Cameron J. Bunker, Ph.D.

About Me

I am a social scientist who examines the relationships between social media and the self. My research program focuses on how people view themselves differently on social media than in offline contexts, and how cultural background influences this relationship. I incorporate a range of methods in my research, including cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, self and other reports, and behavioral data collected via logged smartphone use. My ultimate goal is to bridge ideas across disciplines to promote healthy relationships between people and technology.

I am an Assistant Professor of Media Psychology in the Marketing Communication Department at Emerson College. I direct the Selves and Media Laboratory and teach courses in communication, media, psychology, and marketing.

I am committed to open and inclusive scientific practices (see OSFHome ) and am eager to collaborate. I look forward to connecting with you 😊

Selves and Media Lab

Media (modes of communication beyond face-to-face) complicate our self-narratives. Media can help, enhance, and expand the self, but also constrain, deter, and limit the self. The Selves and Media Laboratory examines this duality.

I am passionate about mentoring students. Students with an interest in media, technology, psychology, social science, statistics, and related fields should consider joining the lab (email: cameron.bunker@emerson.edu.). Student research assistants will particularly benefit if pursing a graduate education (e.g., Masters or PhD) or the following career paths:

I actively involve students in my research, as evidenced by co-authorship on publications and presentations (see my CV). I have mentored over 50 students (including 18 theses/independent projects), many of whom have given presentations at national conferences and have gone on to do Master's and Ph.D. degrees or positions in technology or business industries.

I especially encourage students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to consider joining the lab. Indeed, media do not influence everyone equally, nor has the influence on people been equally distributed across groups. I value the impact that diverse mentees have on my research agenda concerning the self and social behavior in a diverse and digital world and am eager to provide spaces for their success.

The following publication is representative of the topics we examine in the lab:

Bunker, C. J., Balcerowska, J. M., Precht, L., Margraf, J., & Brailovskaia, J. (2024). Perceiving the self as authentic on social media precedes lesser negative mental health: A longitudinal approach. Computers in Human Behavior. PDF

Bunker, C. J., & Kwan, V. S. Y. (2024). Similarity between perceived selves on social media and offline and its relationship with psychological well-being in early and late adulthood. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 108025. PDF

Bunker, C. J. & Kwan, V. S. Y. (2023). Deviation from design: Social media use is linked to less connection between the self and others. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking. PDF

Bunker, C. J. & Kwan, V. S. Y. (2021). Do the offline and social media Big Five have the same dimensional structure, mean levels, and predictive validity of social media outcomes? Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 15(4). PDF

Bunker, C. J., & Varnum, M. E. W. (2021). How strong is the association between social media use and false consensus? Computers in Human Behavior, 125, 106947. PDF

Bunker, C. J., Saysavanh, S. E.*, & Kwan, V. S. Y. (2021). Are gender differences in the Big Five the same on social media as offline? Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 3, 100085. PDF

Contact

• linkedin
• Research Gate
• Research Gate

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';