Liam Smith

• Director at Monash University (Australia)

Biodiversity conservation requires transformative change in our relationships with nature. Innovative policy can support this change, yet designing and implementing such policy requires new knowledge and culture shifts. Transdisciplinary research partnerships between academia and government can support these changes, yet they entail friction betwee...

Purpose The question of “what works?” for organizational diversity and inclusion (D&I) has captivated practitioners and researchers for some time, but there is a lack of unifying knowledge on what interventions are effective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact, outcomes and quality of evidence relating to interventions used by...

The biodiversity crisis calls for more collective effort, and a close examination of the tools available to effect change. We documented insider knowledge into how pro‐nature decision‐making can be influenced in the Australian state of Victoria, focusing on the role of public advocacy targeting government. We interviewed 12 experts who currently or...

The political elite make policy decisions in noisy environments and under time pressure, and so are prone to using heuristics. There are conflicting schools of thought as to whether it is appropriate for them to do so. Experienced decision‐makers are thought to be more effective at using heuristics, so it is possible that for the political elite wi...

Communities have a strong role in protecting biodiversity. In addition to participation in restoration, a range of actions in the public or private sphere may support biodiversity. Despite this, there is a lack of clarity about what actions should be prioritized for behavior change campaigns. We developed and applied a method to prioritize communit...

Responses to nature conservation challenges should incorporate transdisciplinary approaches, and there is growing research interest in behaviour change insights and interventions. However, there are knowledge gaps relating to promotion of conservation behaviours and how broader systems shape intervention effectiveness. This further compounds situat...

Community mobilisation is essential to prevent further biodiversity loss and protect the natural environment. This includes engaging in public- and private-sphere behaviours, and community support of relevant government policies. This purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the factors associated with public- and private-sphere nature conse...

This paper provides the first known “heatmap” representing Australian public narratives across a range of groups experiencing disadvantage developed from a comprehensive literature review of primary Australian studies between 2020 and 2021. Eleven narratives were identified across 14 population groups with the most frequent being deficit narratives...

Bystander intervention has attracted recent attention as a promising avenue to improve workplace inclusion. However, despite substantial human resource management investment and increasing research interest in workplace bystander intervention, there has been no evidence synthesising the link between bystander action and consequences for the parties...

Research on recycling behaviour and its influences can play a key role in supporting public policy efforts to mitigate the negative effects of waste generation and landfilling. However, recent reviews have raised concerns about the quality of research on recycling behaviour. Despite this, no previous reviews have conducted quality appraisals to jud...

Objectives: This study was aimed at understanding the attitudes and positions of key Australian organisational and political stakeholders towards using psychedelic agents in medically supervised environments to treat mental health conditions. Specifically, this research was designed to identify some of the issues that might impede the clinical imp...

Objectives: This study was aimed at understanding the attitudes and positions of key Australian organisational and political stakeholders towards using psychedelic agents in medically supervised environments to treat mental health conditions. Specifically, this research was designed to identify some of the issues that might impede the clinical impl...

As a nation with relatively low levels of AMR, due to both community and agricultural stewardship, as well as geographical isolation, Australia is somewhat unique. As this advantage is being eroded, this project aimed to investigate the spectrum of human behaviours that could be modified in order to slow the spread of AMR, building upon the argumen...

To stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19) governments around the world implemented lockdowns restricting public travel. In the Australian state of Victoria, this included limiting permitted reasons for leaving home and restricting movements to within a 5 km radius of one's home. In 2020, we conducted a state-wide survey (N = 1024) of...

This article explores how the design and delivery of programs challenging gendered norms amongst men and boys can support attitude and behaviour change through more conscious and deliberate engagement with program content. Sixty-seven past participants of programs delivered by five Australian organisations completed an online survey based on their...

Connection with nature has been associated with greater participation in a range of biodiversity conservation behaviours, and is increasingly being recognised as a potentially useful policy tool to address conservation outcomes. Yet, understanding of how connection with nature may be nurtured remains poorly understood. This research investigates th...

Sustainability transitions require changing many behaviours embedded in production and consumption systems. Simultaneously, behavioural public policy is now a significant site of research-policy translation globally. Links between behaviour and system change are underdeveloped in both fields. Systematic review of current transitions literature foun...

