Trevor S. Lies

Department of Psychology

University of Kansas

Primary lines of research

Environmentalism

"Environmentalists or conservationists are nice, slightly crazy guys whose main purpose in life is to prevent the disappearance of blue whales or pandas.

The common people have more important things to think about, for instance how to get their daily bread…Isn’t the village of Bambamarca truly environmentalist, which has time and again fought valiantly against the pollution of its water from mining? […] And the population of Amazonia, who are totally environmentalist, and die defending their forests against depredation."

– Hugo Blanco (1991), Peruvian activist & writer

Environmental historians and activists such as Hugo Blanco note that dominant efforts to address environmental problems tend to reflect and promote the interests of people who live in affluent settings of the Global North. One line of my research considers a distinction in different types of environmentalism (Martinez-Alier, 2015): the Cult of wilderness (CW), which refers to (violent) colonial efforts for nature preservation; and Environmental justice (EJ), which refers to grassroots efforts to address unequal environmental burdens placed on poor communities and communities of color.

One series of studies considered whether this disparity is reflected in popular conceptions of environmentalism (i.e., what is it?; Lies, Omar, & Adams, in prep). We asked Black and White U.S. residents to nominate their conceptions and to what degree various CW (e.g., nature preservation) and EJ (e.g., Indigenous sovereignty) topics are and should be the focus of environmentalism. Participants associated environmentalism with CW topics to a much greater degree than EJ. We also observed evidence of racialization, but only for EJ: degree of ethnic-racial identification was positively related to an EJ conception among Black participants and was negatively related among White participants. This work shows that people impose racial power in determining what environmentalism is and should be concerned with. An important question concerns how these insights relate to support for different types of environmental policy.

Another series of studies extends this work to consider whether political ideology is more strongly linked with some forms of environmentalism than others (Lies, Omar, Schmitt, & Adams, Under review). Consistent with the idea that the CW represents the hegemonic, standard form of environmental action, we found that the relationship of political conservatism was significantly weaker with CW than with EJ. Resonating with recent work (Ballew et al., 2021), this effect was especially true for White (compared to Black) participants whose political ideologies came to bear significantly more on their support for EJ than CW.

Climate Change Skepticism

“The United States seem to offer the most favorable conditions for answering the question as to the extent to which increasing cultivation of large districts of country may result in change of climate. In the east there has been an extraordinary decrease in territory formerly covered by forests; while on the other hand, a good deal of planting has been done in the western prairies and plateaus. No corresponding change in temperature or in precipitation has, however, thus far been demonstrable.”

– Hann, n.d., as cited in Sullivan (1910: 608-609), reflecting on rapid ecological change in the Midwest U.S. in the early 20th century

Activists and policymakers have long considered how to generate the political will to engage people in actions that might mitigate impending ecological crises. One idea that has captured scholarly attention in recent years is that experience with extreme weather might translate into increased engagement with the issue of climate change (e.g., Borick & Rabe, 2017). However, the relationship of extreme weather experience with climate change engagement depends in part on whether people arrive at a personal understanding—or subjective attribution—that extreme weather is the result of climate change (Marlon et al., 2019; van der Linden, 2016).

One line of my research considers this idea through the perspective of decolonial theory. Though perspectives vary, one insight of decolonial perspectives is that everyday environments – even those understood as being close to nature – are anything but natural and are instead cultural products forged by colonial violence (Mignolo, 2011). My research considers this idea in the institution of U.S. state parks. In contrast to the celebratory view that parks are ideal spaces to inspire civic engagement in climate change, a perspective of cultural psychology informed by decolonial theory posits that prevailing colonial forms of environmentalism (i.e., the CW) might make parks ineffective for this task.

We conducted interviews with park visitors (Lies, Adams, & Santangelo, 2022, Psychology in Society) and employees (Lies, Adams, & Santangelo, Under Review) to explore the implications of this idea for how people make sense of recent extreme weather and its relationship with climate change. In both studies, we found that whereas most participants reported experience of extreme weather, significantly fewer reported experience of climate change or attributed the extreme weather to climate change. Building on research in sociology (McCright & Dunlap, 2011), we also found evidence of racialization: White park visitors (compared to visitors of color) and employees in settings with a higher (versus lower) proportion of White residents were less likely to attribute recent extreme weather to climate change. We integrate findings with place-specific archival research and insights from environmental history to illustrate how colonial ideas about nature and environmental engagement inform 1) the design and operation of parks, and 2) the process of subjectively attributing local extreme weather to global climate change. We also work toward an understanding of climate change skepticism as a form of investment in white settler futurity.

Publications

Lies, T. S., Adams, G., & Santangelo, B. (2022). Decolonial Considerations of Environmentalism: Observations from a (US) State Park. Psychology in Society. 64, 21-43

Nagel, J. & Lies, T. S. (2022). Re-Gendering Climate Change: Men and Masculinity in Climate Research, Policy and Practice. Frontiers in Climate. 77.

Nagel, J., Cooper, D. H., Lee, T., & Lies, T. S. (2021). Unmasking the Racial and Gender Politics of the US Pandemic. Peace Review. 33(1), 24-32.

