Hannah Mieczkowski, PhD

Hannah Mieczkowski, PhD

Biography

I am a mixed-methods social scientist with nearly a decade of research experience, including four years of UX/HCI research in the tech industry. In June 2022 I graduated with my PhD from Stanford University. I currently work as a Senior User Experience Researcher at ZS.

I use both quantitative and qualitative methods - such as surveys, experiments, think-aloud studies, interviews, and text analysis. My subject matter expertise is in investigating the connections between people’s perceptions, emotions and behaviors towards social technologies.

Feel free to contact me via email (hnmieczkowski@gmail.com) or Twitter (@hnmiecz).

Interests

  • Social Impacts of AI
  • Human-Machine Communication
  • Language Change
  • Interpersonal Perception
  • Measurement of Social Media Use

Education

  • PhD in Communication, 2022

    Stanford University

  • MA in Communication, 2020

    Stanford University

  • BA in Psychology & BA in Linguistics, 2017

    Stony Brook University

More Publications

Effects of AI Use on Interpersonal Perceptions of Job Applicants

To better understand the impact of AI in employment-related contexts, we conducted two experiments (the first being pre-registered) investigating how the use of AI by applicants influences their job opportunities. (Link)

Not All AI Are Equal: Exploring the Accessbility of AI-Mediated Communication Technology

We examine a gap between availability and accessibility as it relates to the adoption of AI-Mediated Communication (AI-MC) tools - including voice-assisted communication, language correction, predictive text suggestion, transcription, translation, and personalized language learning tools - by conducting an online survey. (Link)

Social Media and Well-being: A Methodological Perspective

We provide a review of five methodological developments poised to provide increased understanding in the domain of social media and well-being: (1) the use of longitudinal and experimental designs; (2) the adoption of behavioural (rather than self-report) measures of SMU; (3) a shift away from aggregate use; (4) the emergence of an idiographic media effects paradigm; and (5) the use of formal modelling and machine learning. (Open Access Preprint)

Artificial intelligence in communication impacts language and social relationships

Two randomized experiments (n = 1036) provide evidence that a commercially deployed AI changes how people interact with and perceive one another in pro-social and anti-social ways. We find that even though AI can increase communication efficiency and improve interpersonal perceptions, it risks changing users’ language production and continues to be viewed negatively. (PDF - arXiv)

Priming effects of social media use scales on well-being outcomes: The influence of intensity and addiction scales on self-reported depression

We examine the possibility that different associations between social media and depression may be caused by the survey design itself, not by underlying differences in depression. (Open Access Link)

Helping not hurting: applying the stereotype content model and bias map to social robotics

We examine relationships between perceptions of warmth and competence, emotional responses, and behavioral tendencies in the context of social robots. (Link)

Research Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Senior User Experience Researcher

ZS

Oct 2022 – Present New York, NY
 
 
 
 
 

Research Intern, HCI

Dataminr

Jun 2021 – Sep 2021 New York, NY
  • Led research projects employing methodologies such as discovery interviews, hierarchical task analysis and prototype testing to learn about user experiences in human-AI collaborative environments
  • Leveraged research insights to provide product recommendations, as well as inform short-term and long-term roadmapping
  • Collaborated with product managers, designers, engineers and subject matter experts to determine product strategy
  • Created lo-fi designs in Figma for new automated features in internal Dataminr tools, which were then built out by the engineering team
 
 
 
 
 

UX Research Intern

Facebook

Jun 2020 – Sep 2020 Menlo Park, CA
  • Conducted in-depth interviews with users, which led to the shipment of several products for the Community Integrity teams
  • Collaborated with a team of designers, engineers, content strategists and product managers to provide solution-focused insights
  • Presented research findings to cross-functional stakeholders through long-form and short-form reports
  • Synthesized internal and external research in a literature review with recommendations for product changes
 
 
 
 
 

UX Researcher

PRO Unlimited @ Facebook

Jun 2019 – Jun 2020 Menlo Park, CA
  • Designed and performed cognitive testing on survey questions to measure sentiment towards Groups products
  • Analyzed behavioral and survey data to assess metrics regarding meaningful communities and continued use intentions.
  • Coded open-ended survey responses to examine textual correlates with positive and negative product experiences.
 
 
 
 
 

Research Assistant

PRO Unlimited @ Facebook

Jul 2018 – Nov 2018 Menlo Park, CA
  • Conducted large-scale literature reviews on motivations and consequences of using social media, as well as differences in perceptions of well-being across cultures.
  • Synthesized findings in two reviews of these topics and presented work and product recommendations to relevant stakeholders.
 
 
 
 
 

Doctoral Researcher

Social Media Lab, Stanford University

Sep 2017 – Sep 2022 Stanford, CA
  • Integrated both quantitative (surveys, text analysis, experiments, meta-analyses) and qualitative (think-aloud studies, interviews) methods
  • Led teams of researchers in all stages of the research process, including problem scoping, data collection and analysis, and publication
  • Managed multiple projects, working with senior scholars and mentoring undergraduate research assistants
  • Presented research to interdisciplinary audiences with varying technical skill levels
  • Balanced stakeholder interests in both research and teaching settings
  • Subject matter expertise in investigating the connections between people’s perceptions, emotions and behaviors towards social technologies
 
 
 
 
 

Research Assistant

Communication Lab, Stony Brook University

Feb 2014 – May 2017 Stony Brook, NY
  • Independently designed an experiment to examine the effect of diminutive nicknames on impressions of status, gender characteristics, warmth and competence.
  • Presented evidence-based work at the university’s research symposium.
  • Assisted with interviews and operated eye-tracking instruments in studies focusing on deception.