Our research explores the social psychology of climate change, examining how group processes impact environmental decision making and collective action.

Much of our research is guided by two central questions: How do group processes (including social identities, norms, and intergroup biases) impact how we perceive and respond to environmental challenges like climate change?; and how can understanding these processes promote more informed and equitable decision making? Our research uses both experimental and non-experimental methods to explore these and other questions.

For instance, our research has explored how factors like race, ethnicity, and social class affect political polarization around climate change and how people and construe environmental problems and their root causes. With collaborators at Cornell and the Environmental Defense Fund, we have also documented substantial deficits in public understanding of climate change inequities (see Schuldt & Pearson, 2023) and pervasive stereotypic beliefs about the environmental concerns of frontline communities (see Pearson et al., 2018). These and other biases may have implications for current efforts to address health and other disparities linked to climate change and how organizations communicate about climate disparities (see Pearson et al., 2023).

Beyond the lab, we work with interdisciplinary research teams, governments, nonprofits, and professional societies to promote inclusive and effective public engagement strategies and policies. Our work has appeared in synthesis reports by the U.S. National Academies, the National Climate Assessment (NCA5), UNEP, UNDP, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6), and has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, NPR, TIME, Grist, New York Magazine, Bloomberg, and FiveThirtyEight.

To learn more, visit: https://sci.sites.pomona.edu