Human relationships with nature are increasingly being recognized as an important factor in environmental conservation. Understanding how people perceive and know nature, and the language they use to describe nature, their concepts of nature, could have important implications for conservation policy and management. This empirical research sought to...

Recycling is a common policy response to problems of waste, particularly in developed countries. Understanding what influences whether and how well people recycle is important for optimising recycling outcomes. Behaviour is complex, and understanding it fully requires drawing on insights from many disciplines. However past reviews of recycling beha...

Programs working with men and boys in relation to gender equality are increasing. Little is known, however, about how these programs go beyond raising awareness, to supporting attitude and behaviour change in their participants. In response, 17 facilitators from eight Australian organisations were interviewed to identify program design and delivery...

While the effect of power on organizations has been well researched, how power influences behavior in projects is less well understood. Taking a case-study approach and using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), we traced the thoughts of project managers subject to power, particularly those who resisted. We discovered that power bore down on proje...

Older workers who are confident about the changes accompanying retirement report higher well-being. We have developed an index to measure retirement confidence – the Retirement Confidence Index (RCI). A six-stage approach was used to develop the index items, including (i) a literature review to catalogue retirement confidence components; (ii) a con...

Sustainability transitions require changing many behaviours embedded in production and consumption systems. Simultaneously, behavioural public policy is now a significant site of research-policy translation globally. Links between behaviour and system change are underdeveloped in both fields. Systematic review of current transitions literature foun...

Background Whilst evidence of use of face masks in reducing COVID-19 cases is increasing, the impact of mandatory use across a large population has been difficult to assess. Introduction of mandatory mask use on July 22, 2020 during a resurgence of COVID-19 in Melbourne, Australia created a situation that facilitated an assessment of the impact of...

Promoting adoption and maintenance of household water-saving behaviours is an important component of responding to water scarcity. While much research identifies what influences adoption of new behaviours, factors that support maintenance of these behaviours have rarely been examined. To address this, we surveyed a representative sample of Australi...

The Lancet COVID-19 Commission Task Force for Public Health Measures to Suppress the Pandemic was launched to identify critical points for consideration by governments on public health interventions to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Drawing on our review of published studies of data analytics and modelling, evidence synthesis and cont...

By a synthesis and contextualisation, and behavioural science evidence and theory on public health interventions from a range of sources, we outline evidence for a range of institutional measures and behaviour-change measures. We cite examples of measures adopted by a range of countries, but especially jurisdictions that have, thus far, achieved lo...

In the face of ongoing attempts to achieve gender equality, there is increasing focus on the need to address outdated and detrimental gendered stereotypes and norms, to support societal and cultural change through individual attitudinal and behaviour change. This article systematically reviews interventions aiming to address gendered stereotypes an...

The use of lethal methods to manage locally overabundant wildlife populations is rarely without some level of public opposition or debate. While a range of factors have been found to be associated with public support for the use of lethal methods, research has predominately focused on a small set of species in a limited number of countries. We buil...

Purpose This study aimed to examine (1) whether confidence in political and health authorities predicted intention to adopt recommended health-protective behaviours and (2) whether age, gender and education level moderated the relationship between confidence in political and health authorities and health protective-behaviours (download the COVIDSaf...

Applying behavioural science to complex issues, like water demand management, requires behaviour prioritisation for focused program design. This requires tools and data to support decision-making. Some sectors obtain expert-derived data to fill gaps for statistical modelling. However, there is an ongoing debate over use of expert, versus lay, stake...

• Public aquaria globally display numerous threatened fish species captured from wild populations. Potential impacts of harvests are rarely evaluated despite the need for improved management and conservation practices. • Sawfishes (Family Pristiidae) are one of the world's most at‐risk fish families. Most commonly displayed (30+ wild caught individ...

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in (re)connecting people with nature to foster sustainability outcomes. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a relationship between connection with nature and pro-environmental behaviors. Connection with nature has often been conceptualized as a unidimensional construct, and although r...

Zoos and public aquaria globally display numerous wild harvested, threatened species. To validate conservation credentials, displays are often associated with research projects, educational interpretation, or conservation-related activities. However, accompanying conservation benefits are rarely assessed. In this study, an approach to evaluate cons...

