Scholars
Iain Walker
University of Melbourne
Based in
Australia
Australia
Iain Walker is a social psychologist with an extensive record of research in several applied areas, including pro-environmental behaviour and intergroup relations. Some of his recent research has examined resilience and cohesion following bushfires, responses to climate change, the relationships between environmental and human health, urban heatwaves, racism, and organ donation. Iain has published 3 books, and nearly 200 chapters, reports, and journal articles. He is a professor of psychology and Director of the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne. He was previously the Director of the Research School of Psychology at the Australian National University. He likes cake.
![](https://cssn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Walker.jpg)
Country(ies) of Specialty
AustraliaFocus areas of expertise
Climate Justice Behavioral action Public opinionPublications
Books
Schandl, H., & Walker, I. (Eds.) (2017). Social science and sustainability. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing.
Augoustinos, M., Walker, I., & Donaghue, N. (2014). Social cognition: An integrated introduction (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Moloney, G., & Walker, I. (Eds.). (2007). Social representations and identity: Content, process, and power. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Walker, I., & Smith, H. J. (Eds.), (2002). Relative deprivation theory: Specification,
development, and integration. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Book chapters and encyclopedia entries
Vardoulakis, S., Walker, I., & Aitken, S. (2023). The fires this time: Health impacts. In P. Christoff (Ed.), The fires this time. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Walker, I., & Wang, S. (2021). Implicit bias. In C. Tileagă, M. Augoustinos, & K.
Durrheim (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination (pp. 197-210). London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429274558
Walker, I., Leviston, Z., McCrea, R., Price, J., & Greenhill, M. (2017). Making sense of Australians’ responses to climate change: Insights from a series of five national surveys. In H. Schandl & I. Walker (Eds.), Social science and sustainability (pp. 161-176). Canberra: CSIRO Publishing.
Walker, I. (2016). Social cognition. In H. Miller, Jr. (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. DOI: 10.4135/9781483346274.n298
Dudgeon, P., Wright, M., Paradies, Y., Garvey, D., & Walker, I. (2014). Social and cultural context. In N. Purdie, P. Dudgeon, & R. Walker (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (2nd ed., pp. 3-24). Melbourne: ACER Publishing.
Moloney, G., Walker, I., & Charlton, T. (2013). I do but I don’t…: The Yes, But factor in organ donation and transplantation. In M. A. Lauri (Ed.), Organ Donation and Transplantation – An Interdisciplinary Approach (pp. 141-150). New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Dudgeon, P., Wright, M., Paradies, Y., Garvey, D., & Walker, I. (2010). Social and cultural context.
In Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (pp. 25-42). Melbourne: ACER Publishing.
Walker, I. (2010). Relative deprivation. In J. Levine & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Sage encyclopedia of group processes and intergroup relations (pp. 694-698). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Walker, I. (2010). Jigsaw classroom technique. In J. Levine & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Sage encyclopedia of group processes and intergroup relations (pp. 491-493). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Smith, H. J., & Walker, I. (2008). Feeling relative deprivation: The rocky road from comparisons to actions. In U. Wagner, L. R. Tropp, G. Finchilescu, & C. Tredoux (Eds.), Improving intergroup relations – Building on the legacy of Thomas F. Pettigrew (pp. 227-243). SPSSI Series on Social Issues and Interventions. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Moloney, G., & Walker, I. (2007). Introduction. In G. Moloney & I. Walker (Eds.), Social representations and identity: Content, process, and power (pp. 1-8). New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Walker, I., Broderick, P., & Correia, H. (2007). Conceptions and misconceptions: Social representations of medically assisted reproduction. In G. Moloney & I. Walker (Eds.), Social representations and identity: Content, process, and power (pp. 157-176). New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Walker, I., Wong, N. K., & Kretzschmar, K. (2002). Relative deprivation and attribution: From grievance to action. In I. Walker & H. J. Smith (Eds.), Relative deprivation theory: Specification, development, and integration (pp. 288-312). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Walker, I., & Smith, H. J. (2002). Fifty years of relative deprivation research. In I. Walker & H. J. Smith (Eds.), Relative deprivation theory: Specification, development, and integration (pp. 1-9). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Walker, I. (2001). Changes in prejudice against Aboriginal Australians. In M. Augoustinos & K. J. Reynolds (Eds.), Understanding prejudice, racism and social conflict (pp. 24-42). London: Sage.
