Douglas MacFarlane

I am interested in how interventions, based on evidence from experimental psychology, can be better applied to deal with complex societal problems, such as reducing demand for unsupported health remedies and addressing the illicit wildlife trade. One focus of my PhD is to develop a structured approach to designing and implementing behaviour change interventions. Another focus of my research is to apply this structured approach to designing new interventions and then to test the effectiveness of such interventions using an experimental auction mechanism. Using this new approach, my first PhD manuscript provides evidence for the effectiveness of a simple, but innovative, behavioural intervention that can help consumers make better health-related choices.

I am also interested in the intersection between human trafficking and environmental degradation, and in particular, finding solutions to these two complex issues.