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  Social Change Lab
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Doing Good: 
Prosocial behaviour, environmental action, better communication

​Our lab is interested in understanding and promoting positive social change, and we have a lot of people researching active do-gooding. 

How can we help people to face up to climate change and the challenge of sustainability?  How can we understand achievement and under-achievement in education?  What about promoting charitable giving more broadly and effectively?  These are all topics we've worked on in the lab, with questions ranging from "What's the role of images in helping or preventing persuasive messages to be effective?" to "How can we motivate stronger actions among people who’ve taken baby steps?"  

​A major focus for the lab’s research is to try to understand what works to translate good intentions or sympathies into concrete outcomes that matter.

Current Research Projects

Environmental protest in Australia
Image: 350.org

Environmental Campaigning

Robyn Gulliver asks how activist groups help to build and maintain environmental social movements.
Protest, image: Nathan Keirn
Image: Nathan Keirn

Identities & Norms in Action

Winnifred Louis explores how identities and norms influence individuals' attitudes and actions.
Religious protest, image: Takver
Image: Takver

Religious Collective Action

Susilo Wibisono asks how social identities influence collective action within religious movements.
Protest, image: Markus Spiske
Image: Nathan Keirn
​Future Orientation and Climate Action 
Charlie Pittaway explores how future-oriented thinking influences climate change attitudes and actions. 
Religious protest, image: Takver
Image: Takver
Peacebuilding and Children's Rights
Cadhla O'Sullivan looks at an art-based intervention for peace with children and youth in Colombia. 
Protest, image: Nathan Keirn
Image: Nathan Keirn
Message Framing and Meat Eating 
Hannibal Thai studies how pro-environmental messages are received and re-framed to maximize attitude and behaviour change.

​
Protest, image: Markus Spiske
Image: Nathan Keirn
Structural Climate Policies and Social Change
Christoph Klebl wants to know how social contexts lead people to support structural climate policies.​
Black Lives Matter protest, image: 5chw4r7z
Image: Craig Lassig/Reuters

Solidarity & Allyship

Tulsi Achia investigates when and how helping disadvantaged groups can go wrong.

Historical Research Projects

Stormwater drain

Psychology of Charitable Giving

Cassandra Chapman investigates how people decide which charitable organisations to support or neglect.
Stormwater drain

Environmental Spillover

Nita Lauren asks how we can encourage people to do more for the environment.
Stormwater drain

Environmental Campaign Images

Tracy Schultz researches if and how images improve engagement in pro-environmental messages.
International Students
.

Education Communications

Weijie (Kathy) Lin studies how communications affect Chinese students' intentions to study overseas.
Resource Management
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Resource Management Dialogue

Lucy Mercer-Mapstone wants to know how 'meaningful dialogue' plays out in natural resource management.

Our Collaborators

At the University of Queensland:

Elsewhere:

Location

Social Change Lab
School of Psychology
McElwain Building
​The University of Queensland
St Lucia, QLD 4072
Australia

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