Soobin Choi

Project focus: The Fellow will focus on evidence-based approaches to communicating about science in polarized political or information environments.

Soobin Choi is a social scientist specializing in environmental and science communication. Her research interests broadly encompass understanding effective strategies for communicating environment, risk, and science messages that resonate with diverse publics. Currently, the interconnected lines of her research investigate communication strategies that are effective in increasing civic engagement related to climate change. Her research often disentangles psychological processes that underlie such media effects.

An important primary thread of her current research focuses on disambiguating the role of efficacy information and efficacy perceptions in climate change communication. This research agenda aims to contribute to a better understanding of how the public processes media messages, and how they can be empowered to take meaningful actions in response to the climate crisis.

Her recent research interests lie in understanding effective ways to communicate issues of climate justice in the media. While communicating messages that highlight climate justice can amplify awareness of climate injustice and increase support for the impacted communities, they may also inadvertently increase the perceived social and spatial distance of climate change impacts among those who do not identify themselves with the community. Soobin’s work seeks to examine communication strategies that can minimize such unintended message effects while maximizing support for the disproportionately impacted communities.