What can psychology tell us about the links between culture and environment?

I study how culture shapes the ways humans influence the natural environment. My work explores how cultural models of human-nature interactions create barriers and opportunities to address pressing global issues, including climate change and sustainability. My research aims to increase our capacity to coordinate collective action across culturally diverse populations—a key part in addressing the most pressing global issues. 

This interest has taken me in fascinating directions. I've studied how spiritual connections with nature across the world can lead to more sustainable societies; what values bridge political divides on environmental issues in the United States; what apocalyptic narratives can tell us about how cultural groups will react to pressing global risks; and what religious sermons—when considered at scale—can reveal about the cultural evolution of religion.

This work draws on theories of cultural evolution, risk perception, social cognition, and decision-making. Methods include quantitative surveys, behavioural experiments, cross-cultural methods, and the analysis of natural language.

I received my PhD in Social / Personality Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Irvine.