Studying modern communication

Celine Hong, Ph.D., considers herself a media psychologist, a modern communication researcher whose work targets three areas at the intersection of contemporary human discourse: social media, crisis and risk communication, and health communication.

All of which, she said, practically boiled over amid confusion fostered by the pandemic.

“Everyone has different perspectives on how they view society and individual differences can affect how people receive messages,” Hong said.

In particular, she said, individual beliefs made health communication more difficult during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people dug in and resisted new information. Examples included beliefs about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and disagreement over changing health protocols, such as maintaining distance from others and wearing masks.

An ongoing area of Hong’s research involves health communication, in particular, demographic factors related to obesity.

“Health behaviors and individual differences can vary based on where people live,” she said. “Some of my research focuses on how people can benefit from organizational communication efforts. I help organizations develop better campaign messages to target people in certain communities.”

The Dean’s Fellow for Research in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, Hong has published in more than 30 peer-reviewed journals in such areas as health communication, public health intervention, corporate reputation, crisis communication, risk communication, organizational communication, advertising, social media and online marketing communication.

Rowan University researchers are passionate about what they do. Find more at Meet Our Researchers.