Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemMore Than Idyll Speculation: Utopian Thinking for Planetary Health(MDPI AG, 2019-02-18)The problems and challenges associated with planetary health are vast and interconnected, and are therefore requiring of research which takes an all-of-society perspective. Following calls for input from behavioural scientists in discussions about planetary health, we here present a review and synthesis of recent research on utopian thinking and lay beliefs about societal change. For some time, utopian theorists have recognised the capacity of ideals for society to motivate social change behaviour, but this has largely been ignored by behavioural scientists. However, recent research has shown that utopian thinking elicits social change behaviour among ordinary people, and that a utopia with pro-environmental content tends to be especially motivating. Furthermore, changes which are seen as increasing levels of warmth and morality in society elicit greater levels of support and motivation to bring about those changes. These findings have implications for how social movements for planetary health can proceed and provide hope for motivating the necessary social change. We present this work in the hope that it can contribute to the furtherance of efforts for the achievement of planetary health.
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ItemGreens or space invaders: Prominent utopian themes and effects on social change motivation(WILEY, 2020-03)Abstract One way in which individuals can participate in action to change the society they live in is through the pursuit of an ideal society or “utopia”; however, the content of that utopia is a likely determinant of its motivational impact. Here we examined two predominant prototypes of utopia derived from previous research and theory—the Green and Sci‐Fi utopias. When participants were primed with either of these utopias, the Green utopia was perceived to entail a range of other positive characteristics (e.g., warmth, positive emotions) and—provided it was positively evaluated—tended to elicit both motivation and behaviour for social change. In contrast, the Sci‐Fi utopia was associated with low motivation, even when it was positively evaluated. Furthermore, the Green utopia was shown to elicit greater perceptions of participative efficacy, which in turn predicted the increase in social change motivation.
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ItemLay Concepts of Art, Craft, and Manufacture and the Implications for Sustainable Consumption(Wiley, 2020-03-01)An object's creation history plays an important role in how we perceive, value, and interact with that object, and has consequences for policy on sustainable consumption. Here, we propose that laypeople in industrialized societies have three dominant concepts of how objects can be created: art, craft, and manufacture. These concepts are differentiated by the perceived properties and environmental sustainability of objects, as well as the perceived capabilities of producers. In three experiments, we examined the consequences of framing an object's creation history as art, craft, or manufacture. In general, art and craft objects were valued more highly than manufactured objects, and this effect was partially mediated by the perceived transfer of positive emotional residue. Mass‐produced goods may be treated as disposable consumables, whereas arts and crafts are more deserving of preservation. That this effect was stronger in Australia than China suggests that these effects may be related to a postmaterialist orientation.
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ItemFolk Theories of Artifact Creation: How Intuitions About Human Labor Influence the Value of Artifacts(SAGE Publications, 2020)What are the consequences of lay beliefs about how things are made? In this article, we describe a Western folk theory of artifact creation, highlighting how intuitive dualism regarding mental and physical labor (i.e., folk psychology) can lead to the perceived transmission of properties from makers to material artifacts (i.e., folk physics), and affect people’s interactions with material artifacts. We show how this folk theory structures the conceptual domain of material artifacts by differentiating the contemporary lay concepts of art/craft and industrial production, and how it influences people’s evaluations of different types of artifacts and their makers. We propose that the folk theory and lay concepts of art/craft and industrial production are best understood within a specific sociohistorical context, and review potential sources of cross-cultural and cross-temporal variation. We conclude by making recommendations for future research and examining the implications for promoting environmental sustainability and social justice in production systems.
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ItemFunctions of Utopia: How Utopian Thinking Motivates Societal Engagement(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2018-05)Images of ideal societies, utopias, are all around us; yet, little is known of how utopian visions affect ordinary people's engagement with their societies. As goals for society, utopias may elicit processes of collective self-regulation, in which citizens are critical of, or take action to change, the societies they live in. In three studies, we investigated the psychological function of utopian thinking. In Study 1, measured utopianism was correlated with the activation of three utopian functions: change, critique, and compensation. In Study 2, primed utopian thinking consistently enhanced change and criticism intentions. Study 3 also provided evidence that mental contrasting-first imagining a utopian vision and then mentally contrasting the current society to this vision-underlies the facilitative effect of utopian thinking on societal engagement.