Shen, Xiangyou (Sharon)

Shen, Xiangyou (Sharon)
Position Type:
Faculty
Job Title:
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department:
Forest Ecosystems & Society
Office Location:
212 Richardson Hall
Education:
Ph.D., Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 2010
M.S., Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China, 1999
B.S., Civil Engineering and Architecture, Central South University, Changsha, China, 1996
Research Areas:
- Sustainable Recreation and Tourism
- Social Science, Policy and Natural Resources
Research Interests:
- Human Dimensions
- Outdoor Recreation
- Tourism
- Play
- Nature-based recreation and health
Bio:
I am a social scientist with a background in social psychology of leisure and applied statistics. My research includes two lines of work linked by a common thread of leisure and health: (a) play and playfulness’ assessment, activation, and impact on human functions (e.g., adaptability and creativity), and (b) leisure as a context and mechanism for achieving wellness and fulfillment. In my research, I employ mixed methods (e.g., surveys, experiments, interviews, focus groups), psychometric testing, statistical modeling, and cross-cultural research methods to understand personal, environmental, and social-cultural factors key to human health and wellbeing. Current projects focus on integrated studies of human-environment interactions as they intersect with leisure and impact people’s physical and mental health, as well as mechanisms to cultivate active lifestyles across the lifespan. When I am not working, I enjoying reading, exploring my surroundings (while jogging), and hiking in the woods.
Advising
Graduate Major Advisor
External (non-CoF) Graduate Students:
- Leland Masek (Ph.D. student, Game Studies, Tampere University, Finland, 2020 - Present)
- Kelly Hoke (Ph. D student, Environmental Studies, Oregon State University, 2021 – Present)
Courses Taught:
- TRAL 251Recreation Resource Management
- NR 201Managing Natural Resources for the Future
- FES 202Software tools in quantitative social science research
- FES 505Nature and Human Health (Reading and Conference)
Selected Publications:
- Shen, X., MacDonald, M., Logan, S. W., Parkinson, C., Gorrell, L., & Hatfield, B. E. (2022). Leisure engagement during covid-19 and its association with mental health and wellbeing in U. S. adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1081.
- Kerstetter, D., Shen, X., Yi, X., Pan, B., Zhang, G., Li, R., Gao, J., & Li, G. (2022). Sources of happiness: a mixed methods phenomenological study of factors affecting residents’ subjective wellbeing in Shenzhen, China. Psychological Reports, 125(1), 167–199.
- Shen, X., Liu, H., & Song, R. (2021). Toward a culture-sensitive approach to playfulness research: Development of the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale-Chinese version and an alternative measurement model. Journal of Leisure Research, 52(4), 401–423.
- Shen, X. (2020). Constructing an interactionist framework for playfulness research: Adding psychological situations and playful states. Journal of Leisure Research, 51 (5), 536-558. DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2020.1748551
- Shen, X., Hu, T., Pan, B., Chen, K., Qiao, L., & Zhu, J. (2020). Beyond self-selection: The multi-layered online review biases at the intersection of users, platforms and culture. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights.