Alexa Spence
Horizon Transitional Fellow, Faculty of Science
Current Research
Spence's research experience includes time spent within both the academic and public sectors and has been involved with research within social, economic, and environmental psychology. Her primary area of expertise is within social cognition and risk and she has professional memberships of the British Psychological Society, the European Association of Social Psychologists, the European Social Cognition Network, the National Energy Research Network and the Society for Risk Analysis. She is also a member of the UK Energy Research Centre.
She completed her doctorate at the University of Nottingham on the topic of perceptions and behaviour relating to genetically modified (GM) food. Her postdoctoral experience comprises several posts based both at the University of Nottingham and Cardiff University and has focused on applying social psychological theory to current topical risk issues. In particular she has been involved in research on climate change and energy issues, examining related public perceptions, issues of acceptance, and behaviour.
She has recently been involved in a large national British survey of public perceptions of energy and climate change, since partially replicated in Australia. Current projects include two (TEDDI) projects examining energy monitoring systems http://www.teddinetwork.info/ and two further UKERC projects examining public perceptions and acceptance of the future transformation of the UK energy system http://www.understanding-risk.org/ and developing smart grid scenarios for the UK http://www.smartgridscenarios.org.uk/ .
· Co-investigator (£624,294). UKERC. Scenarios for the development for smart grids in the UK. Sep 2011 - Sep 2013.
· Co-investigator (£585,934). UKERC. Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability. Jan 2011 - Jan 2013.
· Co-principle investigator (£3,000). BPS. Psychology of Sustainability Networking Grant (with L. Whitmarsh and N. Pidgeon). Jan 2009 - Jan 2010.
· Co-investigator (£314,177). ESRC. Public perceptions of climate change and energy futures in Britain (with N. Pidgeon - PI and W. Poortinga). Oct 2008 - Oct 2010 (RES-062-23-1134).
· Co-investigator (£89,828). ESRC. Theoretical integration of the affect heuristic and implicit attitudes: implications for implicit social cognition, risk perception and acceptability of societal concerns (with E. Townsend - PI). October 2007 - October 2008 (ES/F028776/1).