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Sandra Geiger

@sandrajgeiger.bsky.social

2.7K followers 770 following 26 posts

Postdoctoral Researcher | Social Norms & Sustainability 🌿 | Princeton University @acee.princeton.edu Scientific Director @jresearcherprog.bsky.social & Senior Research Fellow @envpsyvienna.bsky.social @univie.ac.at

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Sep 7

🌏 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

It’s not that people doubt biodiversity is declining—it’s that we underestimate how many others already share this concern.

In our new Perspective, we review work on pluralistic ignorance and set out a research agenda to:

Understanding the role of pluralistic ignorance in biodiversity conservation: A research agenda

Most people believe that biodiversity loss is human-caused, yet they may not realize how many others share this belief. Such collective misperceptions…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Sander van der Linden @profsanderlinden.bsky.social · 12d

If you're looking to do a PhD on a timely subject, I'm on the advisory board of a cool new project; "When Lies Take Root: Investigating the Impact of Misinformation on Those at Risk" at the top-ranked Amsterdam School of Communication Research/

Do share & apply: werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...

Vacancy — PhD Position: "When Lies Take Root: Investigating the Impact of Misinformation on Those at Risk"

Are you motivated to protect those most vulnerable against misinformation and to develop new interventions against misinformation? Do you want to know more about how mis- and disinformation impact at-...

werkenbij.uva.nl

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · 14d

Writing the post with Carya was one of the most enjoyable things I did this year for work. We had a lot of fun and hope you enjoy reading it just as much.

🔗 spsp.org/news/charact... (blog) & journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.... (study)

#sustainability #psychology #BehavioralScience #BehaviorChange

What Most People Get Wrong About Climate Change | SPSP

It’s not the science people doubt—it’s each other.

spsp.org

Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · 14d

💡Why? A single message isn’t enough. People need to hear it from many others—like you. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬: 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. One that can be louder, more visible, and more connected. And that shift, from silence to solidarity, is exactly what the climate movement needs right now.

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · 14d

🌱 To test whether breaking this illusion can spark #action, we told half of our participants that 71–88% of their fellow citizens believe climate change is real and humans are responsible. Hearing this didn’t immediately make people more willing to change their lifestyle or support climate action.

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · 14d

🌏 Everywhere we looked, the same pattern emerged: a collective illusion where climate believers think they’re swimming against the tide when in fact they’re riding the wave. The real misunderstanding isn’t about the facts or hard science—it’s the belief that people are divided on the issue.

Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · 14d

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

In our @spspnews.bsky.social blog post, we write about collective illusions.

We asked people in 11 countries what they personally thought about #climate change and what they believed others thought.

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Association for Psychological Science @psychscience.bsky.social · 15d

A new study published in Psychological Science, by @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social from @acee.princeton.edu, highlights how people around the world often overestimate climate skepticism and presents ways to push back on this misperception. #ClimateChange

Pro-Climate Sentiments Are More Common Than You Think

A new study highlights how people around the world often overestimate climate skepticism and presents ways to push back on this misperception.

www.psychologicalscience.org

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · 18d

“Prompting people to actively notice birdsong, plant textures and smells can significantly improve wellbeing…”

Interesting study that suggests simple and small interventions, eg signage, that encourage people to notice nature can boost people’s wellbeing.

Open access article below.

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Kristian Steensen Nielsen @kristiansn89.bsky.social · 29d

🦋🌱 Most people care about #biodiversity, yet we often underestimate how concerned others are about its loss. This “pluralistic ignorance” can silence people, weaken action, and make ambitious policies seem less popular.

In a new paper, we outline a research agenda to study and reduce this gap (1/2)

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Sep 7

@hirotakaimada.bsky.social, Carya Maharja, Nattavudh Powdthavee, Valeria Vitale, @lei-zhang.bsky.social, Claudio Rosa, Zenith Delabrida, @kristiansn89.bsky.social, @franzessl1.bsky.social, Mathew White, @envpsyvienna.bsky.social, @acee.princeton.edu

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Understanding the role of pluralistic ignorance in biodiversity conservation: A research agenda

Most people believe that biodiversity loss is human-caused, yet they may not realize how many others share this belief. Such collective misperceptions…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Sep 7

🌱 Our hope: By making biodiversity conservation efforts more visible, we can shift norms and inspire both individual and systemic action to protect and restore biodiversity worldwide.

