Speaker: Professor Iain Walker, Director Research School of Psychology

In this talk, I sketch a field theoretical approach to understanding opinion and behaviour within coupled social-ecological systems. I suggest that a functional analysis of behaviour leads to a focus on achieving durable and persistent behaviour change by changing the systemic context. I draw in research from different domains, mostly on human responses to climate change, for illustration and support.

Iain is a social psychologist. His research spans many aspects of social psychology, with an emphasis on the application of social psychology to problems such as sustainability, climate change, water and energy conservation, modeling human-ecosystem processes, and prejudice and racism. This research is primarily concerned with understanding and engaging with processes of social and environmental change, and is generally informed by both social identity theory and by a Lewinian socialecological framework. Behind this is a broader concern with developing a better theoretical understanding of sociality and the interplay between theory and practice.