Yan Liu

Associate Professor

PhD (The University of British Columbia)
Email Yan Liu
613-520-2600 ext 2691

Research Interests

My research focuses on developing and applying innovative psychometric, statistical, and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to better understand well-being, social behavior, cognitive processes, and their interactions. I apply latent variable approach, causal modeling, and multilevel modeling to analyze complex educational and psychological data. I also use eye-tracking to investigate attention and cognitive processes in learning and decision making. Recently, I have been leveraging generative AI (e.g., large language models) to analyze text data and develop innovative approaches for validating educational and psychological assessments.

Selected Recent Journal Publications (* indicates student author)

Holmes*, E. J., Babchishin, K. M., & Liu, Y. (2026). Exploring how motivation factors, facilitation factors, and kinship cues are related to the propensity for sibling sexual abuse. Journal of Family Violence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-026-01105-1

Gunnell, K. E., Johnston, M., Yung, J. J., Liu, Y., & Goldfield, G. (2026). Is mindful screen time a resilience factor for screen-related experiences of psychological needs and well-being? Journal of Health Psychology, 13:13591053251398259. DOI: 10.1177/13591053251398259

Waldhauser*, K. J., Hives, B. A., Liu, Y., Puterman, E., & Beauchamp, M. R. (2025). Predictors of adjustment to life after service among Canadian military veterans. Scientific Reports, 15, 38850. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-22710-y

Young, R., Domene, J. F., Liu, Y., Pradhan*, K. Botia*, A., & Chi*, E. (2025). Emotion in Career Related Transitions of Young Adults: A Contextual Action Perspective. Journal of Career Development, 0(0). DOI: 10.1177/08948453251382176

Hives*, B. A., Beauchamp, M. R., Liu, Y., Weiss, J., & Puterman, E. (2025). Multidimensional correlates of psychological stress: Insights from traditional statistical approaches and machine learning using a nationally representative Canadian sample. PLOS One,20(5): e0323197. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323197

Chen*, G., Tan*, B., Laham*, N., Tracey, T., Lapinski, S., & Liu, Y. (2025). A bibliometric review of natural language processing applications in psychology from 1991 to 2023. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 47(2), 105–119. DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2024.2433720

Liu, Y., Maltais*, N., Milner-Bolotin, M., & Chachashvili-Bolotin, S. (2024). Investigating adolescent psychological well-being using PISA 2018 Canada data. Frontiers in Psychology, 15:1416631. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1416631

Laricheva*, M., Liu, Y., Shi*, E., & Wu, A. (2024). Scoping review on natural language processing applications in counselling and psychotherapy. British Journal of Psychology, 00, 1-25. DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12721

Chen*, G. Y., Liu, Y., & Yue*, M. (2024). Understanding the log file data from educational and psychological computer-based testing: A scoping review protocol. PLOS One, 19(5): e0304109. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304109

Liu, Y., Odic, D., Tang*, X., Ma*, A., Laricheva*, M., Chen*, G., Wu*, S., Niu*, M., Guo*, Y., & Milner-Bolotin, M. (2023). Effects of robotics education on young children’s cognitive development: A pilot study with eye-tracking. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 32, 295–308. DOI: 10.1007/s10956-023-10028-1

Liu, Y., Laricheva*, M., Zhang*, C., Boutet*, P., Chen*, G., Tracy, T., Carenini, G., & Young, R. (2022). Transition to adulthood for young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities: Emotion detection and topic modeling. In Thomson, R., Dancy, C., Pyke, A. (eds) Social, cultural, and behavioral modeling. SBP-BRiMS 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13558. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-17114-7_21

Liu, Y., Béliveau, A., Wei*, Y., Chen, M. Y., Record-Lemon, R., Kuo*, P., Pritchard*, E., Tang*, X., & Chen*, G. (2022). A gentle introduction to Bayesian network meta-analysis using an automated R Package. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 58(4), 706-722. DOI: /10.1080/00273171.2022.2115965

Liu, Y., Béliveau, A., Besche, H. C., Wu, D. A., Zhang, X. Y., Stefan, M., Gutlerner, J., & Kim, C. (2021). Bayesian mixed effects model and data visualization for understanding item response time and response order in an open online assessment. Frontiers in Education: Assessment, Testing and Applied Measurement, 5:607260. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2020.607260

Beauchamp, M. R., Liu, Y., Ruissen*, G. R., Hulteen, R. M., Rhodes, R. E., & Faulkner, G. (2021). Psychological mediators of exercise adherence among older adults in a group-based randomized trial. Health Psychology, 40(3), 166-177. DOI: 10.1037/hea0001060Liu, Y., Kim, C., Wu, A. D., Gustafson, P., Kroc, E., & Zumbo, B. D. (2020). Investigating the performance of propensity scores approaches for differential item functioning analysis. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 18(1), eP274. DOI: 10.22237/jmasm/1556669280