She received her Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylania. Her research interests focus on discrete emotions’ influence on message processing and decision making in response to media messages that concern health or social issues. She has published over 40 articles and book chapters, and she has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Communication Theory, Communication Research, and Social Influence. She has chaired the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association and the Communication and Social Cognition Division of the National Communication Association. She currently serves as a co-editor of Media Psychology and is co-editor of the forthcoming Handbook of Media Processes and Effects.