Lies, T. S. & Adams, G., & Santangelo, B. (Under review). Attributing Extreme Weather to Climate Change: State Park Employees as Institutional Actors.

Lies, T. S., Omar, S. M., Schmitt, H., & Adams, G. (Under review). The Association of Political Ideology with Environmental Policy Support Depends on Sociocultural Context.

Projects in Prep

Lies, T. S., Omar, S. M., & Adams, G. (in prep). Decolonial Considerations of Environmentalism. In B. Barnes, M. Fernandes-Jesus, C. Trott, & G. Barnwell (Eds.). Climate & Environmental Psychology: Views from the Margins. Johannesburg, South Africa: University of Johannesburg Press.

Lies, T. S., Omar, S. M., & Adams, G. (In prep). (Hegemonic) Conceptions of Environmentalism: Nature Preservation, Sustainable Capitalism, and Race-Evasion.

Lies, T. S., Omar, S. M., & Adams, G. (in prep). Environmental Psychology and the Study of Racism.

Fellowships, Grants, & Academic Awards

Lawrence Wrightsman Graduate Student Research Award, KU 2022

Jack Brehm Graduate Student Research Award, KU 2022

CLAS Graduate Scholarly Development Travel Award, KU 2021

Society for Personality and Social Psychology Graduate Student Travel Award 2021

Libraries Open Educational Resources Grant, KU 2021

Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies Tinker Field Research Grant, KU 2021

Jack Brehm Graduate Student Research Award, KU 2020

Center for Undergraduate Research, Research-Intensive Course Mini-Grant, KU 2020

Graduate Student Travel Award, KU 2020

Allen S. Wilbur Scholarship, KU 2019

Undergraduate Research Award, KU 2019

Undergraduate Travel Award, KU 2019

Rock Chalk Scholarship, KU 2016

Academic Presentations

National Conference Presentations

Lies, T. S. (2023). Decolonial Considerations of Environmentalism in U.S. State Parks. (15-minute presentation). To be presented at the 2023 conference for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Lies, T. S., Vallejo, A. (2023). Climate Emotions as a Collective Process: Insights from Research with Environmental Activists. (15-minute presentation). Presented at the inaugural Environment, Justice, and the Politics of Emotion Symposium (Virtual).

Lies, T. S. (2023). Environmental Activism, Climate Change Anxiety, and Environmental Justice: Insights from Mixed Methods Research. (Poster). Presented at the 2023 conference for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Lies, T. S. (2023). (Hegemonic) Conceptions of Environmentalism: Conservation of Nature and Ignorance of Race. (Poster). Presented at the Sustainability Psychology Preconference of the 2023 conference for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Lies, T. S. (2023). The Cult of Wilderness or Climate Justice? Understanding the Politicization of Environmental Concern. (Data blitz). Presented at the Political Psychology Preconference of the 2023 conference for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Lies, T. S. & Adams, G. (2022). Investment in Whiteness and Climate Change Denial. Presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology Political Psychology Pre-conference. (Poster).

Lies, T. S. & Adams, G. (2022). Investment in Whiteness and Climate Change Denial. Presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology 2022 Conference. (Poster).

Lies, T. S. & Adams, G. (2021). Political Ideology Predicts Openness to Scientific Information in Unsettled Domains. Presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology 2021 Virtual Conference. (Poster).

Lies, T. S. & Adams, G. (2020). Beliefs about Extreme Weather: Natural Cycle or Anthropogenic Climate Change? Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues 2020 Conference (Poster). (Conference canceled).

Lies, T. S., Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2019) The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooting. Presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology 2019 Conference. (Poster)

Invited Talks

Lies, T. S. (30 March, 2022). Identity Dynamics of Climate Change Skepticism: Implications for Policy and Communication. To be presented at The Worldwide Climate Justice Teach-in. Lawrence, KS.

Lies, T. S. (2021). Investment in Whiteness and Climate Change Denial. Presented at University of Kansas Red Hot Research Symposium. Lawrence, KS.

Lies, T. S. (2021) Climate Change Denial: The Roles of Racial and Gender Identification. Presented at Disruptions and Eruptions Conference. Zoom. Penn State University. State College, PA.

University Symposium Poster Presentations

Lies, T. S., Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2019) The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooting. Presented at KU Mini College. (Oral)

Lies, T. S., Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2019) The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooting. Presented at 2019 University of Kansas Undergraduate Research Symposium. (Oral)

Lies, T. S., Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2019) The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooting. Presented at 2019 University of Kansas Symposium for Undergraduate Psychology Engagement and Research. (Oral)

Lies, T. S., Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2018) The Effect of Construal Level on Perceptions of a School Shooting. Presented at University of Kansas Fall Undergraduate Poster Session. (Poster)

Lies, T. S. & Mosley, A., & Biernat, M. (2018). The Effect of Construal Level on Men’s Objectification of Pregnant and Sexy Women. Presented at University of Kansas Undergraduate Research Symposium. (Oral)