Welcome to the Sustainability, Climate Change, & Inequality Lab
Research in our lab explores how group dynamics impact collective action and decision making. We work with interdisciplinary teams to develop new social and behavioral science insights to address climate change and other environmental challenges.
Behavioral science methods and theories offer powerful tools to understand how our group identities and social relationships influence how we think about, interact with, and relate to others and the world around us. Much of our research is guided by two central questions: (1) How do social processes impact how we perceive and respond to local and global sustainability challenges, like climate change?; and (2) How can a deeper understanding of these processes promote informed and equitable decision making? To explore these questions, we use quantitative and qualitative approaches, including laboratory and field experiments, interviews, and probability-based surveys.
Our work has been recognized with early career awards from the American Psychological Association and the Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology and has been featured in synthesis reports by the U.S. National Academies, the Fifth National Climate Assessment, UN Environment Programme, the UN Development Programme, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (AR6).
SCI Lab News!
- Corinne Tsai (lab alum, ’20) and Adam receive the 2023 Otto Klineberg Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Div 9) for the top paper of the year on intercultural or international relations for their article, “Building Diverse Climate Coalitions: The Pitfalls and Promise of Equity- and Identity-Based Messaging”
- Adam elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science
- SCI Lab research featured in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment (Ch. 20, Social Systems and Justice) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 6th Assessment Report (WG2 and WG3)
- What do Americans understand about climate change inequities? In two new national-level surveys, we find that just 22% of US adults – including only one-third of US Democrats, young adults aged 18-34, and those with a 4-year college or post-graduate degree – recognize racial inequities in climate impacts. In a new article, we consider the implications of this inequality blindspot for mobilizing public support for climate justice policies within the United States
- Adam and Corinne Tsai present research on equity and identity-based climate communication to the Sustainable States Network, a network of state and local government officials in 3400+ municipalities and 17 US states representing over 218 million Americans
- Lab member Stella Favaro received the Politeia Prize for the top thesis in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program and Kevin Hua accepted a lab manager position at Columbia School of Business. Congratulations, Stella and Kevin!
- Collaborator and Roper Center Executive Director, Jon Schuldt, briefs Congressional staff on our climate research at an event organized by the nonpartisan Environmental and Energy Study Institute on Capitol Hill
- What can psychologists contribute to understanding and addressing climate-related health inequities? In a new article in American Psychologist, featuring a trans-disciplinary team of social, clinical, and health psychologists, communication scholars, and health services professionals, we take stock of the current research landscape, spotlight areas of critical need (including infrastructure and community partnerships), and highlight new initiatives that offer a blueprint for advancing actionable research in this area
- Public appetite for climate solutions is greater than popular narratives of deep social divisions suggest. In a new opinion piece, with Renee Salas and Don Edmondson, we explore the implications for global health advocacy in advance of COP27
- Adam elected a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (APA Div. 8)
- Adam works with APA science and policy staff to provide federal policy guidance for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2022 Environmental Justice Strategy and Implementation Plan. Their letter highlights psychology’s unique role in promoting public health and argues that an effective environmental justice plan must increase resources for mental health and social services, partner with community stakeholders, and equip environmental justice communities with effective tools to reduce environmental health disparities.
- Lab alum Corinne Tsai joins the Emerson Collective as an environmental justice analyst. Congratulations, Corinne!
- White House launches a new mapping tool that will help direct climate investments to frontline communities nationwide. In a new op-ed, Adam and Jon Schuldt discuss the hidden dangers and promise with the use of such tools
- Lab member Stella Favaro pens opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, “How to talk climate change at Christmas without picking a fight”
Lab News Archive
Cover image: Adam Sébire “anthropoScene II : Tideline” (adamsebire.info & climatevisuals.org)