Locke, V., & Walker, I. (1999). Stereotypes, processing goals, and social identity: Inveterate and fugacious characteristics of stereotypes. In D. Abrams & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Social cognition and social identity (pp. 164-182). Oxford: Blackwell.
Archer, D., Pettigrew, T.F., Costanzo, M., Iritani, B., Walker, I., & White, L. (1986). Energy conservation and public policy: The mediation of individual behavior. In W. Kempton & M. Neiman (Eds.), Energy efficiency: Perspectives on individual behavior (pp. 69 – 92). Berkeley, CA: American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.
Journal articles
Hogg, T, et al. (in press). Clarifying the nature of the association between eco-anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102249
Leviston, Z., Nangrani, T., Stanley, S. K., & Walker, I. (in press). Consequences of group-based misperceptions of climate concern for efficacy and action. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2024.100189
Kelly, M., Mitchell, I., Walker, I., Mears, J., & Scholz, B. (in press). Bereaved relatives’ experiences of disrupted grief and bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic: An Australian qualitative study. Journal of Palliative Care.
Mede, N.,…Walker, I.,… (in press). Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries – the TISP dataset. Scientific Data
Christensen, B. K., Monaghan, C., Stanley, S. K., Walker, I., Leviston, Z., Macleod, E., Rodney, R. M., Greenwood, L-M., Heffernan, T., Evans, O., Sutherland, S., Reynolds, J., Calear, A. L., Kurz, T., & Lane, J. (2024). The Brief Solastalgia Scale: A psychometric evaluation and revision of the Environmental Distress Scale – Solastalgia Subscale. EcoHealth, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-024-01673-y.
Stanley, S. K., Heffernan, T., Macleod, E., Lane, J., Walker, I., Evans, O., Greenwood, L-M., Kurz, T., Calear, A. L., Reynolds, J., Cruwys, T., Christensen, B. K., Sutherland, S., & Rodney, R. M. (2024). Solastalgia following the Australian Summer of Bushfires: Qualitative and quantitative insights about environmental distress and recovery. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102273
Macleod, E., Heffernan, T., Greenwood, L., Walker, I., Lane, J., Stanley, S. K., Evans, O., Calear, A., Cruwys, T., Christensen, B., Kurz, T., Lancsar, E., Reynolds, J., Rodney Harris, R., & Sutherland, S. (2024). Predictors of individual mental health and psychological resilience after Australia’s 2019/2020 bushfires. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 57, 58-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674231175618
Stanley, S. K., Jylhä, K. M., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2023). Is conservative opposition to climate change threat-based? Articulating an integrated threat model of climate change attitudes. British Journal of Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12710
Blackburn, R., Leviston, Z., Walker, I., & Schram, A. (2023). Could a minimalist lifestyle reduce carbon emissions and improve wellbeing? A cross-disciplinary literature review. WIRES Climate Change, 15. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.865
Cárdenas, D., Orazani, N., Donaldson, J. L., O’Donnell, J., Qureshi, I., Stevens, M., Cruwys, T., Zekulin, M., Platow, M., Walker, I., & Reynolds , K. J. (2023). Social cohesion predicts COVID-19 vaccination intentions and uptake. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12759
Jones, A., & Walker, I. (2023). Place attachment, identity threat, and wellbeing in bushfire-affected areas. Wellbeing, Space & Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2023.100179
Cruwys, T., Macleod, E., Heffernan, T., Walker, I., Stanley, S. K., Kurz, T., Greenwood, L-M., Evans, O., Calear, A. (2023). Social group connection supports mental health following wildfire. Australian
and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674231175618
Kelly, M., Mitchell, I., Walker, I., Mears, J., & Scholz, B. (2023). “I can’t make all this work”. Challenges providing end-of-life care in disaster settings. A qualitative study of healthcare workers. BMC Palliative Care, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-023-01137-0
Leviston, Z., Stanley S., K., Rodney, R. M., Walker, I., Reynolds, J., Christensen, B., Monaghan, C., Calear, A., Lal, A., Lane, J., & Vardoulakis, S. (2023). Solastalgia mediates between bushfire impact and mental health outcomes: A study of Australia’s 2019-2020 bushfire season. Journal of Environmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102071
Lyne, K., Williams, C., Vardoulakis, S., Matthews,V., Farrant, B., Butt, A., Walker, I., Chu, C., Dennekamp, M., Oyarce, D. E., Ivers, R., Jalaludin, B., Jones, P., Martin, K., & Rychetnik, L. (2023). Developing a research translation, implementation and impact strategy for the Australian Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) research network. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20,
6383. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20146383
Murray, K., Rieger, E., Brown, P. M., Brichacek, A., & Walker, I. (2023). Explaining gender differences in intuitive eating: The mediating role of body image. Body Image, 45, 369-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.03.018
Po, M., Pannell, D., Walker, I., Tapsuwan, S., Dempster, F., Mendham, D., S., Beadle, C., Dong, T. L., Trần, A. H., Thi, H. L., & Hai Ha, D. T., (2023). Supporting smallholder acacia farmers in Viet Nam to transition to sawlog production: Opportunities and challenges. Trees, Forests and People, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2023.100384.
