Psychology, communication and the arts

Clean Coal by Simon Maberly

The arts can provide powerful ways to challenge, inform and engage people in conversations about global challenges. It’s also vital we understand people's underlying worldviews, psychology, values and behaviour as these play a key role in shaping their attitudes to climate change, energy transitions and disaster solutions.

Insights into these perspectives can inform how we communicate about these challenges and understand the variety of responses to them. Framing climate solutions in ways that engage with the worldviews of target audiences will help to foster community consensus and empowerment in collectively responding to climate change in socially just and sustainable ways.

Many of the researchers in this field are housed in the University's Research School of Psychology, School of Sociology, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS), the Fenner School of Environment and Society, and the College of Arts and Social Sciences. We also have a number of Visiting Fellows and Honorary members.