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Sep 7

1️⃣ Identify where and among whom these misperceptions arise
2️⃣ Understand how they affect conservation action and policy, with case studies from Brazil to Japan
3️⃣ Test interventions that make shared agreement visible and reduce misperceptions

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Sep 7

Understanding the role of pluralistic ignorance in biodiversity conservation: A research agenda

Most people believe that biodiversity loss is human-caused, yet they may not realize how many others share this belief. Such collective misperceptions…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · Sep 5

Climate change is the defining story of our time, and journalists everywhere need the tools to cover it with depth, accuracy, and impact. That’s why we're offering journalists a free, live, online training program designed to support them in telling stronger climate stories. Apply by Sept. 8.

The Covering Climate Now Academy

Journalists from around the world can explore key climate topics together.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Wilhelm Hofmann @wilhelmhofmann.bsky.social · Aug 26

🚨 We’re hiring! 🚨
The Social&Environmental Psychology Group @ruhr-uni-bochum.de is recruiting 2 PhDs and 1 Postdoc
as part of the ERC-funded SUSCON project on sustainable consumption.

Details here:

PhDs:👉 jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/7...

Postdoc:👉 jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/e...

Doctoral Researcher (m,f,x)

jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · Jul 8

Please welcome @brittwray.bsky.social to Bluesky. She studies the rise of climate distress and how to channel it for action and resilience - and is the newest addition to my starter pack of folks who study, write and speak on the intersection of mental health and the climate crisis! More here:

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Jun 5

Thanks @janakoehler.bsky.social for leading this excellent work! 🪧🌎🔥

In two studies, we find that:

1️⃣ the German public misperceives what the public thinks about climate activists.

2️⃣ marchers/gluers think they are perceived more negatively/positively by the public than they actually are.

Jana Köhler @janakoehler.bsky.social · Jun 5

1/7 🧵 We live in a biased social reality! 🤯

🚨 NEW PAPER: Climate activist stereotypes among the German public and German climate activists.

My 1st PhD paper 🤩 in collaboration with @umweltbundesamt.bsky.social

Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Covering Climate Now @coveringclimatenow.org · Jun 3

Climate journalists broke a big story during Earth Week with the launch of The 89 Percent Project: Between 80% and 89% of people around the world want their governments to do more on climate change, but, critically, this overwhelming majority doesn't realize its the majority.

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Justus Schmidt @justusschmidt.bsky.social · May 27

1/8 🧠 New study out! We analyzed data from 10,000+ people across 26 countries on trust in climate scientists — and how political ideology shapes it. Here’s what we found ⬇️ #ClimatePsychology #TrustInScience
🔗: doi.org/10.1016/j.je...

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment @handle.invalid · May 2

Seeking a wide range of perspectives from stakeholders involved in, or impacted by, the clean energy transition, including project developers, labor organizations, educators, financiers, policymakers, and local community members!

Learn more & join the survey here: netzerostakeholder.princeton.edu

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Julia Reiter @juliareiter.bsky.social · May 7

🎉We're back! 24 hours of Political Psychology is once again coming to Vienna - save the dates: 26 / 27 February 2026

▶️ Abstract submission is OPEN - find the link & further information here: 24hpolpsy.univie.ac.at

Very excited to co-host with @markuswagner.bsky.social and @isabellareb.bsky.social

24 HOURS OF POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY CONFERENCE 2026

24hpolpsy.univie.ac.at

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Apr 24

Thanks for sharing, Sabine 😊

Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Sabine Pahl @sabinepahl.bsky.social · Apr 22

People underestimate how strong support for #ClimateAction is

Great piece in @theguardian.com
including @envpsyvienna.bsky.social's (now Dr.) @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social 👇

#EnvironmentalPsychology

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Spiral of silence’: climate action is very popular, so why don’t people realise it?

Researchers find 89% of people around the world want more to be done, but mistakenly assume their peers do not

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Sandra Geiger

Kim Doell @kimdoell.bsky.social · Mar 27

🌍 We are launching a new #ManyLabs!!! Join the Heat & Cognition project! We're studying how extreme heat affects human thinking, social behavior & well-being — globally.
Contribute & co-author:
🔗 Info: heatandmind.wordpress.com
📋 Sign up: www.soscisurvey.de/HeatandCogni...
#EnvironmentalPsychology

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Sandra Geiger @sandrajgeiger.bsky.social · Mar 24

Join us for this year's jSchool on the psychology of decision-making 🧠🌿⚖️🗳️

Junior Researcher Programme @jresearcherprog.bsky.social · Mar 24

🚨 Applications for jSchool 2025 are NOW OPEN!
Are you a psychology or behavioural science student interested in research? Join jSchool 2025 to gain hands-on research experience, guided by early-career researchers.

👉 Apply now: jrp.pscholars.org/jschool2025
#jschool2025

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