Jonathon Schuldt

Associate Professor

465 Mann Library Building
(607) 255-1543

Jonathon Schuldt joined the Cornell faculty in the summer of 2012. His research focuses on everyday judgment and decision making in the domains of environmental and health communication. He holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Research Focus

My research focuses on the factors that influence judgments, decisions, and public opinion in the health and environment domains. Recent work examines the intersection of social identity and communication processes in public engagement on environmental and sustainability issues.

Outreach and Extension Focus

A primary goal of our lab is to apply and extend theory in ways that inform real problems facing New York State and the world. Findings from the lab are routinely shared with local and national media outlets in order to maximize the potential public benefit of the work.

Teaching Focus

My overarching goal in teaching (whether the class is large or small) is to create an environment in which students can engage with the course material in ways that are relevant to their everyday lives. To that end, assignments in my courses typically focus on application: whether it's a writing assignment that applies a course concept to a real-world event, an op-ed piece that students actually submit for publication, or a group project that introduces students to active and collaborative social science research.

Additional Links

Awards and Honors

  • Top Faculty Paper Award (2017) International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division

Selected Publications

Journal Publications

  • Davydova, J., Pearson, A. R., Ballew, M. T., & Schuldt, J. (2018). Illuminating the link between perceived threat and control over climate change: The role of attributions for causation and mitigation. Climatic Change. 148:45-59.
  • Pearson, A. R., Schuldt, J., Romero-Canyas, R., Ballew, M. T., & Larson-Konar, D. Diverse segments of the US public underestimate the environmental concerns of minority and low-income Americans. PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
  • Kim, B., & Schuldt, J. Judging the environmental impact of green consumption: Evidence of quantity insensitivity. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
  • Lu, H., & Schuldt, J. Communicating Zika risk: Using metaphor to increase perceived risk susceptibility. Risk Analysis: an International Journal.
  • Schuldt, J., McComas, K. A., & Burge, C. (2017). Intersecting frames in communicating environmental risk and uncertainty. Journal of Risk Research. 1-12.
  • Schuldt, J., Enns, P. K., & Cavaliere, V. (2017). Does the label really matter? Evidence that the US public continues to doubt “global warming” more than “climate change.”. Climatic Change. 143:271-280.
  • Schuldt, J., McComas, K. A., & Byrne, S. (2016). Communicating about ocean health: Theoretical and practical considerations. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
  • Song, H., & Schuldt, J. (2016). Communicating conservation status: How different statistical assessment criteria affect perceptions of extinction risk. Risk Analysis: an International Journal.
  • Lu, H., & Schuldt, J. (2016). Compassion for climate change victims and support for mitigation policy. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 45:192-200.
  • Schuldt, J., Chabris, C. F., Woolley, A. W., & Hackman, J. R. (2016). Confidence in dyadic decision making: The role of individual differences. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.

Presentations and Activities

  • Group norm violations in an online environmental social network: Effects on impression formation and intergroup judgments. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. March 2018. SPSP. Atlanta, GA.
  • How groups help and hinder sustainability: Insights beyond the lab. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. March 2018. SPSP. Atlanta, GA.
  • Stereotypes undermine public engagement with sustainability initiatives: Evidence from a national-level survey experiment. Society for Personality and Social Psychology . March 2018. SPSP. Atlanta, GA.
  • Brief exposure to Pope Francis heightens moral beliefs about climate change. International Communication Association. 2017. San Diego, CA.
  • Does the label really matter? Evidence that the US public continues to doubt "global warming" more than "climate change". Cambridge Conference on Risk and Uncertainty. June 2017. University of Cambridge. Cambridge, UK.
  • Health halos as the cause and consequence of social judgments. Department of Psychology colloquium series. November 2015. University of Grenoble 2. Grenoble, France.
  • Experimenting with climate change beliefs: 4 things that matter. Behavioral Economics and Decision Research seminar. September 2015. S.C. Johnson School of Management. Cornell University.
  • Race and climate polarization. International Communication Association. May 2015. San Juan, PR.
  • Do incidental emotions affect climate change beliefs and policy support? International Communication Association. May 2015. International Communication Association. San Juan, PR.
  • Beyond politics: Which identities matter for climate beliefs? Association for Psychological Science. May 2015. New York, NY.