Profile

Sol Hart

Assistant Professor
School of Communication

  • Sol Hart, Ph.D., is a full-time professor of Public Communication. He specializes in risk communication related to environmental, science, and health issues. He has served as a visiting scholar at Decision Research, an Oregon-based think tank for the study of risk perception, judgment, and decision making, and as a consultant for Family Health International.

    Hart's research investigates the psychological processes underlying effective risk communication, with the aim of understanding the role of the media in motivating and engaging the public around a variety of issues and how to create effective messages that can cross ideological divides and that resonate with broad sections of the public. He has studied communication processes related to climate change, AIDS prevention, poverty, and clinical health communication. Hart's research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His research has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals, including Science Communication, Society and Natural Resources, and Communication Yearbook.

  • Degrees

    B.S. University of California - Davis (Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning); M.S. University of Oregon (Environmental Studies); Ph.D. Cornell University (Communication)

  • OFFICE

  • SOC - School of Communication
  • McCabe - 219

  • CONTACT INFO

  • (202) 885-2066
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  • FOR THE MEDIA

  • To request an interview for a
    news story, call AU Communications
    at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

  • Spring 2013

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

Hart, P. S., & Nisbet, E. C. (forthcoming). Boomerang effects in science communication: Political  partisanship, social identity and public support for climate mitigation. Communication Research.

Byrne, S., Mathios, A. D., Avery, R. J,. Guillory, J., & Hart, P. S. (forthcoming). The unintended  consequences of disclosure: The impact of manipulating sponsor identification on the perceived  credibility and effectiveness of smoking cessation. Journal of Health Communication.

Hart, P. S. (2011). One or many? The influence of episodic and thematic climate change frames on policy  preferences and individual behavior change.  Science Communication, 33, 28 – 51.

Hart, P. S., Nisbet, E. C., Shanahan, J. E. (2011). Environmental values and the social amplification of  risk: An examination of how environmental values and media use influence predispositions for public engagement. Society and Natural Resources, 24(3), 276-291.

Peters, E., Hart, P. S., Fraenkel, L. (2011). Informing Patients: The influence of numeracy, framing, and  format of side-effect information on risk perceptions. Medical Decision Making, 31(3), 432-436.

McComas, K. Stedman, R., & Hart, P. S. (2011). Community Support for Campus Approaches to  Sustainable Energy Use: The Role of “Town-Gown” Relationships. Energy Policy, 39, 2310-2318.

Hart, P. S., & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2009). Finding the teachable moment: An analysis of information-seeking behavior on global warming related websites during the release of The Day After Tomorrow. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 3, 355-366.

Gore, M. L., Wilson, R. S., Siemer, W. F., Weiczorek Hudenko, H.A., Clarke, C. E., Hart, P.S., Maguire L. A., & Muter B.A. (2009). Application of risk concepts to wildlife management: special issue introduction. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 14, 301-314.

Byrne, S., & Hart, P. S. (2009). The ‘boomerang’ effect: A synthesis of findings and a preliminary theoretical framework. In C. Beck (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 33, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Siemer, W. F., Hart, P. S., Decker, D. J., & Shanahan, J. E. (2009). Factors that influence concern about human-black bear interaction in residential settings. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 14, 174-184.

Professional Presentations

Hart, P. S. (December, 2009). The role of political ideology and victim identification in the effectiveness of climate change messages. Paper presented at the annual conference for the Society for Risk Analysis. Baltimore, MD.

Hart, P. S., Stedman, R., & McComas, K. (forthcoming: November, 2009). The role of affect in 
predicting support for climate change initiatives. Paper accepted to be presented at the annual conference for the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.
 
Hart, P. S. (2009). One or many? The influence of episodic and thematic climate change frames. Paper presented at annual conference for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Convention, Boston, MA.
 
Hart, P. S., Nisbet, E.C., & Shanahan, J. (2009).  The influence of environmental values and media use on predispositions for public engagement in wildlife management decision making. Paper presented at the annual conference for the International Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
 
Nisbet, E.C., & Hart, P. S. (2009).  Framing global climate change: Cognitive and emotional 
responses within a competitive message environment. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
 
Byrne, S., Mathios, A., Avery. R., & Hart, P. S. (2009). The unintended consequences of disclosure: Explicit sponsor identification on smoking cessation ads. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
 
Hart, P. S. (2008). The influence of statistics in climate change frames.  Paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Risk Analysis, Boston, MA. 
 
Hart, P. S. & Nisbet, E. C. (2008). Persuasion, Political Ideology, and Social Identity Theory: An 
investigation into factors that affect efforts to communicate climate change.  Paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Risk Analysis, Boston, MA.
 
Nisbet, E.C. & Hart, P.S. (2008). Strategic framing, social identity, and public opinion about 
climate change. Paper presented the 2008 Midwest Association of Public Opinion Research. Chicago, IL.
 
Hart, P. S. (2008).  When numbers matter: Using exemplars and statistics in persuasive climate change appeals.  Paper presented at the Pathways to Success: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fish and Wildlife Management conference, Estes Park, CO.
 
Hart, P. S. & Nisbet, E. C. (2008). Structural frame components in communicating climate change. Paper presented at the annual International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Burlington, VT.   
 
Hart, P. S. (2008). Market influences on climate change frames in CNN and Fox News climate change broadcasts. Paper presented at the annual conferences of the International Communication Association, Montreal, Canada. 
 
Hart, P. S. & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2007).  The Influence of the Mass Media on Information Seeking 
Behavior.  Paper presented at the Annual conference of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.
 
Yang, Z. & Hart, P. S. (2007). Does newspaper coverage of breast cancer produce frame-
setting effects on teachers’ perceptions? Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington D. C.
 
Hart, P. S., Nisbet, E. C., & Shanahan, J. E. (2007). Environmental values and the social 
amplification of risk: An examination of the public response to an outbreak of chronic wasting 
disease in upstate New York.  Paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Risk Analysis, San Antonio, TX.
 
Hart, P. S. & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2006). Information-Seeking Behavior and The Day After Tomorrow: An analysis of information-seeking behavior on global warming related websites during the release of The Day After Tomorrow.  Paper presented at the annual conference of the Society for Risk Analysis, Baltimore, MD.

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