Robert Gifford (psychologist)

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Robert Gifford
Alma materSimon Fraser University, University of California, Davis
Scientific career
FieldsEnvironmental psychology, social psychology, personality psychology
InstitutionsUniversity of Victoria
Academic advisorsRobert Sommer

Robert Gifford was Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies from 1979 to 2024 at the University of Victoria.[1] His main research interests are environmental psychology, social psychology and personality psychology, including work on nonverbal behavior[2] and climate change behavior barriers.[3] From 2004 to 2016, he was the editor in chief of the Journal of Environmental Psychology.[4] In 2024, Gifford was fired from the University of Victoria for sexual harassment of a graduate student.[5][6]

Career

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Gifford received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Davis in 1976.[7]

Gifford is the author of five editions of Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice, which has also been translated into Japanese, and edited Research Methods for Environmental Psychology (2016). He developed a list of forty psychological impediments to effectively reacting to climate change called "the dragons of inaction"—these include temporal discounting, lack of place attachment, and mistrust.[8] He was one of the coauthors of a 2011 American Psychological Association report titled "Psychology and Global Climate Change: Addressing a Multi-faceted Phenomenon and Set of Challenges" which described elements of effective climate action messaging, including urgency, certainty, and positive framing.[3][9]

Gifford is on the editorial board of Architectural Science Review.[10] He has been president of the environmental divisions of the American Psychological Association, the International Association of Applied Psychology and the Canadian Psychological Association.[11]

In February 2021, Gifford was suspended from his position at the University of Victoria after an investigation into a sexual harassment claim by one of his graduate students.[6] In June 2024, he was fired from his job.[5][6] After his union declined to appeal the case, Gifford contested his union representation, but the British Columbia Labour Relations Board found his union representation was appropriately handled.[6]

Books

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  • Gifford, Robert, ed. (1991). Applied Psychology: Variety and Opportunity. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-205-12664-4.
  • Gifford, Robert (2005). 環境心理学〜原理と実践〜 [2-volume Japanese translation of Environmental psychology: Principles and Practice]. Tokyo: Kitaohji Shobo. pp. 370 and 438. ISBN 978-4-76282448-7.
  • Gifford, Robert (2014). Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice (5th ed.). Colville, WA: Optimal Books. p. 599. ISBN 978-0-9937719-0-3.
  • Gifford, Robert, ed. (2016). Research Methods for Environmental Psychology (1st ed.). New York: Wiley. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-118-79533-0.

Awards

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  • 1991 Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association
  • 1992 Fellow of the American Psychological Association
  • 2007 Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science[12]
  • 2007 Career Award from the Environmental Design Research Association[13]
  • 2016 Newman-Proshansky Career Achievement Award (Division 34, American Psychological Association) [14]
  • 2016 Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology (Canadian Psychological Association) [15]
  • 2019 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada [16]

References

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  1. ^ "Dr. Robert Gifford elected to the Royal Society of Canada". University of Victoria. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  2. ^ Goleman, Daniel (17 September 1991). "Non-Verbal Cues Are Easy to Misinterpret". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b Gifford R (October 2009). "Q&A: The science of persuasion. Interview by Sanjay Khanna". Nature. 461 (7267): 1059. doi:10.1038/4611059a. PMID 19847247.
    - "The psychology of climate inaction". Public Radio International. 9 August 2009. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Editorial Board". Journal of Environmental Psychology. Elsevier. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b "University of Victoria prof fired for sexual harassment loses fair representation fight with union". HR Law Canada. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Robert Gifford, 2025 BCLRB 109". CanLII: Canadian Legal Information Institute. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Robert Gifford". Socialpsychology.org. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. ^ Lawrynuik, Sarah (5 February 2020). "Fighting climate denial and the 'dragons of inaction'". CBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  9. ^ American Psychological Association Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change (2011). "Psychology and Global Climate Change: Addressing a Multi-faceted Phenomenon and Set of Challenges". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Architectural Science Review: Editorial board". Taylor&Francis. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  11. ^ Hamilton, D; Gifford, R (1976). "Illusory correlation in interpersonal perception: A cognitive basis of stereotypic judgments". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 12 (4): 392–407. doi:10.1016/S0022-1031(76)80006-6.
  12. ^ "APS Fellows". Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  13. ^ "EDRA Career Award". Environmental Design Research Association. Archived from the original on 4 September 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  14. ^ "APA Career Award". American Psychological Association.
  15. ^ "CPA International Advancement Award" (PDF). Canadian Psychological Association.
  16. ^ "Fellow Royal Society of Canada". Royal Society of Canada.
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