Nathaniel Geiger

I am an assistant professor of Behavior, Education, and Communication at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. I am a social psychologist who conducts experimental and survey research in lab, field, and online settings examining how people become motivated and empowered to take action on climate change and other collective action issues. My theoretical approach is eclectic, but I'm especially interested in understanding psychological processes that assist in expanding beyond traditional approaches to rationality (e.g., from traditional economics), which I believe rely on assumptions that are often not met in the real world. For example, two lines of my research examine the roles of social norms and emotions on facilitating or inhibiting climate engagement.

After growing up in Texas, I received my PhD in Social Psychology from Penn State University, then previously worked as an assistant professor in the Media School at Indiana University, before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for my current position.

I have published work in a variety of psychology, communication, and other cross-disciplinary journals, including Nature Communications, Social Psychological and Personality Science, the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Environmental Communication, and Climatic Change, and have had work featured in popular press outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American, and the Guardian. I also serve as a Associate Deputy Editor of Climatic Change and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

When I'm not working, you can probably find me walking our two dogs, Lucy Parsons and Sparky, around our neighborhood or on the Border-to-Border trail along the Huron River.

To learn more about my research, check out the other pages on my site.