Spillover of pro-environmental behavior
I am interested in exploring the psychological mechanisms for the spillover of pro-environmental behavior (i.e., the effects of one behavior on subsequent behaviors). In collaboration with Heather Truelove at the University of North Florida, I have examined the influence of identity processes involved in spillover in lab and field settings. Additionally, I am interested in how behavior similarity and perceptions of pro-environmental behavior affect the spillover process and have sought to understand lay perceptions of pro-environmental behavior to inform these questions.
Currently, I am investigating the spillover of corporate pro-environmental action on individual behavior and support for environmental policies in collaboration with Kaitlin Raimi at University of Michigan, Alex Maki at AAAS, and Michael Vandenbergh at Vanderbilt University.
Social consequences of environmentalism
In collaboration with my PhD adviser Janet Swim, I have studied the effects of individual engagement with pro-environmental behavior on person perception. Specifically, we have examined how engagement in behavior that mis-matches traditional gender roles affects perceptions of a person’s gender expression and sexuality. You can find the full citation for this work, which was featured in major news outlets, under the Publications page.
What are the social consequences of learning about climate change induced migration? This is a question I have been investigating with colleages Nathan Geiger, Kaitlin Raimi, Julia Lee, and Melanie Sarge. With climate migration patterns increasingly studied and covered in the news, we are interested in examining political responses to climate migration as well as its effects on perceptions of immigrants and support for immigration and climate policy.
Community-based interventions
For the last four years I have been working as a Graduate Research Fellow for the non-profit botanical garden Mt. Cuba Center. In my work with them in collaboration with my PhD adviser Janet Swim, I have been developing and implementing a community-based intervention aimed to increase ecologically sustainable residential landscaping practices in suburban neighborhoods. In the process, we have identified and examined psychosocial processes important for predicting sustainable landscaping such as systems thinking and eudaimonic experiences. We have designed our intervention to facilitate systems thinking and eudaimonic experiences — to encourage connection to the nature it people’s own yards and change the way people think and experience outdoor space. Notably, we apply Diffusion of Innovations theory and take a two-step diffusion approach with our program implementation, working closely with trusted people in neighborhoods and helping them create change in their own neighborhoods. We have found it rewarding to apply this community-based participatory approach to improving local biodiversity and environmental quality and will be continuing implementation and evaluation in the years to come.