Rate My Professor Matthew Hornsey

Professor Matthew Hornsey is a Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow in the School of Business at the University of Queensland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland. His research centers on social psychology, with key themes including the rejection of science, pro-environmental behavior, and intergroup relations. He examines psychological motivations behind climate change skepticism, vaccine hesitancy, conspiracy theories, and prejudice between groups. Hornsey leads the Net Zero Observatory, a multidisciplinary initiative designing strategies to accelerate industry action and community support for decarbonisation. Supported by over 20 external grants, including a $3 million ARC Laureate Fellowship from 2023 to 2028 for the project 'Understanding and overcoming community roadblocks to achieving net-zero,' his work develops models to explain seemingly irrational behaviors and facilitate attitude change.

Hornsey's influential publications include 'Meta-analyses of the determinants and outcomes of belief in climate change' (Nature Climate Change, 2016), cited over 2,000 times; 'Social identity theory and self-categorization theory: A historical review' (2008), with nearly 2,800 citations; 'The psychological roots of anti-vaccination attitudes: A 24-nation investigation' (2018), cited over 1,000 times; 'Attitude roots and jiu jitsu persuasion: understanding and overcoming the motivated rejection of science' (American Psychologist, 2017); and 'A toolkit for understanding and addressing climate scepticism' (Nature Human Behaviour, 2022). With over 31,000 total citations across 265 works, including books, journal articles, and chapters, his scholarship has shaped understanding of science denial and intergroup dynamics. He is an elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2018) and contributes to centres like the Centre for Research in Social Psychology and Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences. Hornsey is available for supervision and media commentary on anti-science beliefs and climate skepticism.