Zoos provide an opportunity for individuals to connect with nature. When individuals feel connected to nature, they are more likely to have positive attitudes toward the environment and to donate to pro-environmental causes. The purpose of the current study was to test the effectiveness of employing a “Pay-What-You-Want” (PWYW) pricing model in a n...

Public administrators rely on written communications to send information to citizens and stakeholders, and they are among the heaviest users of the postal service. Behavioral science research has identified several techniques that public administrators can use to increase compliance with written requests and, in turn, increase effectiveness. Curren...

In many countries, government strategies for biosecurity planning and outbreaks depend upon private livestock producers being willing and able to conduct surveillance of their animals and the timely reporting of suspicious signs of disease. From a behavioural perspective, these two kinds of behaviours – surveillance and reporting – should be treate...

Information and communication technologies can be a valuable tool for enhancing health communication. However, not everyone is utilising the wide suite of digital opportunities. This disparity has the potential to exacerbate existing social and health inequalities, particularly among vulnerable groups such as those who are in poor health and the el...

Environmental commitment (EC) has been defined as the organisational engagement with environmental practices oriented to prevent and diminish waste and pollution burdens caused by the organisation. EC has been addressed from economical, technological, regulatory and organisational perspectives, but little has been said about the role of individuals...

Zoos and public aquaria exhibit numerous threatened species globally, and in the modern context of these institutions as conservation hubs, it is crucial that displays are ecologically sustainable. Elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) are of particular conservation concern and a higher proportion of threatened species are exhibited than any other assess...

Digital inclusion is no longer limited to issues of access (e.g. infrastructure, speed, and cost); these are simply components in a much broader and more complex conceptualisation of what it means to be included. This shift has seen many researchers turn their attention towards the different ways in which people are using the internet. The aim of t...

Cleaning and disposal of illegal dumping at charitable collection points costs charities and diverts funds from their charitable programs. However, there is no published literature that attempts to better understand this problem. The current study assesses site-specific characteristics, community level indicators and sociodemographic factors as pre...

Many organizations have implemented programs to improve the financial behavior of impending retirees and other vulnerable demographics. These programs are predicated on the assumption that financial behavior is indeed modifiable. Yet, many enduring traits, such as emotional instability, could promote financial anxiety and provoke imprudent financia...

Behavioral spillover theory has potential for promoting meaningful behavior change. Spillover occurs when engagement in environmental behaviors affects the adoption of other environmental behaviors. By testing a new experimental model of spillover, this article is the first to concurrently investigate three predicted mechanisms of spillover—self-id...

In the face of continued environmental degradation, policy makers need to accelerate public uptake of pro-environmental behaviours. Promoting behaviours which catalyse the adoption of other similar behaviours through the spillover effect has been proposed as a potential solution. This requires understanding which behaviours are seen as similar and...

The evidence base for the performance and effectiveness of non-structural measures to manage stormwater pollution in industrial areas is relatively underdeveloped, despite their increased use in practice. This study aims to advance stormwater management practice and research by presenting a detailed case study of the development, implementation and...

The proliferation of applied behaviour change science over the past decade has provided new ways of thinking about policy making. Policy makers now have a range of frameworks and methods to assist in formulating change for social and environmental benefits. However, the development of strategies for the identification and prioritisation of target b...

The dynamic relationship self-efficacy holds with behaviour leads us to suggest that self-efficacy may be a mediating mechanism for spillover. We tested this proposition by investigating whether engaging in simple and easy pro-environmental behaviour is associated with self-efficacy, which then increases intentions and subsequent actions towards ne...

Public participation in science is burgeoning, yet little is known about factors that influence potential volunteers. We present results from a national survey of 1,145 marine users to uncover the drivers and barriers to a sightings-based, digital marine citizen science project. Knowledge of marine species is the most significant barrier and driver...

This study examines the relationships between visitor satisfaction and place attachment. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test competing models of visitor satisfaction and place attachment represented as a (i) unidimensional, (ii) first-order, and (iii) second-order factor. Data were collected from a sample...

This study investigates the effects of a video on the Australian viewers’ environmental worldviews, their emotions and personal efficacy in climate change. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed to test the associations between the constructs. The main theoretical contribution relates to the mediating role of e...

