Gregg Sparkman

Gregg Sparkman is a PhD student in the Psychology department at Stanford University and a member of the Dweck-Walton Lab. Gregg received his undergraduate degree in psychology and anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, he served as a lab manager for the Institute of Personality and Social Research and the Culture and Cognition Lab, and volunteered for the Greater Good Science Center.

Collaborating with non-profit and private organizations, Gregg uses national surveys and field studies to develop and assess social psychological interventions to encourage conservation behaviors, including reducing meat consumption, conserving household water and reducing home energy use. In these domains, he examines the role of key psychological drivers of action such as social norms, identities, and morality. In particular, Gregg examines how people respond to information that others are changing, and how this can be used to facilitate personal change on small scales, or social movements on large scales. His research aims to better understand collective action and address critical psychological barriers to living more sustainably.