How Romantic Partners Build "Sound Relationship Houses" through Shared Gaming
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (CHI PLAY 2026, to appear), 10(7), 2026.
Video Games and Kids and Families
The User Empowerment Lab designs spaces for kids and families to play and studies the ways that games can enrich people’s lives and grow their relationships. We also investigate the ways that games manipulate players into giving up their time, money, and data.
Publications
Moving Toward the Metaverse: Children’s Avatar Making in Online Social Games
Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025). Acceptance rate: 25%.
Investigating Attention and Normative Dissociation in Children's Online Social Games
Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2024). Acceptance rate: 29%.
Self-Talk with Superhero Zip: Supporting Children’s Socioemotional Learning with Conversational Agents
In Proceedings of the 22nd Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2023). Acceptance rate: 29%.
Social Emotional Learning with Conversational Agents: Reviewing Current Designs and Probing Parents' Ideas for Future Ones
Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (IMWUT), 6(2):1-23, 2022.
Prevalence and Characteristics of Manipulative Design in Mobile Applications Used by Children
JAMA Network Open, 5(6):e221764, 2022.
'Otter this World': Can a Mobile Application Promote Children’s Connectedness to Nature?
Proceedings of the 19th annual ACM conference on interaction design and children (IDC 2020). Acceptance rate: 31%.
No Touch Pig! Investigating Child-Parent Use of a System for Training Executive Function
Proceedings of the 18th annual ACM conference on interaction design and children (IDC 2019). Acceptance rate: 31%.
Joint Media Engagement between Parents and Preschoolers in the U.S., China, and Taiwan
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, CSCW, 2(192):1-19, 2018.
The Stamp Plate and the Kicking Chair: Playful Productivity for Mealtime in Preschools
Proceedings of the 19th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2018). Acceptance rate: 29%.
Why Doesn't It Work? Voice-Driven Interfaces and Young Children's Communication Repair Strategies
Proceedings of the 19th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2018). Acceptance rate: 29%.
Evaluating an iPad Game to Address Overselectivity in Preliterate AAC Users with Minimal Verbal Behavior
Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2017). Acceptance rate: 22%.
Best paper honorable mention (top seven papers)
It wasn't really about the Pokémon: Parents' Perspectives on a Location-Based Mobile Game
Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2017). Acceptance rate: 25%.
Hidden Symbols: How Informal Symbolism in Digital Interfaces Disrupts Usability for Preschoolers
International Journal of Human Computer Studies (IJHCS), 90:53-67, 2016.
Touchscreen Prompts for Preschoolers: Designing Developmentally Appropriate Techniques for Teaching Young Children to Perform Gestures
Proceedings of the 16th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2015). Acceptance rate: 23%.
Go Go Games: Therapeutic Video Games for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Proceedings of the 14th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC 2013). Acceptance rate: 33%.