Social Psychology Network

Maintained by Scott Plous, Wesleyan University

Amanda L. Mahaffey

Amanda L. Mahaffey

  • Media Contact
  • SPN Mentor

I study attitudes, attitude change, emotion, decision making, and social influence, specifically applied to the domains of gender, sexuality, politics, and environmental sustainability.

My current research involves questions of environmental sustainability. I am interested in attitudes toward sustainability, the sociocognitive processes related to those attitudes, social influence on those attitudes and behaviors, and applications of persuasive methods for changing sustainability attitudes and behaviors.

Climate change is the most pressing societal issue of our lifetime. All other issues become irrelevant if we cannot gain control of our climate and sustain ourselves on our planet. 75% of people surveyed say they care about the environment, yet their actual behavior shows differently. I seek to find methods of changing sustainability behavior. So far we know that neither attitudes, nor intentions, nor knowledge predict sustainability behavior, but social norms, social influence, and self-efficacy do. I’m currently looking into previously unstudied connections to sustainability behavior, such as wellbeing, materialism, and social relations.

Primary Interests:

  • Applied Social Psychology
  • Attitudes and Beliefs
  • Emotion, Mood, Affect
  • Evolution and Genetics
  • Gender Psychology
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Neuroscience, Psychophysiology
  • Persuasion, Social Influence
  • Political Psychology
  • Prejudice and Stereotyping
  • Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
  • Social Cognition

Journal Articles:

Courses Taught:

  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Clashing Views on Psychological Issues
  • Emotion
  • History of Psychology
  • Norms, Persuasion and Social Influence
  • Personality
  • Psychology of Gender
  • Psychology of Happiness
  • Psychology of Sustainability
  • Research Methods
  • Social Psychology

Amanda L. Mahaffey
Department of Psychology
345 UCB
Boulder, Colorado 80302-0345
United States of America

Send a message to Amanda L. Mahaffey

Note: You will be emailed a copy of your message.

Psychology Headlines

From Around the World

News Feed (35,797 subscribers)