I am particularly interested in the values we share with other people and groups. This work builds on robust evidence that people across the world agree on the importance of values like freedom, helpfulness, or wealth. However, despite these shared values, we often assume that other people's values are fundamentally different from ours. And worryingly, such misperceptions have a range of negative effects, including higher prejudice and lower well-being (i.e., due to feeling more isolated).

Importantly, when these misperceptions are corrected, people feel more connected with others and report greater hope about the future. This happens even between polarised groups, such as US Republicans and Democrats. Correcting people's misperceptions of value differences is particularly important in the face of growing threats from societal crises (e.g., climate change) that urgently require citizens to see past their differences and coordinate their efforts around a common purpose.

One project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) examines the effects of shared values on young people's pro-environmental behaviour and hope about the future of the planet. Another project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, tests the effects of shared values on more respectful behaviour in political debates.

Another strand of my work focuses on adults’ attitudes and motivations towards young people; a topic that has been surprisingly ignored in the literature. One set of studies has shown that the salience of children elicits broad pro-social motivation and behaviour in adults. For example, when more children were present on a shopping street, adults were more likely to donate for a cause unrelated to children. Other sets of studies give novel insights into adults’ attitudes towards children and teenagers. 

I am accepting PhD students wishing to pursue research in areas related to shared values and adults' attitudes towards young people (see above).