Reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires behavioural change. But how do we get individuals into this habit or, for that matter, any habit that reduces energy consumption? Two academic disciplines concern…
Many rural residents say plantation forestry is ruining communities; many say otherwise. Who is right?
teejaybee/flickr
Land-use planners and policy-makers often face claims and counter claims regarding the impacts of land-use change. For example, some residents claim wind turbines have crippling health impacts, while others…
Be the change you wish to see in the world - it may have more impact than you realise.
Corepics VOF/Shutterstock
We all know that children learn by example. I know if I swear in front of my four year old I’m going to hear that word again soon, probably right in front of my mother-in-law, a school teacher, or a priest…
Our implicit associations reveal more about our true attitudes than what we explicitly state.
Image from shutterstock.com
Neil Levy, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
The infamous Youtube video capturing a young man abusing women on a Melbourne bus for the crime of singing in French, and being supported in his violent tirade by fellow passengers, raises the uncomfortable…
We all do it from time to time – replay scenarios over and over in our minds. Problem is, these repetitive and, at times, uncontrollable thoughts inevitably leave us feeling worse and make us more prone…
Much information is available to us just by focusing on a person’s face.
Dual Time Studio
Kate Crookes, The University of Western Australia and Romina Palermo, The University of Western Australia
You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their face. From a glance, we can glean information about a person’s emotional state, sex, age, ethnicity, where their attention is focused and, of…
We recognise extreme emotions, but may need more than facial expressions to decode them.
How Hwee young/EPA
As social creatures, non-verbal communication through facial expression is important in portraying emotions – and because of this, it’s interpreted rapidly and accurately. Regardless of culture, defined…
Statistical significance doesn’t speak directly to the reproducibility of an experimental effect.
Daniel Leininger
An ambitious new project is attempting to replicate every single study published in 2008 in three leading academic psychology journals. It’s called the Reproducibility Project. As the name suggests, the…
Presenting scientific information isn’t likely to change made-up minds, but there are a lot of un-made-up minds out there.
Department of Energy and Climate Change
Does scientific knowledge matter in the climate debate? Recent research suggests that it is not “what you know” but “who you are” that counts in making up your mind about climate change. What are the implications…
By the time asylum seekers get on boats, it’s often too late.
EPA/Tubagus
With its revamped Pacific Solution, the Australian government has decided to make the choice to take a boat to Australia more horrendous in its implications, by increasing the likelihood of disasters at…
Critics contend that psychology amounts to scant more than “common sense”.
h.koppdelaney
As a psychologist – I received my PhD in clinical psychology – I have long been concerned by the problematic reputation of psychology in the public eye. Our besieged public standing has made it difficult…
Knowing that chimpanzees and orangutans have personalities, feel emotions and are “almost human” comes as no surprise to most people. However, linking the term “midlife crisis” to chimpanzees and orangutans…
Protesters march against the torture at Abu Ghraib; we use social psychology to help understand why people commit such acts.
Shrieking Tree
Social psychology addresses many of the important questions that concern us as human beings. It’s also the subject of newspaper editorials on most days: why is there conflict between groups? How can it…
Worrying about the future is bad for your survival - have we evolved to prefer optimism?
Vassilis Galanos
Is it any wonder so many people turn their back on climate science? Who wants to hear - as the World Bank told us today - we’re heading for a four-degree-warmer world, with more heatwave deaths and life-threatening…
So we have a problem for you. Take a moment to steady yourself, maybe sharpen your pencil. Don’t unpack your calculator, and leave your phone to one side. This one will be purely mental – a spot of addition…
A life without fear sounds idyllic but it would be no paradise. Fear protects us from present danger, alerts us to future threat, sharpens our minds and blunts our selfishness. Friedrich Nietzsche once…