RE SEA RC H PORTFOLI O Annie Xiyang Xu (She/her/hers) Social psychologist

About me Hi, my name is Annie Xiyang Xu. I am currently a Social Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Washington. My research investigates what it meant to be an integrated member in different social environments (e.g., workplace, higher education, cross cultural communication). My ongoing projects investigate: 1) how human-centered services shape international student loyalty to prospective schools; 2) how joint sponsorship reduce intergroup anxiety and motivate participation in multicultural events.

Why UX research? At the core of my research, I investigate elements (see graph on the right) that improve the physical and mental well-being of individuals in contexts. Whether it is a website, a mobile application, a housing experience, or a simple piece of jewelry, UX research tackles the same questions with similar methods that I have expertise in. I believe that a good design - improves experience from pre to post use; - engages users by maximizing their agency to customize individual experiences; - cares about users and uses data as information about not proxy of consumers; Engagement Agency Improvement Care

Why me ? Skills, however hard and obscure, can be learned with time. Much as I am confident of my quantitative and qualitative skills, I am prouder of my multicultural background, my global perspective, and my eagerness to learn about diverse experiences.

A GLI MPSE IN TO MY RESEARCH “Serving International Students”

School Service Types Shape International Student Bond with Host Institutions The Research The Design The Results The Problem The Research The Design The Results

The Problem: Despite institution effort to globalize their campuses, international students continue to experience negative mental health outcomes and reported having strained relationship with their host institutions. Dissatisfaction with foreign education is not merely an individual problem, though treated as such by existing research. International students generate valuable revenue for the U.S. annually. Many eventually stayed in the country as skilled workers. A weakening bond between students and host institutions has negative repercussion on enrollment, retention, and future domicile. Wang et al., 2021; Perez-Rojas et al., 2021; Sawir et al.,2007; Tavares, 2021; Lee & Rice, 2007

The Research A 2022 study on International student service found that holistic support attending to international students social and cultural needs are rare. Website discourse analyses revealed that more than half of the selected schools fell into what’s called the “limited support” category where services for students are limited to tuition, work authorization, health insurance, and immigration. Wang & Sun, 2022 Tuition Work Insurance Immigration Social and cultural needs Logistic services: basic services for survival Holistic services: services that acknowledge humanity

Why services? On the more basic level, holistic school services provide material access. - The lack of which restricts student access to social engagement opportunities. More importantly, the availability of holistic services contains symbolic values: - The presence/absence of which can serve as identity signals. Zhao et al., 2005; Hendrickson et al., 2011; Zhang & Goodson, 2011; Perry, 2016

Students are developmentally attuned to identity cues. Services convey messages Actively seeking signals Who am I in this (new) world? We value/don’t care about your humanities. Schmitt et al., 2003; Arnett, 2000; ; Quach et al., 2013; Anderson, 2020; Mogaji, 2016

Identity signals can be communicated via… Minority Representation (e.g., Chaney et al., 2018) Diversity Programming (e.g., Cipollina & Sanchez, 2020) Identity-safety Information (e.g., Johnson & Pietri, 2020) Kruk & Matsick, 2021 Environmental Features (e.g., Cheryan et al., 2009) Services are one kind of environmental features.

Kirby et al., 2020. Past research that examined the symbolic value of ethnic spaces found that after reading about the construction of an ethnic space, underrepresented students of color reported greater belonging and feeling more valued even if they would not be able to use the space until much later.

Student Testimony confirmed my speculations.

T H E D E S I G N Q: Does the type of available school services shape the bond between international students and institutions? A: Mixed-method research 1) Do students prefer and feel more included in the holistic-service school? 2) Why do students prefer the holistic-service school?

87 Participants were recruited from University of Washington Research Pool(M = 19.48, SD = 1.41) - 32 Men, 47 Women, 4 Non-binary - 83% Asian/Asian American - Less than 2 years spent in the U.S - 52% from Mainland China Participants were randomly assigned to Logistic/Holistic Support condition They view a website that contains: - a mission statement - an event list for the month of March - two detailed event descriptions Participants

Logistic vs Holistic condition Mission statement The Office of International Student Service (OISS) at State University is committed to assisting all self- identifying international students. We provide up-to-date support on all matters relevant to a student’s immigration and legal status/holistic support on every aspect of students’ personal, social, and cultural needs throughout the school year Monthly Schedule Logistic Holistic General Visa Advising OISS Social Hour CPT/OPT Info session CPT/OPT Info Session State ID/SSN workshop Game Night Around the World Health insurance: all you need to know Health insurance: all you need to know Money Matters: Credit Cards and Bank Accounts Global Migration Series

Event details Logistic Holistic

Measures: Inclusive School Climate (𝜶 = .95) Based on what you read about the OISS on the website, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? (1: Strongly disagree; 7: Strongly agree) - This institution values their international students’ humanity (e.g., perspective, cultures). - This institution provides services for international students only because they have to. - It seems like this institution truly cares about the overall well-being of international students. Perceived Belongingness (𝜶 = .90) If I were a student at [logistic or holistic school], (1: Strongly disagree; 5: Strongly agree) - …I would feel very welcomed. - …I would feel celebrated. - …I would feel that I really belong. - …I would feel that it is a positive thing to be an international students. Open-ended question: What do you think about the services provided at [School]?

Logistic Holistic Strongly agree Strongly disagree Quantitative Results Students perceived the school to value international students more when they are exposed to holistic vs logistic support. F(1, 81) = 4.30, p = .04 Error bar = 95% CI d = 0.46* Inclusive School Climate

Quantitative Results Participants feel marginally a higher sense of belonging as international students when they are exposed to holistic vs logistic support. F(1, 81) = 3.55, p = .06 Error bar = 95% CI Logistic Holistic Not at all A great deal d = 0.42+ Perceived Belongingness

What do you think about the school services? Logistic 1. "I think that the service provided is really basic information that should be provided for international students so I think it is baSIC thing that should be done by OISS" 2. "It provides me basic needs regarding paper issues like visa and document help." 3. "The services provided by OISS at State University is ‘mutual’. It is necessary for international to have a website to refer to when we have questions or when we are looking for resources, but it doesn't make me feels welcome. It doesn't really encourage international students to connect with others. " Holistic 1. "I am glad organization values my identity" 2. "There are game nights and sessions where I can meet new people and try new things. There are many networking events." 3. "I feel like connecting with locals is equally valuable than connecting with other international students and some international students need help with that. Therefore, there is more work to be done on events that bring international students in touch with locals through interesting events." Logistic = Basic Holistic = Humanity

Summary - Students benefit when universities acknowledge their social and cultural needs as holistic human beings. - Holistic services can effectively communicate inclusion to international students in the U.S. and strengthen the student-school bond. - Future studies can expand to examine trust towards institution, intention to recommend the school to others, and willingness to donate or spare time for school causes.

Recommendations for Universities - Clearly communicate logistic and holistic support; - Examine and expand on available services; - Conduct surveys to identify students’ actual needs and concerns; - Explore alternative service models that integrate international students into the broader campus community.

Thank you for your time! I would love to be a part of the dynamic and collaborative team at Netflix this summer and immerse myself in the endless exciting and innovative company culture. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for any additional information. You can reach me via email at xxu0116@uw.edu or via phone at 845-546-8134.