I am interested in the role of social identity and collective emotions in fostering behavior to reduce climate change. In one series of studies, my colleague and I found that collective guilt for Americans’ greenhouse gas emissions fosters more willingness to reduce climate change than anxiety about the harmful effects of climate change on future generations. This occurred for behaviors such as greener transport choices, energy conservation, and support for greener tax policies. In another series of studies, we found that comparing an ingroup with a less pro-environmental outgroup fosters willingness to engage in pro-environmental behavior (such as supporting regulations on greenhouse emissions).

My colleagues and I are currently examining the role of social identity in fostering consumption behavior. In one series of studies, we found that a salient social identity increases the perceived need for identity-relevant luxury products (such as cell phones or iPods). In another series of studies, we found that a salient social identity also increases the amount of actual money that people are willing to pay for such products. This research complements my earlier work by examining human contributions to climate change, rather than human responses to climate change.

Primary Interests:

Applied Social Psychology
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Ethics and Morality
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Judgment and Decision Making
Persuasion, Social Influence
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Applied Social Psychology
Emotion, Mood, Affect
Ethics and Morality
Group Processes
Intergroup Relations
Judgment and Decision Making

Persuasion, Social Influence
Prejudice and Stereotyping
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Journal Articles:

Ferguson, M. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (2010). Collective guilt mediates the effect of beliefs about global warming on willingness to engage in mitigation behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30, 135-142.
Ferguson, M. A., Branscombe, N. R., & Reynolds, K. J. (in press). The effect of intergroup comparison on willingness to perform sustainable behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Ferguson, M. A., & Crandall, C. S. (2007). Trends in graduate training in social psychology: Training social psychology’s trainers. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29, 313-324.
Ferguson, M. A., & Ford, T. E. (2008). Disparagement humor: A theoretical and empirical review of psychoanalytic, superiority, and social identity theories. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 21, 283-312.
Ford, T. E., & Ferguson, M. A. (2004). Social consequences of disparagement humor: A prejudice norm theory. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 8, 79-94.
Ford, T. E., Ferguson, M. A., Brooks, J. L., & Hagadone, K. M. (2004). Coping sense of humor reduces effects of stereotype threat on women’s math performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 643-653.
Ford, T. E., Gambino, F., Lee, H., Mayo, E., & Ferguson, M. A. (2005). The role of accountability in suppressing managers' pre-interview biases against African-American sales job applicants. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 24, 113-124.
Miron, A. M., Ferguson, M. A., & Peterson, A. (in press). Difficulty of refusal to assist the outgroup affects the intensity of prejudiced affect. Motivation and Emotion.

Other Publications:

Branscombe, N. R., & Ferguson, M. A. (2009). Collective guilt. In J. M. Levine & M. A. Hogg (Eds.), Encyclopedia of group processes and intergroup relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Courses Taught:

Environmental Psychology
Intergroup Processes
Intragroup Processes
Research Methods
Social Emotions
Social Psychology

Environmental Psychology
Intergroup Processes
Intragroup Processes

Research Methods
Social Emotions
Social Psychology

Mark A. Ferguson
Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Science Building, Room B337
Stevens Point, WI 54481
United States