Social and Environmental Research Group (SERG)

Social and Environmental Research Group image

Our research group uses psychological theory and research to address environmental and social problems.

We currently have five streams of research underway.

Predictors of belief and action on climate change
Perceptions of time and beliefs about the future
Health and educational benefits of connection to nature
Enhancing individual and adaptive capacities including community empowerment and regional adaptive planning models
Social identity, cultural identities, and multiculturalism

Professional associations

Our research group has members that belong to the following associations.

European Association of Social Psychology
New Zealand Psychological Society
Outdoor Education Australia
Society of Australasian Social Psychologists
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Enquiries

Find out more about our research.

Send an email

Interested in studying with us? Check out our projects and researcher profiles below and contact potential supervisors to discuss.

People

Name	Discipline	Research interests
Assoc Prof Tricia Brown	Psychology	Social identity Climate change Environmental behaviours
Asst Prof Petra Buergelt	Psychology	Adaptive capacities Environmental disasters Indigenous knowledges and cultural practices Transformation especially education, arts and nature Qualitative research and Indigenous research
Dr Janie Busby Grant	Psychology	Thinking about the future Climate change beliefs Nature connectedness in urban settings
Mrs Sonia Curll	Psychology	Climate change activism Nature connectedness
Miss Teaghan Hogg	Psychology	Psychological impacts of climate change Eco-anxiety
Asst Prof Rosemary McFarlane	Psychology	Health linkages in ecosystem service frameworks Zoonotic disease ecology The quality of parks and greenspace on health and wellbeing
Asst Prof James Neill	Psychology	Green exercise Outdoor education Adventure therapy
Asst Prof Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong	Psychology	Social identity Cultural diversity Ideology
Asst Prof Léan O’Brien	Psychology	Social identity & collective action Sustainable behaviours Utopian visions
Asst Prof Samantha Stanley	Psychology	Ideology Climate change beliefs
Prof Iain Walker	Psychology	Relative deprivation & prejudice Climate change Resource conservation
Ms Jade Pearson Wren	Psychology	Mental health and wellbeing among LGBTQI community

Projects

Name	Contact	Description
Using arts to heal, reduce the risk of disasters and adapt to climate change: Australian-Taiwanese Indigenous cultural knowledges and skills exchange and creation	Asst Prof Petra Buergelt	In this international and transdisciplinary Indigenist participatory action research project, Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics and community members from Australia and Taiwan are co-designing and co-implementing evidence-based cross-cultural models to create resilient and adaptive citizens and society that have international applicability.
Perception of time and relationship with social and political beliefs	Asst Prof Janie Busby Grant	This research examines patterns of beliefs and emotions and the past and future and relationships with political orientation and social issues such as climate change.
Green exercise and exposure to natural environments	Asst Prof James Neill	Exploring the psychological processes and outcomes (e.g., cognitive and mood effects) of different types of physical exercise in natural environments
Outdoor education, environmental education, and adventure therapy	Asst Prof James Neill	Investigations of the psychological processes and outcomes of outdoor education, environmental education, and adventure therapy programs
Multiple identities, intergroup attitudes, and psychological well-being	Asst Prof Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong	Individuals belong to numerous social groups that depending on the socio-historical context are (in)compatible. This program of research aims to understand how individuals manage their dual (national-ethnic) identities in either an alternating or hybrid way, and the relationship to intergroup attitudes and psychological wellbeing.
Diversity ideologies, intergroup attitudes and social cohesion	Asst Prof Caroline Ng Tseung-Wong	Is there one best way to understand and manage cultural diversity? This project aims to look at the differential outcomes of diversity ideologies (mainly multiculturalism) for majority and minority group individuals.
Natural disasters, community resilience and wellbeing: joining the dots	Asst Prof Léan O’Brien	When considered across time, to what extent do the following resilience resources protect individual and community wellbeing from natural disasters? Community identity and community norms Social participation Ease of communication/access to information Active natural resource management
Daily green behaviours and building good habits	Asst Prof Léan O’Brien	Being environmentally sustainable in every aspect of our daily lives involves many comprehensive changes at a behavioural and material level. This project looks at why and how some people are striving to make these changes.
Shared utopian ideals as a basis for identity and green environmentalism	Asst Prof Léan O’Brien	Utopias are often treated as trivial fantasies, but shared utopian visions have the power to motivate collective action. This project considers how shared visions of the future can be central to developing a shared sense of identity and engaging in collective action.
Understanding and overcoming ideological barriers to belief and action on climate change	Asst Prof Samantha Stanley	This program of research aims to understand what motivates conservative denial of climate change, and develop ways of framing the issue that bridge the ideological divide.
The future of food in the ACT	Asst Prof Ro McFarlane	A research hub to inform the future of sustainable food in the ACT

HDR students

Name	Project description
Sonia Curll	The roles of activist identification and ecological threat in the relationships between nature connectedness, climate change activism and well-being. (Supervisor: Dr Tricia Brown)
Teaghan Hogg	Understanding Australians’ perceptions of the role of technology in the current climate crisis (Supervisor: Dr Léan O’Brien)
Clinton McCulloch	The impact of transpersonal states on emotional health in Indigenous healing practices (Supervisor: Dr Petra Buergelt)
Jade Pearson Wren	Welbeing and distress during periods of public discourse about LGBTQI rights (Supervisor: Dr Tricia Brown)