Alexa Spence

Contact

• workRoom B68 Psychology
  University Park
  Nottingham
  NG7 2RD
  UK
• work0115 95 15317
• fax0115 95 14239
• alexa.spence@nottingham.ac.uk

Research Summary

See personal web page here for more information.

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 currently works across Psychology and Horizon Digital Economy Research where she brings her social and environmental theoretical backgrounds to new digital technology innovations, in particular energy display development and smart grid understandings. Notably Alexa leads a large 5 year project titled Creating the Energy for Change that examines how to encourage cooperation in reducing energy use in the workplace, and is involved with a range of projects examining public perceptions of energy systems and technologies, and climate change.

Have a look at our video overviews of our research that makes sense of energy data and our research that explores perceptions and behaviour change in relation to energy use.

Current Funding:

- SWITCH: Smart Wireless Integrated Technology Control in Homes. March 2012 - December 2012.(E.On) .

- Creating the Energy for Change. September 2012 - August 2017 (RCUK: Digital Economy)

- Information Geology. The 'Lifelong' in the Lifelong Contextual Footprint: A Bridging the Gaps Event. Jan 2012-Dec 2012. (RCUK).

- Scenarios for the development of smart grids in the UK. Sep 2011 - Sep 2013 (UKERC)

- Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptability. Jan 2011 - Jan 2013. (UKERC),

Selected Publications

• DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., PARKHILL, K., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N. F., 2015. Public values for energy system change. Global Environmental Change. 87, 665-672
• BUTLER, C., DEMSKI, C., PARKHILL, K., PIDGEON, N. and SPENCE, A., 2015. Public Values for Energy Futures: Framing, Indeterminacy and Policy Making Energy Policy. 87, 665-672
• GOULDEN, M. and SPENCE, A., 2015. Caught in the Middle: The Role of the Facilities Manager in Organisational Energy Use Energy Policy. 280-287
• SPENCE, A., DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., PARKHILL, K. and PIDGEON, N. F., 2015. Public perceptions of demand side management and a smarter energy future. Nature Climate Change. 5, 550-554

• View all publications

Past Research

Previous Funding

- Psychology of Sustainability Networking Grant Jan 2009 - Jan 2010 (BPS)

- Public perceptions of climate change and energy futures in Britain. Oct 2008 - Oct 2010 (ESRC)

- Theoretical integration of the affect heuristic and implicit attitudes: implications for implicit social cognition, risk perception and acceptability of societal concerns (ESRC)

- Attitudes and Behaviour towards genetically modified food. Oct 2003 - Sep 2006 (ESRC/NERC)

