candidate in Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations. Her research interests revolve around media psychology associated with entertainment media. To be more specific, she is interested in exploring why people are attracted to certain types of media content, how they interact with the content, and how the interactions affect them, from the perspective of mental processes.
One of her main focuses is to understand the role of video games in shaping gamers’
identities and influencing their well-being. Her research started with violent content in media, and it has led to new research questions about moral identities and moral choices in video games. Currently, Fangxin is working on a project to understand the role of video game engagement, defined through identity and social play connectedness, on psychological well-being.