Our research

Climate change demands urgent action, yet we still struggle to motivate individuals, communities, and governments to drive real, lasting change. Our lab aims to understand the psychological roots of climate inaction to help shape effective climate policy and drive meaningful action. To achieve this goal, we focus on three key research areas:

1. Cognitive underpinnings of climate inaction

To drive effective climate action, we must first understand the cognitive biases and cognitive limitations that contribute to climate apathy. Despite the urgency of the crisis, many individuals and elected officials treat it as a minor issue. Our research aims to uncover these biases using computational models and cognitive experiments. For representative publications from the lab, see here and here.

2. Motivating wealthy individuals to act on climate change

Wealthy individuals have a significant carbon footprint and reducing their consumption can have considerable impact in terms of sustainability. How can we effectively motivate this group to lower their emissions? For representative publications, see here.

3. Reducing polarization about green policies

In addition to individual-level change, we need urgent system-wide transformations to deliver the enormous cuts needed to limit climate change. However, Americans are often divided and polarized about green policies that aim to accelerate decarbonization. Why do people resist these policies and how do we get people to agree upon them? For representative publications, see here.

If this research resonates with you, please consider joining us!