- Congratulations on winning the award! Please introduce a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in Texas, but I moved to Minnesota for college to pursue a degree in psychology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. For my senior thesis, I began to explore my interest in the aftermath of collective trauma events. After college, I worked in a lab at the University of Texas at Arlington to gain more research experience. In this lab, I was able to continue developing my love for research and psychology, as well as learn the necessary research skills to pursue a PhD in Social Psychology at University of California, Irvine with my brilliant advisor, Dr. Roxane Cohen Silver. In the Silver Stress and Coping lab, along with our other exceptional PIs, Drs. E. Alison Holman and Dana Rose Garfin, we study a variety of topics in the context of collective traumas and major stressors. My research focuses on media (both traditional news and social media) and risk perceptions before, during, and after these tragic events. Essentially, I try to understand which factors are associated with our perceptions of risk after a tragedy occurs and if the risk perceptions are linked to certain downstream mental health symptoms and behaviors. One of the factors I spend most of my time thinking about is the news we see on our screens every day. This became the basis for my dissertation.
- Tell us about your research project.
My dissertation explores several aspects of news and social media and their associations with affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses during and after collective traumas. Media consumption during a crisis often rises, which can be linked with negative psychological outcomes like posttraumatic stress symptoms. However, advising the public to reduce media use is not always practical or safe. My dissertation includes three studies. The first study, using a representative sample of Texas residents after Hurricane Harvey, found that trust in media reduced traumatic stress symptoms for those with high amounts of early media exposure. The second study, using a probability-based sample of Florida residents during Hurricane Irma, showed that pre-landfall risk perceptions mediated the relationship between Irma-based media exposure and evacuation behaviors. The third study, examining a national sample followed throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, linked early-crisis media consumption and risk perceptions throughout the pandemic with vaccine uptake over time. Overall, the research underscores the need for transparent, non-sensationalized information from media and emergency management personnel to promote accurate risk perceptions, protect mental health, and promote safe and healthy behaviors.
- What inspired your interest in this topic?
In undergrad, I was studying in Glasgow, Scotland when the 2015 Paris terror attacks occurred. Living in an international dorm and having ties to two politically dissimilar states (i.e., Texas and Minnesota), I watched the full spectrum of reactions from people I knew on my social media and in conversations with the people in my life. Not only did individuals react differently to the attacks (e.g., some people expressed more sadness and others expressed more anger), but I also noticed a difference in how people adjusted their own lives in response to the attacks (e.g., canceling tickets to large gathering events such as concerts). This triggered an interest in understanding why individuals watching the same tragic event may react differently. Over time, I became increasingly interested in the link media had to these differential reactions as algorithms behind social media evolved and new platforms took off such as TikTok.
From my initial interest in mass violence events, I wanted to understand if there were similar patterns among other types of collective traumas, too. Having a lot of friends and family in the South, I am no stranger to the immense stress and potential trauma that natural disasters like hurricanes and tornados can generate, especially during the decision-making process. Given the seemingly increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters impacting the U.S., I want to help people make informed decisions during these disasters by providing updated evidence for emergency management personnel and policymakers. Moreover, when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, we all noticed the vast array of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors people in the U.S. had regarding vaccinations. Recognizing the likelihood of future large-scale public health crises, I want to do my part in advancing the science by examining why people reacted the way they did, concentrating on the characteristics of the media people were consuming in the first few weeks of the pandemic, using a unique dataset capturing snapshots of the country throughout the course of the pandemic.
Across the different collective trauma contexts that I study, my interest in media in association with risk perceptions, mental health, and protective behaviors boils down to the idea that the news we consume, whether it be traditional news or social media clips from citizen journalists, likely influences our perceptions of reality and how dangerous the world may be. Ultimately, I want to help people understand the extent to which media is informing their perceptions and empower them to make the choices that benefit them and their health the most.
- This award recognizes the broader impact of your research project. What are the societal implications of your work?
My dissertation underscores the importance of increasing media integrity and trust before and during crises. Through the dissertation, my work advocates for increasing transparency from the media as an institution and shifting away from clickbait content on social media. The research project stresses the potential downstream consequences of choices made during a crisis (such as the amount of media one consumes), providing updated data for key institutions (e.g., the media, local government, the healthcare system) to advance communication strategies and educational programs. This work emphasizes the crucial need for a collaborative effort among policymakers, media professionals, emergency responders, and fellow scientists to foster a media environment that enhances public health and ensures effective crisis management.
- What are your next steps academically/professionally?
I graduated with my PhD in June of this year, and I have just started as a postdoctoral scholar at UCI. I am continuing my work on media and risk perceptions in the context of collective traumas. I have several types of collective traumas that I am studying including a continuation on different types of natural disasters, mass violence events, political unrest, and other key issues we are facing in our lives at this time. I am honored to be able to continue my work on these important topics.
