World-renowned psychologist Professor Geoff Beattie is shaping intellectual debate at a series of global events, sharing his unique perspective on the psychology behind climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Professor Beattie has looked extensively at the psychology behind attitudes towards climate change as well as how to change behaviours so that protecting the environment becomes a major factor in day-to-day decision making.  

His expertise led to him being invited to speak in October at a key cultural event organised by the British Embassy in Moscow, which in the words of the organisers ‘brings together the best of contemporary British practices in the fields of science, innovation and sustainable development’. One of the key themes of this year’s event was climate action. 

Professor Beattie said: ‘This was an enormous opportunity to reach a critically important audience. Russia is a very significant region for climate change not just because of its political and economic power, but because it is a leading global supplier of fossil fuels and there is a very high degree of climate change scepticism in the country, even, it seems, amongst some environmentalists.’ 

Earlier this month Professor Beattie was also invited to give a major speech about COVID-19 at the EffWorks Global Conference for the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA). He presented his views on how human behaviour will change as a result of COVID-19 – a key interest for the IPA as they grapple with how to communicate during and after the pandemic. 

‘We still don’t know what the lasting effects of the pandemic will be,’ Geoff explained. ‘Perhaps all of this will be forgotten about like a bad dream. However, I suspect we have all learnt something, whether it’s about being closer to family and friends, about the sacrifice of key workers or a greater sense of community.’

His speech was shared by the Advertising Research Foundation in the USA and the Shanghai International Advertising Festival Group in China and Asia. 

Geoff is an internationally-acclaimed psychologist, author and broadcaster. He is both a Chartered Psychologist and a Chartered Scientist. He is also a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an ex-President of the Psychology Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 

He was recently invited to join the panel of world-leading experts on behavioural science on ASK-Psychwire advising on communication, the psychology of climate change, and other topics.

If you are interested in studying Psychology at Edge Hill the university offers a variety of courses including BSc (Hons) Psychology, BSc (Hons) Educational Psychology, and BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology.