About
Katharine Steentjes is an environmental psychologist and a UKRI policy fellow working with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) of Northern Ireland. Her research interest concerns social normative processes surrounding climate change and identifying opportunities to accelerate social shifts towards more sustainable and resilient lifestyles.
Katharine is an affiliate of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation (CAST) and has previously worked on multiple international research projects examining public perceptions of environmental risks (such as climate change), policy strategies, energy solutions and psychological factors underlying these views and behaviours. Furthermore, Katharine is interested in developing effective engagement and communication strategies facilitating support for personal, community and national action to respond to/or prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Prior to joining Swansea University, Katharine was a Research Associate at Cardiff University as part of CAST and the Understanding Risk Research group. She completed her PhD in psychology at the University of Exeter, holds a MSc in Social Psychology from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and a BA in Health Psychology from the University of Twente.