Vivian Ta
Specialization
Experimental Psychology
Natural Language Processing
Quantitative Text Analysis
Psychology of Language
Dyadic Data Analysis
Research Methods and Statistics
Social Psychology
Research Interests
I use natural language processing techniques to investigate psychological processes such as equitable outcomes in negotiations, adaptive decision-making in police officers, persuasion, the development of mutual understanding in initial interactions, and others. More information about the research conducted in my lab (Technology, Relationships, and Language Lab) can be found at www.vivianpta.com
Education
PhD, Experimental Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington
MS, Experimental Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington
Courses Taught
Research Methods & Statistics I & II
Psychology of Language
Selected Articles
*Represents a Lake Forest College student
Ta, V. P., Lande, B, & Suss, J. (2021) Emotional reactivity and police expertise in use-of-force decision making. Under review at the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.
Ta, V. P., *Carrico, L., & Bousquet, A. A tutorial on binomial classification using machine learning. Under review.
Bierstetel, S., Farrell, A., Briskin, J., Harvey, M., Gable, S., Ha, T., Ickes, W., Lin, W., Orina, M., Saxbe, D., Simpson, J., Ta, V. P., & Slatcher, R. (2020) Associations between language style matching and relationship commitment and satisfaction: An integrative data analysis. Published online first at Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
Ta, V. P., *Griffith, C., *Boatfield, C., *Wang, X., *Civitello, M., *Bader, H., *DeCero, E., & *Loggarakis, A. (2020). User experiences of social support from companion chatbots in everyday contexts: Thematic analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(3):e16235.
Gesselman, A., Ta, V. P., & Garcia, J. R. (2019). Worth a thousand interpersonal words: Emoji as affective signals for relationship-oriented digital communication. PLoS One, 14(8), e0221297.
Bayram, A. B., & Ta, V. P. (2019). Measuring common knowledge: Latent semantic analysis, linguistic synchrony, and common knowledge in international relations. International Relations, 34(2),180-203.
Bayram, A. B., & Ta, V. P. (2018). Diplomatic chameleons: Language style matching and agreement in international diplomatic negotiations. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, 12(1), 23-40.
Ta, V. P., Babcock, M. J., & Ickes, W. (2017). Developing latent semantic similarity in initial unstructured interactions: The words may be all you need. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 35(3), 1-24.
Ta, V., & Ickes, W. (2017). Measuring empathic accuracy: The unstructured dyadic interaction paradigm. In D. L. Worthington & G.D. Bodie (Eds.), The sourcebook of listening research: Methodology and measurement. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Babcock, M. J., Ta, V. P., & Ickes, W. (2014). Latent semantic similarity and language style matching in initial dyadic interactions. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 33(1), 78-88.
Selected Research Presentations
*Represents a Lake Forest College student
*Griffith, C., *Keller, A., *Loggarakis, A., & Ta, V. P. (2020). Watch Your Language: Investigating the Linguistic Markers of Persuasion and Attitude Change. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, New Orleans, LA, February 27–29.
*DeCero, E., *Griffith, C., *Loggarakis, A., & Ta, V. P. (2020). New Year's Resolutions: The Difference of Goal Setting Between Males and Females. Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, New Orleans, LA, February 27–29.
Universes of Discourse in Political Discussions Among Political Adversaries. (2019). Psychology of Language Pre-Conference, Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, Portland, OR, February 7.
Language and Civil Discourse in Online Interactions. (2018). Facebook Headquarters, Menlo Park, CA, March 14.
The Role and Development of Latent Semantic Similarity in Interpersonal Interactions. (2018). Psychology of Language Pre-Conference, Society for Personality and Social Psychology Convention, Atlanta, GA, March 1.
Emotional Reactivity and Police Expertise in Use-of-Force Decision-Making. (2021). SRI International, April 2.
*Boatfield, C., & Ta, V.P. (2021). Exploring the Effect of Emotional Chatbots on Sociopsychological Processes. (2021). Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Virtual, April 22-24.
*Wang, X., *Kauth, K., *Boatfield, C., *Bethea, R., *DeCero, E., & Ta, V.P. (2021). What Does It Mean If We Are Dating? Midwestern Psychological Association Meeting, Virtual, April 22-24.
Selected Awards & Honors
Community Catalyst Grant, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2019, 2020
Heritage Dissertation Award, Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology, 2018
Dissertation Research Award, American Psychological Association, 2017
Janice M. Epp Award, Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, 2017
LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2015-2017
Poster award, Graduate Competition Poster Showcase, Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX, 2017
First Place, Graduate Research Competition, Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Dallas, TX, 2016
Selected to attend Summer Institute in Social Psychology and Personality (SISPP), Northeastern University, 2015
Outstanding Poster Award (co-investigator), Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2015
Diversity Fund Graduate Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2014
STEM Fellowship, University of Texas at Arlington, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Research and Travel Grant, University of Texas at Arlington, 2015, 2016, 2017