Using data collected from 452 visitors at the Dandenong Ranges National Park, Australia, this paper applies multiple regression (MR) and structural equation modelling (SEM) approaches to test the relationships between the respective sub-constructs of place attachment (place dependence, place identity, place affect, place social bonding), place sati...

Usually cited in reference to the potential reach of zoo education, one of the popular figures for global zoo visitation is that 600 million people visit zoos annually. However, this number needs clarification on two fronts. First, there are many zoo visitors who are not included in the calculation because they visited a zoo that was not included i...

Recognising the potential conservation impact, zoos regularly ask their visitors to undertake pro-wildlife behaviour. This paper presents the results of two studies undertaken to address the question: how often during a visit should visitors be asked? Study 1 sought to a) determine individuals' personal thresholds and b) the point where the number...

Abstract Many zoos now emphasize that their role in conservation includes influencing the behavior of their visitors for the benefit of wild animals. However, there is limited evidence of behavioral change to support this emphasis; one reason may be that requested behaviors are not viewed favorably by zoo visitors. The purpose of the present study...

This paper critically examines the concept of place attachment and its likely influence on pro-environmental behavioural intention of visitors. It considers place attachment as a multidimensional construct comprising place dependence, place identity, place affect and place social bonding, and suggests that research investigating this relationship i...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of first-person street theatre reenactments versus third-person interpretation at a recreated 1850s gold-rush heritage tourism site. Data collected from 357 visitors following 7 different interpretive activities indicated that third-person interpretation produced significantly higher mean res...

Place attachment is a multidimensional construct comprising place dependence, place affect, place identity, and place social bonding. Yet, studies investigating the relationships between place attachment, place satisfaction, and pro-environmental behaviour have not investigated its pluralistic nature. Using data from 452 visitors to the Dandenong R...

Profound experiences with wildlife have been identified as potential triggers for changing the way people feel and act towards wildlife. However, there has been little systematic research into the impacts of these experiences on the lives of those who experience them. This qualitative study investigated the types and strength of impact associated w...

Emotional labour is the management of emotional display to satisfy organisational expectations and can be performed by faking emotions (surface acting) or by managing felt emotion to be ‘authentic’ (deep acting). Despite an assumed positive relationship between deep acting and a range of organisationally-desired visitor outcomes, no previous resear...

Abstract Zoos have some choice about which pro-wildlife behaviors to ask their visitors to do, but with this freedom comes the difficult task of choosing behaviors that are appropriate, effective, and that do not affect visitors’ experiences. This paper presents attributes of pro-wildlife behaviors that emerged from self-completed questionnaires ad...

Abstract  Although many zoos and zoo associations state the capability and importance of influencing the behavior of zoo visitors, the little research conducted to date gives limited support for these statements. Addressing this deficit involves more research, but zoos also need to design communication strategies with the specific purpose of influe...

This is the first book to specifically examine zoos as tourist attractions. Taking a global approach, it considers the multiple roles of zoos, particularly the difficulty of balancing conservation, education and entertainment.

This study investigates the relationship between the level of exposure to interpretive media and the cognition, affect and behaviour of zoo visitors, i.e. what they report knowing, feeling and doing following their interpretive experience at the zoo. Visitors were surveyed at the exit to a particular zoo experience, a recently opened lion exhibit t...

Zoos suggest that they can play a role in fostering conservation behaviour, but there is only limited research support for such claims. This article examines why there might be a difference between the stated potential for zoos to influence visitor behaviour and existing research findings. The present study utilises a research design, methods and i...

This article attempts to answer two questions: What are the education roles of zoos, and whether other media sources of information made zoos educationally redundant? The approach taken is to evaluate visitor learning in an Australian zoo and determine if, as a result of a bus tour of the zoo, visitors had learned and were able to recall any inform...

Emotions – happiness, surprise, anger, fear, wonder – play an important role in human experience. The feeling of emotions can lead to changes in the way people think and feel and are also important in forming memories (Petty and Cacioppo 1986; Cahill and McGaugh 1995; McGaugh 2006). Many zoo educators intuitively know this and, as a result, often d...

The Trail of the Elephants (ToE) exhibit at Melbourne Zoo in Australia is an example of a new immersion-style exhibit where visitors are immersed in surroundings that represent the type of environment where the observed animal is found in nature. One of the key objectives of ToE is to provide visitors with multiple learning opportunities, particula...