Rain Wuyu Liu

Rain Wuyu Liu (Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2017) is an Associate Professor of Communication. Her research centers on persuasion and social influence, with a particular focus on the effects of social norm messaging on health and environmental information processing, attitude formation, and behavior change. She is also interested in the intersection of cultural values, beliefs, and social normative influence in shaping individuals’ attitudes and behaviors. Her work extends to research methods and strategic communication campaign design.

With extensive experience in grant-funded research, Dr. Liu is a fellow at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (the 37^th cohort) and has contributed to projects including a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded study among Tibetan herders on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. She has also worked on projects supported by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), the University of Arizona Research Innovation & Impact (RII), and the Social & Behavioral Sciences Research Institute (SBSRI). In addition, she is actively engaged in community-based initiatives and collaborates with environmental advocacy groups, such as Sustainable Tucson, to translate research into meaningful local impact.

Her work has appeared in journals including Communication Monographs, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Environmental Communication, Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Communication Studies, American Behavioral Scientist, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Journal of Health Psychology, Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, and Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, among others.

Dr. Liu’s contributions to the field have been widely recognized. She is the recipient of the B. Aubrey Fisher Outstanding Journal Article Award, multiple Top Paper Awards from the National Communication Association (NCA) and the International Communication Association (ICA), and the inaugural Environmental Communication Division Dissertation Award from ICA. Her accolades also include the Outstanding Paper Award and Outstanding Young Scholar Award from the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS), as well as the International Research Award and Teaching Innovation Award from the UA College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. 

She teaches courses in public relations, intercultural communication, and communication/PR campaign design and analysis.

Dr. Liu will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2027.

Selected Publications

Liu, R. W., Cheng, Y., & Fanari, A. (2026). Linking risk perceptions and information acquisition to preventive behaviors: An application of the extended integrative model of behavioral prediction in Italy and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Health Communication, 31(4), 170–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2026.2670328 (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., & Lapinski, M. K. (2026). Social norms and culture: Theorizing and testing the effects of injunctive norms appeals. Communication Monographs, 93(1), 12–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2025.2506699

Liu, R. W., Li, X., Foerster, T. A., Zhuang, J., & Danso, K. S. (2026). Theorizing the role of group dynamics in social normative influence on pro-environmental behaviours across cultures. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 55(1), 71–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2025.2586553 (collaboration with UA students)

Zeng, J., & Liu, R. W. (2026). Tangled threads of romantic conflict: The intersection of generation, culture, and socio-demographics in shaping Chinese women’s romantic conflict styles. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 43(7), 2081–2114. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261428189 (collaboration with UA students)

Foerster, T. A., Liu, R. W., Bonar, S. A., Bonito, J. A., Mars, M. M., & Rains, S. A. (2026). Exploring an extended theory of planned behavior to motivate intentions to remove anthropogenic food sources in residential areas. Human Dimensions of Wildlife. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2026.2702913 (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., Zhuang, J., & Li, X. (2025). Synthesizing the role of culture in social norms influence: A systematic review of cross-cultural studies. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 54(6), 433–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2025.2573283 (collaboration with UA students)

Kerr, J. M., Bum, T., Liu, R. W., Zhao, J., Zhi, L., & Lapinski, M. K. (2025). The interaction of financial incentives and social norms to motivate conservation on the Tibetan Plateau. Ecosystem Services, 76, Article 101792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2025.101792

Danso, K. S., Foerster, T. A., & Liu, R. W. (2025). Examining anti-littering intentions in Ghana through the theory of normative social behavior and the influence of dynamic norms. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 9, Article 100236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2025.100236 (collaboration with UA students) News report link

Lapinski, M. K., Heo, R., Liu, R. W., Kerr, J. M., Zhao, J., Bum, T., Wang, Y., Yoon, H., Hipple, S., & Lu, Z. (2025). Social norms for illegal hunting and patrolling to prevent it: Formative data for intervention design and communication campaigns. Environmental Communication, 19(7), 1240–1256. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2025.2458225

Liu, R. W., Cheng, Y., & Fanari, A. (2024). Testing the theory of normative social behavior in Italy and the USA during COVID-19. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 103, Article 102068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102068 Funded by the SBSRI Leverage Grant (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., Fanari, A., & Lee, D. G. (2024). Love better by fighting smarter: How intercultural couples develop dyadic cultural affinity through romantic conflict management. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 100, Article 101987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.101987 (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., & Lapinski, M. K. (2024). Cultural influences on the effects of social norm appeals. [Theme issue: Social norm change: Drivers and consequences]. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 379(1897), Article 20230036. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0036

Liu, R. W., Cheng, Y., & Foerster, T. A. (2024). Modeling the relationship between perceived descriptive norms and willingness to practice COVID-19 preventative behaviors: A test of the mediation and moderation mechanisms in the theory of normative social behavior. Health Communication, 39(2), 339–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2165257 (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., Cheng, Y., Barbati, J. L., Rains, S. A., Crane, T. E., & Ernst, K. C. (2024). The effectiveness of social norm appeals on promoting COVID-19 prevention behaviors: A multistudy examination. Health Communication, 39(12), 2698–2706. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2284493 (collaboration with UA students)

Liu, R. W., Cheng, Y., Boster, F. J., & Townson, C. (2022). The suasory force of sticky messages: A replication and extension. Western Journal of Communication, 86(3), 297–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2022.2057579 (2024 B. Aubrey Fisher Outstanding Journal Article Award) 

Liu, R. W., Lapinski, M. K., Kerr, J. M., Zhao, J., Bum, T., & Lu, Z. (2022). Culture and social norms: Development and application of a model for culturally contextualized communication measurement (MC³M). Frontiers in Communication, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.770513

Liu, R. W., & Lapinski, M. K. (2022). The theory of normative social behavior. In E. Y. Ho, C. L. Bylund, & J. C. M. van Weert (Eds.), International encyclopedia of health communication. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119678816 

Cheng, Y., Liu, R. W., & Foerster, T. A. (2022). Predicting intentions to practice COVID-19 preventative behaviors in the United States: A test of the risk perception attitude framework and the theory of normative social behavior. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(12), 2744–2762. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053211057382 (collaboration with UA students)

Lapinski, M. K., Liu, R. W., Kerr, J. M., Zhao, J., Bum, T., & Lu, Z. (2022). Culture and social norms: Behavioral decisions about grassland conservation among ethnically Tibetan pastoralists. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 15(3), 333–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2021.1916569 

Fanari, A., Liu, R. W., & Foerster, T. (2021). Homesick or sick-of-home? Examining the effects of self-disclosure on students’ reverse culture shock after studying abroad: A mixed-method study. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 50(3), 273–303. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2020.1866643 (collaboration with UA students)