G.F. (Gonzalo) Palomo Vélez, PhD

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Environmental Psychology Expertise Group of the University of Groningen. I am also an Adjoint Researcher at the Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR2), and an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Social Psychology.

Before my current role, I worked as an assistant professor of social psychology at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICSO) at O'Higgins University in Chile, and I also held another postdoctoral position on a project led by Prof. Dr. Goda Perlaviciute, Dr. Nadja Contzen, and Prof. Dr. Linda Steg at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

I earned my Ph.D. in Evolutionary and Social Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (The Netherlands), under supervision of Prof. Dr. Mark van Vugt and Prof. Dr. Joshua Tybur. I also hold a research Master’s degree in Social Psychology and a Bachelor’s in Psychology, both from the Univeristy of Talca (Chile).

My research in environmental and applied social psychology focus on the study of the functional and social motives that underlie people's environmental actions. Research topics include, but are not limited to, sustainable consumption and self-presentation needs, individual and institutional factors that influence public acceptability of energy sources, persuasive communication and changing carbon-intensive dietary habits, and, more generally, applying evolutionary-informed interventions to promote sustainable behaviors.