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ben newell

A house in brisbane shows marks from previous floods.

Weighing up risk: making decisions about home insurance in a changing climate

25 Sep 2023

A UNSW Sydney scientist explains some of the psychological processes that influence our decision making around home insurance and climate change. 

Institute for Climate Risk and Response

UNSW launches Institute for Climate Risk & Response

19 Sep 2023

The research institute will offer advice to industry on how to assess and respond to climate change.

person standing on hill looking at the sunset/sunrise

Most people already think climate change is 'here and now', despite what we've been told

24 Apr 2023

Despite the popular and intuitive notion that people find climate change psychologically distant, a new review of the evidence shows that’s not the case at all.

100-dollar notes in a pile

Not all beer and pokies: what Australians did with their super when COVID struck

12 Oct 2022

Commonwealth Bank data shows the Australians who withdrew super spent more, but paid down their debt.

Woman catching a public bus to work

Like riding the bus without a ticket: How we can all make a difference on climate change

01 Nov 2021

There's a lot individuals can do to trigger action on climate change, UNSW researchers say.

a man stares at a gambling game on a screen in a dark room

Gamblers bet more when in the dark: feedback can curb their online losses

03 Aug 2021

How to inject more reality into gamblers’ overestimation of their chances of winning? One simple tool is feedback.

Doctor talking to patient

The Four Cs which might be the key to increasing vaccine uptake

02 Aug 2021

Psychology researchers advising the NSW government say a behavioural science model could prove the answer to increasing vaccination rates.

Woman buying multiple packs of toilet paper

Why uncertainty makes us change our behaviour (even when we shouldn't)

30 Jul 2021

‘Panic buying’ might be a normal human response to uncertainty, after all.

A bushfire in the Australian outback

Climate change and the tyranny of psychological distance

03 Sep 2020

With last summer’s bushfires largely out of the headlines, has the psychological distance people might feel towards climate change increased?

sad anxious woman

No wonder isolation's so tiring. All those extra, tiny decisions are taxing our brains

04 May 2020

Is it safe to nip out for milk? Should I download the COVIDSafe app? Is it OK to wear my pyjamas in a Zoom meeting? All these extra decisions are taking their toll.

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