Zepeng Tong

Biography

Bio

Zepeng Tong is a Ph.D. student in the Media School at Indiana University. Before his doctoral studies, he earned an M.S. in Psychology from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a B.A. in Applied Psychology from Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. He studies how media and persuasion shape our perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors toward environmental issues.

Academic Publications

Zong, X., Tian, J., Zheng, X., Tong, Z., She, S., & Sun, Y. (2024). Influence of climate change beliefs on adolescent food saving behavior: mechanisms mediating environmental concerns. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-19.

Ji, Z., Gong, Y., Tong, Z., Li, Y., Guo, H., Pongpiachan, S., & Sun, Y. (2023). Factors influencing public support for the individual low-carbon behavior rewarding system: Evidence from a large-scale longitudinal survey in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 409, 137187.

Zhang, J., Tong, Z., Ji, Z., Gong, Y., & Sun, Y. (2022). Effects of climate change knowledge on adolescents’ attitudes and willingness to participate in carbon neutrality education. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), 10655.

Tong, Z., & Sun, Y. (2022). Achieving Well-Being—Bridging Psychological Distance in Our Environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 813341.

Han, P., Tong, Z., Sun, Y., & Chen, X. (2022). Impact of climate change beliefs on youths’ engagement in energy-conservation behavior: the mediating mechanism of environmental concerns. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7222. *Co-first author

Yang, B., Wu, N., Tong, Z., & Sun, Y. (2022). Narrative-based environmental education improves environmental awareness and environmental attitudes in Children aged 6–8. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6483.

Zheng, L., Tong, Z., Ma, C., Wang, F., Li, M., Yang, B., & Sun, Y. (2022). Effects of labeling on wildlife conservation education. Global Ecology and Conservation, 33, e01997.

Yue, D., Tong, Z., Tian, J., Li, Y., Zhang, L., & Sun, Y. (2021). Anthropomorphic strategies promote wildlife conservation through empathy: the moderation role of the public epidemic situation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3565. *Co-first author

Wang, S., Tong, Z., Li, Y., Yu, X., & Sun, Y. (2020). Implicit attitudes toward wildlife products. Global Ecology and Conservation, 24, e01358. *Co-first author

Selected Working Papers

Xu, J., Tong, Z., & Tong, Z. The impact and underlying mechanisms of mental focus-based digital CSR communication content on consumer brand evaluation. (Under review by Asian Business & Management)

Tong, Z., Khamadi, S., Li, W., & Shanahan, J. Climate change actions across socioeconomic status groups in China: How environmental risk cues shape persuasion. (Submitted to Humanities & Social Sciences Communications)

Shen, X., Tong, Z., & Hu, S. Attitudes and adoption behaviors of artificial intelligence tools in the newsroom: Evidence from Chinese media outlets. (Data analysis)

Conference Presentations

Tong, Z., & Khamadi, S. (2026). Testing the finite pool of worry and finite pool of worry and finite pool of attention hypotheses in Chinese climate change news coverage. (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, Tampa, United States)

Tong, Z., Li, W., Khamadi, S., Wu, Y., & Shanahan, J. (2026). Pro-environmental behaviors across different socioeconomic status groups in China: How environmental risk cues shape persuasion. (International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division, Cape Town, South Africa)

Tong, Z., & Shanahan, J. (2025). Hot air and hot topics: Revisiting the association between temperature and media coverage of climate change. (International Association for Media and Communication Research, Singapore)