Scutt, K., Walker, I., & Ernst, I. (2023). The role of trust and social identity on farmers’ intentions to report suspected disease outbreaks. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 212, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.105855
Andreotta, M., Boschetti, F., Farrell, S., Paris, C., Walker, I., & Hurlstone, M. (2022).
Evidence for three distinct climate change audience segments with varying belief updating tendencies: Implications for climate change communication. Climatic Change, 174, 32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03437-5
Carleton-Eagleton, K., Walker, I., Gibson, D., Freene, N., & Semple, S. (2022). Testing the validation and reliability of the Caregiver-Patient Activation Measure (CG-PAM). PEC Innovation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100098
Moloney, G., Sutherland, M., Upcroft, L., Clark, R., Punjabi-Jagdish, P. P., Rienks, S., Bowling, A., & Walker, I. (2022). Respect, interaction, immediacy and the role community plays in registering an
organ donation decision. PLOS ONE, 17(1): e0263096. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263096
Montesanti, S., Walker, I., & Chan, A. (2022) Editorial: Improving disaster health outcomes and resilience through rapid research: Implications for public health policy and practice. Frontiers in Public Health, 10: 989573. https://doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.989573
Neumann, S. K. S., Neumann, C., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2022). The Six Australias: Concern about climate change (and global warming) is rising. Environmental Communication, 16, 433-444. DOI: 10.1080/17524032.2022.2048407
Po, M., Pannell, D. J., Walker, I., Dempster, F., Tapsuwan, S., Mendham, D. S., Hardiyanto, E. B., Wibison, G., & Oktalina, S. N. (2022). Intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing farmers’ decisions to adopt acacia best management practices in Gunungkidul, Indonesia. Agroforestry Systems https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-022-00769-0
Carleton-Eagleton, K., Walker, I. Freene, N., Gibson, D., & Semple, S. (2021). Meeting support needs for informal caregivers of people with heart failure: A rapid review. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvaa017
Frew, T., Watsford, C., & Walker, I. (2021). Gender dysphoria and psychiatric comorbidities in childhood: A systematic review. Australian Journal of Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2021.1900747
Kelly, M., Mitchell, I., Walker, I., Mears, J., & Scholz, B. (2021). End of life care in natural disasters including epidemics and pandemics: A systematic review. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 13, 1-14. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-002973
Leviston, Z., Stanley, S. K., & Walker, I. (2021). Australians underestimate social compliance with coronavirus restrictions: Findings from a national survey. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13195
Plummer, A., & Walker, I. (2021). Can self-regulation explain why not everyone is overweight or obese?. Australian Journal of Psychology. DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2021.1883999
Rodney, R. M., Swaminathan, A., Calear, A. L., Christensen, B., Kirk, M. D., Lal, A., Lane, J., Leviston, Z., Reynolds, J., Trevenar, S., Vardoulakis, S., & Walker, I. (2021). Physical and mental health effects of bushfire smoke in an Australian community: Canberra region 2019-20. Frontiers of Public Health, 9, 682402. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.682402
Stanley, S. K., Klas, A., Clarke, E. J R., & Walker, I. (2021). The effects of a temporal framing manipulation on environmentalism: A replication and extension. PLoS ONE, 16(2): e0246058. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246058
Stanley, S. K., Hogg, T., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2021). From anger to action: Differential impacts of eco-anxiety,eco-depression, and eco-anger on climate action and wellbeing. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100003
Stanley, S. K., Ng, C. T-W., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2021). Acceptance of climate change and climate refugee policy in Australia and New Zealand: The case against political polarisation. Climatic Change, 169, 1-9.