Dr. James Cummings is a faculty within the Division of Emerging Media Studies at Boston University. He conducts research in human-computer interaction and the psychological processing of media, with areas of focus including multitasking, emotion, motivation, and physiological responses.
His current works include investigating patterns, predictors, and effects of task-switching behaviour as part of the Screenomics Lab at Stanford University as well as lab-based research into the technological factors influencing user presence, persuasion, and empathy in immersive media environments.
He is currently a research fellow within the BU Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy and has formerly served as co-director of the BU Communication Research Center. His professional experience includes consultancy related to virtual reality, social gaming, and media-based behaviour change interventions as well as user experience research at Google X.