Matthew I. Billet
Social Psychologist
Culture, Ecology, & Social Cognition
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Hi there. I am a social psychologist interested in how we adapt to our social and physical environments. The tools of human culture – our shared norms, symbols, schemas, identities – help us as much as hinder us in this task. My research explores this tension using behavioural experiments, cross-cultural surveys, and text analysis.
At present, I am a postdoc in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine. I received my PhD in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada supervised by Ara Norenzayan and Mark Schaller.
Research
Research
Ecological Cognition
How does culture construct our perceptions of the physical environment and shape the way we make decisions about environmental issues?
Ecospirituality; Moralization; Politics
Social Cognition
How do motivational goals shape our perceptions of others? And how does social cognition help us achieve our goals?
Fundamental Motives; Parental Care
Culture & Religion
What can social psychology teach us about the cultural evolution of religion? And what can cultural and religious dynamics teach us about the future of our societies?
Apocalyptic Thinking; Religious Value
Selected Publications
Selected Publications
Introduction to ecospirituality, moralization of nature, and environmental decision-making.
Billet, M. I., Baimel, A., Schaller, M., & Norenzayan, A. (2025) Ecospirituality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 34(2), 97-104. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241304326 [pdf]
Functional theories of social cognition and the perception of children.
Billet, M. I., Hohm, I., Dunn, R. M., Hofer, M. K., Sidloski, B., & Schaller, M. (2026). What do people want to know about another person? The answer differs depending on whether that person is an adult or a child. PLOS One, 21(2), e0342425. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0342425 [pdf]
Apocalyptic thinking predicts support for extreme political action on global issues.
Billet, M. I., White, C. J. M., Shariff, A., & Norenzayan, A. (in press). End of world beliefs are common, diverse, and predict how people perceive and respond to global risks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000519 [pdf]
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