Academy Fellow

Professor Newell’s research focuses on cognitive psychology - the study of how humans process, represent and act on information. His principal areas of interest have been in elucidating the cognitive mechanisms underpinning judgment and decision-making. He approaches this work using a combination of experimental and computational methods. Highlights of his research include significant re-evaluations of the role of unconscious processes in decision-making; challenging interpretations of the impact of psychological distance on climate change belief; and broadening our understanding of how humans and animals tradeoff pressures to explore and exploit new environments. Hallmarks of Professor Newell’s research are its interdisciplinarity and dedication to the application of psychological science to financial, environmental, forensic, medical and broader policy contexts. Reflecting this interdisciplinary focus, his almost 200 publications span articles in leading general science journals (PNAS; Nature Human Behaviour), premier experimental and theoretical psychology journals (Psychological Review, Psychological Science, JEP: General), leading climate and environmental journals (Nature Climate Change, Global Environmental Change, Climatic Change), Economics and Finance journals (The Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organizations, Journal of Banking & Finance), medical and legal journals (Vaccine, Medical Decision Making, Law and Human Behaviour), as well work that directly comments on implications for policy development (Behavioural Public Policy; Behavioral Science & Policy). His work has been funded continuously since 2005 by the Australian Research Council (ARC), in addition to grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Department of Defence, as well as industry and philanthropic funding. In 2023, Professor Newell established and now leads the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR) a major initiative that brings together a team of behavioural scientists, climate scientists, economists and legal scholars spanning the faculties of Science, Business and Law & Justice. Since 2017 he has served as Academic Advisor to the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet) and has advised on multiple randomized controlled trials, experiments, and broad literature reviews on topics ranging from the uptake of environmentally sustainable behaviour, to improving superannuation engagement, assessing online gambling behaviour, and influencing electricity providers.

Research Fellow, University College London; Research Fellow, Uppsala University; Visiting Professor Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin; Booth School of Business, University of Chicago; Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn; University of Exeter

Fellow of the Psychonomic Society (US), Member Experimental Psychology Society (UK)

Newell, B.R., & Shanks, D.R. (2023). Open Minded: Searching for Truth about the Unconscious Mind. MIT Press.

Ghasemi, O…& Newell, B.R. (in press) Exposure to individual climate solutions does not reduce support for systemic solutions: A cross-cultural study in Australia and Iran. Behavioural Public Policy.

Xie, B.; Brewer, M.B.; Hayes, B.K.; McDonald, I. & Newell, B.R. (2019) Predicting climate change risk perception and willingness to act. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 65, 101331

Vanunu, Y., Hotaling, J., Le Pelley, M., & Newell, B.R. (2021). How top-down and bottom-up attention modulate risky choice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(39), e2025646118

Newell, B.R., Lagnado, D.A. & Shanks, D.R (2022). Straight Choices: The Psychology of Decision Making (Third Edition). London: Routledge