Saraswathi Bellur

Saraswathi Bellur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Education at the University of Connecticut. She holds a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University (2012). Her research focuses on media effects, particularly the psychological and physiological impacts of interactive media on user engagement and health behaviors. She co-developed the Motivational Technology Model, which explores how interactive media can boost intrinsic motivation for health-related actions.

Key areas of expertise include interactivity measurement, psychophysiological responses (ECG/EDA/EEG), and media multitasking effects. She is affiliated with the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Lab at UConn.

Her recent work examines how autistic traits and technology multitasking influence academic performance. Articles span topics like user engagement frameworks, mHealth applications, and cognitive heuristics in media processing. Bellur teaches courses on computer-mediated communication and mass media systems, emphasizing theory-driven approaches to communication technologies.