Yuan Sun, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Department of Advertising
Office: 3061 Weimer
Email: yuan.sun@ufl.edu
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Yuan Sun, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Department of Advertising
Yuan Sun is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
Her research examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping strategic communication, advertising, and human–technology interaction. Her work focuses particularly on how people develop, calibrate, and maintain trust in AI systems, including conversational and agentic AI. She studies topics such as AI sycophancy, algorithmic transparency, misinformation, human–AI decision making, and the use of AI agents in organizational and consumer contexts. Her broader research also examines digital health communication, social media, and the psychological processes through which communication technologies influence attitudes and behavior.
Sun’s research has appeared in leading journals and conference proceedings across communication, advertising, and human-computer interaction, including the Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, Health Communication, and Social Media + Society, as well as the proceedings of premier Association for Computing Machinery conferences, including the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW), and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).
Before pursuing her Ph.D., Sun spent seven years working in marketing, public relations, and technology. As Director of Overseas Public Relations for Cheetah Mobile, a Beijing-based technology company, she led international reputation management and communication campaigns supporting the company’s global and AI-related businesses. She also held marketing roles at Jide Technology and COFCO Property Investment in Beijing. Earlier in her career, she worked as a news assistant at The New York Times Beijing Bureau and interned at CNN Beijing.
Education
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
M.A., Media Studies, Pennsylvania State University Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
B.A., Journalism and International and Public Affairs, Peking University, China.
News
- New study suggests that perceptions of trust may be shaped by our news consumption habits (June 17, 2026)
- How does AI sycophancy affect user trust? (May 11, 2026)
- Yuan Sun co-authors articles on AI sycophancy and the causes and effects of the “news will find me” perception (April 13, 2026)
- UFCJC faculty, graduate students and alumni represented at 2025 National Communication Association Convention (November 21, 2025)
- Generative AI may help turn consumers into active collaborators and creators, study finds (October 28, 2025)
- All News About Yuan Sun →
Publications
Recent Refereed Journal Articles
Sun, Y., & Wang, Y. (2026). How Should AI Agents Ask for Donations? Comparison of Emotional and Normative Appeals in AI-Mediated Fundraising. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction. DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2026.2719117
Liu, S., Chu, H., & Sun, Y. (2026). From isolation to engagement: Chatbot-delivered narratives as a social surrogate for novice quitters and socially isolated smokers. Patient Education and Counseling, 151. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2026.109779
Yang, Q., & Sun, Y. (2026). Sad but Still Engaging: Examining Sadness Appeal in Narrative Advertising on the audience’s Brand Attitude and Purchase Intention. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising. DOI: 10.1080/10641734.2026.2693269
Chen, C., Sun, Y., Liao, M., & Sundar, S.S. (2026). When AI Disagrees: The Effect of Second Opinion on Patients' Trust in Doctors. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 213, 103824. DOI: 10.1016/J.IJHCS.2026.103824
Sun, Y., & Wang, T. (2026). Be friendly, not friends: How LLM sycophancy shapes user trust. Proceedings of ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. DOI: 10.1145/3772318.379107
Sun, Y., Liao, M., Sundar, S.S., & Walther, J.B. (2026). Does transparency matter when an AI system meets performance expectations? An experiment with an online dating site. Computers in Human Behavior, 177, 108875. DOI: 10.1016/J.CHB.2025.108875
Liao, M., Sun, Y., Durotoye, T., Gil De Zuniga, H., & Sundar, S.S. (2026). When We Think “News Will Find Me”: Relative Credibility of Social-Media Friends, Algorithms, and Editors. Social Media + Society, 12(2). DOI: 10.1177/20563051261434801
Feng, Y., & Sun, Y. (2026). Consumer empowerment through generative artificial intelligence: enhancing brand narrative with collaboration, creation, and communication. International Journal of Advertising, 45(1), 229–261. DOI: 10.1080/02650487.2025.2547545
Sun, Y., Cruz, I.F., & Kim, D. (2025). Tools or Teammates? Examining Agency Negotiation in Human-GenAI Collaboration In Creative Work. Human-Machine Communication, 11, 145–169. DOI: 10.30658/HMC.11.8
Liu, S., Chu, H., Yuan, S., Sun, Y., & Men, L. (2025). The more you think you know: AI experience, literacy, heuristics, and perceived AI authorship. AI & Society. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-025-02643-w
Research
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence; Strategic Communication; Advertising; Human–AI Interaction; Conversational and Agentic AI; Trust Calibration; Misinformation