Christofer Skurka - Penn State Cancer Institute
Researcher Profile
Christofer Skurka
Assistant Professor, Film-Video and Media Studies
Scientific Program:Cancer Control
Recent Publications
2025
Troy, CLC, Eng, N & Skurka, C 2025, 'Green and Good? Examining Intended and Unintended Effects of Morally Framed Climate Messages', Environmental Communication, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 238-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2024.2379445
Skurka, C 2025, 'Harnessing Anger to Persuade: The Moderating Roles of Retributive Efficacy and Prior Attitudes', Media Psychology, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 234-257. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2024.2352747
Skurka, C, Romero-Canyas, R, Joo, HH & Niederdeppe, J 2025, 'How Forced Versus Selective Exposure Matters for the Influence of Emotional Appeals About Climate Change in a Sample of Americans', Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470251316777
Norman, MLP, Bao, JA, Kurniasari, T & Skurka, C 2025, 'Posting environmental risk: Communicating with numerical and nonnumerical messaging across information modalities', Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.17709
2024
Troy, CLC, Norman, M, Kim, N, Skurka, C & Myrick, JG 2024, 'Can you picture it? Effects of positive and negative depictions of climate futures on climate action intentions', Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 96, 102312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102312
Skurka, C & Keating, DM 2024, 'How repeated exposure to persuasive messaging shapes message responses over time: a longitudinal experiment', Human Communication Research, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 518-529. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqae008
Keating, DM & Skurka, C 2024, 'Meta-Analytic Evidence That Message Fatigue is Associated With Unintended Persuasive Outcomes', Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502241287875
Kim, N, Skurka, C & Madden, S 2024, 'The effects of self-disclosure and gender on a climate scientist’s credibility and likability on social media', Public Understanding of Science, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 692-708. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625231225073
Troy, CLC, Skurka, C, Joo, HH & Romero-Canyas, R 2024, 'Who is Willing to Learn About Inequality? Predictors of Choice Exposure to Messaging About Racial Disparities in Air Pollution Effects Among Black and White U.S. Residents', Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2419192
2023
Skurka, C, Kim, N, Eng, N & Oliver, MB 2024, 'Awesome, Awful: Emotional Flow in Environmental Messaging', Media Psychology, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 869-894. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2023.2297965
Troy, CLC & Skurka, C 2023, 'Being outdoorsy indoors: Nature connectedness through 360-degree images and video', Journal of Environmental Media, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 27-47. https://doi.org/10.1386/jem_00095_1
Skurka, C, Myrick, JG & Yang, Y 2023, 'Fanning the flames or burning out? Testing competing hypotheses about repeated exposure to threatening climate change messages', Climatic Change, vol. 176, no. 5, 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-023-03539-8
Wheldon, CW, Skurka, C & Eng, N 2024, 'Inoculating Black/African American and LGBTQ Communities Against the Tobacco Industry: The Role of Community Connectedness and Tobacco Denormalization Beliefs', Health promotion practice, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 445-454. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221146553
Reynolds-Tylus, T, Martinez Gonzalez, A & Skurka, C 2024, 'Leveraging Dynamic Norms to Reduce College Student Alcohol Use: A Test of Four Mediators', Health Communication, vol. 39, no. 7, pp. 1371-1382. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2212447
Skurka, C & Nabi, RL 2023, Perspectives on emotion in the digital age. in Emotions in the Digital World: Exploring Affective Experience and Expression in Online Interactions. Oxford University Press, pp. 7-31. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197520536.003.0002
Skurka, C & Lee Cunningham, JJ 2023, 'Seeing the funny side: Humor in pro-environmental communication', Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 53, 101668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101668
Skurka, C, Liao, M & Gil de Zúñiga, H 2023, 'Tuning Out (Political and Science) News? A Selective Exposure Study of the News Finds Me Perception', Communication Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231215528
De Zúñiga, HG, Goyanes, M & Skurka, C 2023, 'Understanding Fake News Corrective Action: A Mixed-Method Approach', International Journal of Communication, vol. 17, pp. 3428-3450.
2022
Skurka, C, Romero-Canyas, R, Joo, HH & Niederdeppe, J 2022, 'Choose Your Own Emotion: Predictors of Selective Exposure to Emotion-Inducing Climate Messages', Environmental Communication, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 424-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2022.2083207
Skurka, C, Troy, C, Cui, Z & Gil de Zúñiga, H 2022, 'Efficacy constructs in media use and effects: organizing and appraising the literature', Annals of the International Communication Association. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2022.2142150
Skurka, C, Romero-Canyas, R, Joo, HH, Acup, D & Niederdeppe, J 2022, 'Emotional Appeals, Climate Change, and Young Adults: A Direct Replication of Skurka et al. (2018)', Human Communication Research, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqab013
Skurka, C, Eng, N & Oliver, MB 2022, 'On the Effects and Boundaries of Awe and Humor Appeals for Pro-Environmental Engagement', International Journal of Communication, vol. 16, pp. 2709-2729.
Kalaji, M, Mathios, AD, Skurka, C, Niederdeppe, J & Byrne, S 2022, 'Youth and Young Adult-targeted E-cigarette Warnings and Advertising Messages: An Experiment with Young Adults in the US', Journal of Health Communication, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 574-584. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2022.2138640
2021
Gonzalez, AM, Reynolds-Tylus, T, Quick, BL & Skurka, C 2021, 'Message fatigue and resistance to anti–binge drinking messages: Examining the mediating roles of inattention and reactance', Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, vol. 82, no. 4, pp. 503-510. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2021.82.503
Jovanova, M, Skurka, C, Byrne, S, Kalaji, M, Greiner Safi, A, Porticella, N, Mathios, AD, Avery, RJ, Dorf, MC & Niederdeppe, J 2021, 'Should Graphic Warning Labels Proposed for Cigarette Packages Sold in the United States Mention the Food and Drug Administration?', Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 402-406. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa142
Skurka, C, Wheldon, CW & Eng, N 2021, 'Targeted Truth: An Experiment Testing the Efficacy of Counterindustry Tobacco Advertisements Targeted to Black Individuals and Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals', Nicotine and Tobacco Research, vol. 23, no. 9, pp. 1542-1550. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab032
Skurka, C, Reynolds-Tylus, T, Quick, B & Hartman, D 2021, 'What’s at Stake: Evaluating a Run-Hide-Fight® Intervention Video through the Lens of Vested Interest Theory', Journal of Health Communication, vol. 25, no. 12, pp. 982-989. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2021.1885084
Madden, S, Guastaferro, K, Skurka, C & Myrick, JG 2021, 'When Home is Not Safe: Media Coverage and Issue Salience of Child Maltreatment during the COVID-19 Pandemic', Howard Journal of Communications, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 474-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2021.1932641
Skurka, C 2021, 'Will It Teach Them a Lesson? Validating a Measure of Retributive Efficacy in Social Issue Activism', Political Behavior, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 1559-1582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09665-8
Gonzalez, AM, Reynolds-Tylus, T & Skurka, C 2022, 'Young Adults’ Willingness to Engage in Climate Change Activism: An Application of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior', Environmental Communication, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 388-407. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2021.2011368