• DEMSKI, C., CAPSTICK, S., PIDGEON, N., SPOSATO, R. G. and SPENCE, A., 2017. Experience of extreme weather affects climate change mitigation and adaptation responses Climatic Change. 140(2), 149-164
• DEMSKI, C., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2017. Effects of exemplar scenarios on public preferences for energy futures using the my2050 scenario-building tool. Nature Energy. 2, 17027
• SKATOVA, A.,, SPENCE, A.,, LEYGUE, C., and FERGUSON, E, 2017. Guilty repair sustains cooperation, angry retaliation destroys it. Scientific Reports. 7, 6709
• SKATOVA, ANYA, SPENCE, ALEXA, LEYGUE, CAROLINE and FERGUSON, EAMONN, 2017. Guilty repair sustains cooperation, angry retaliation destroys it SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 7,
• LEYGUE, C., FERGUSON, E. and SPENCE, A., 2017. Saving energy in the workplace: Why, and for whom? 53, 50-62
• DEMSKI, C., EVENSEN, D., PIDGEON, N. and SPENCE, A., 2017. Public prioritisation of energy affordability in the UK Energy Policy. 110, 404-409
• SPENCE, A., COSTANZA, E., BANKS, N., GOULDEN, M., BEDWELL, B., LEYGUE, C., YANG, R. and MCAULEY, D., 2017. C-tech: Creating the Energy for Change Final Report
• STADDON, S., CYCIL, C., GOULDEN, M., LEYGUE, C. and SPENCE, A., 2016. Intervening to Change Behaviour and Save Energy in the Workplace: A Systematic Review of Available Evidence Energy Research and Social Science. 17, 30-51
• GOULDEN, M. and SPENCE, A., 2015. Caught in the Middle: The Role of the Facilities Manager in Organisational Energy Use Energy Policy. 280-287
• BUTLER, C., DEMSKI, C., PARKHILL, K., PIDGEON, N. and SPENCE, A., 2015. Public Values for Energy Futures: Framing, Indeterminacy and Policy Making Energy Policy. 87, 665-672
• CAPSTICK, S. B., DEMSKI, C.C., SPOSATO, R., PIDGEON, N. F., SPENCE, A. and CORNER, A., 2015. Public perceptions of climate change in Britain following the winter 2013/2014 flooding.: Understanding Risk Research Group Working Paper 15-01
• SPENCE, A., DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., PARKHILL, K. and PIDGEON, N. F., 2015. Public perceptions of demand side management and a smarter energy future. Nature Climate Change. 5, 550-554
• DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., PARKHILL, K., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N. F., 2015. Public values for energy system change. Global Environmental Change. 87, 665-672
• XENIAS, D., AXON, C., WHITMARSH, L., CONNOR, P., BALTA-MARSH, N. and SPENCE, A., 2015. UK Smart Grid development: an expert assessment of the benefits, pitfalls and functions Renewable Energy. 81(89-102),
• TOWNSEND, E., SPENCE, A. and KNOWLES, S., 2014. Investigating the operation of the affect heuristic: Is it an associative construct? Journal of Risk Research Journal of Risk Research. 17, 299-315
• SPENCE, A., LEYGUE, C., BEDWELL, B. and O'MALLEY, C., 2014. Engaging with energy reduction: Does a climate change frame have the potential for achieving broader sustainable behaviour? Journal of Environmental Psychology. 38, 17-28
• BALTA-OZKAN, N., WATSON, T., CONNOR, P., AXON, C., WHITMARSH, L., DAVIDSON, R., SPENCE, A., XENIAS, D., CIPCIGAN, L. and TAYLOR, G., 2014. Scenarios for the Development of Smart Grids in the UK - Synthesis Report UKERC, UK..
• GOULDEN, M., BEDWELL, B., RENNICK-EGGLESTONE, S., RODDEN, T. and SPENCE, A., 2014. Smart Grids, Smart users? The Role of the User in Demand Side Management Energy Research & Social Science. 2, 21-29 (In Press.)
• PIDGEON, N., DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., PARKHILL, K. and SPENCE, A., 2014. Creating a National Citizen Engagement Process for Energy Policy Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (In Press.)
• GOULDEN, M., BEDWELL, B. and SPENCE, A., 2014. Power to the People. Nature Climate Change. 4, 649-650
• BEDWELL, BEN, LEYGUE, CAROLINE, GOULDEN, MURRAY, MCAULEY, DEREK, COLLEY, JAMES, FERGUSON, EAMONN, BANKS, NICK and SPENCE, ALEXA, 2014. Apportioning energy consumption in the workplace: a review of issues in using metering data to motivate staff to save energy Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. 26(10), 1196-1211
• LEYGUE, C., FERGUSON, E., SKATOVA, A. and SPENCE, A., 2014. Energy sharing and energy feedback: Affective and behavioural reactions to communal energy displays Frontiers in Energy Research, section Energy Systems and Policy.. 29
• TOWNSEND, E., SPENCE, A. and KNOWLES, S., 2014. Investigating the operation of the affect heuristic: Is it an associative construct? Journal of Risk Research. 17, 299-315
• PARKHILL, K., DEMSKI, C., BUTLER, C., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2013. Contribution to DECC Evidence for the National Grid's Low-Cost Scenario Development
• DEMSKI, C., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2013. Transforming the UK Energy System: Public values, Attitudes and Acceptability: Summary findings of a survey conducted August 2012
• SPENCE, A., POORTINGA, W. and PIDGEON, N., 2012. The psychological distance of climate change Risk Analysis. 32(6), 957-972
• KELLER, C, BOSTROM, A, KUTTSCHREUTER, M, SAVADORI, L and SPENCE, A. AND WHITE, M., 2012. Bringing appraisal theory to environmental risk perception: A review of conceptual approaches of the past 40 years and suggestions for future research Journal of Risk Research. 15(3), 237-256
• PIDGEON, N., CORNER, A., PARKHILL, K., SPENCE, A., BUTLER, C. and POORTINGA, W., 2012. Exploring early public responses to geoengineering Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 370(1974), 4176-4196
• FLEMING, P., TOWNSEND, E., VAN HILTEN, J. A., SPENCE, A. and FERGUSON, E., 2012. Expert-relevance and the use of context-driven heuristic processes in risk perception Journal of Risk Research. 15(7), 857-873
• DEMSKI, C., PARKHILL, K., BUTLER, C., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2012. Public engagement and the my2050 tool - Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and acceptability.: UKERC Briefing Note II
• POORTINGA, W., SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2012. Individual-Motivational Factors in the Acceptability of Demand-Side and Supply-Side Measures to Reduce Carbon Emissions Energy Policy. 48, 812-819
• SPENCE, A., POORTINGA, W., BUTLER, C. and PIDGEON, N.F., 2011. Perceptions of climate change and willingness to save energy related to flood experience Nature Climate Change. 3(2), 46-49
• CORNER, A., SPENCE, A., POORTINGA, W., DEMSKI, C., PIDGEON, N. and VENABLES, D., 2011. Nuclear Power, climate change and energy security: exploring British public attitudes Energy Policy. 39(9), 4823-4833
• RESER, J. P, PIDGEON, N, SPENCE, A, BRADLEY, G. A and GLENDON, I. ELLUL, M., 2011. Public Risk Perceptions, Understandings, and Responses to Climate Change in Australia and Great Britain: Interim Report.
• POORTINGA, W., SPENCE, A., WHITMARSH, L., CAPSTICK, S. and PIDGEON, N.F., 2011. Uncertain climate: an investigation into public scepticism about anthropogenic climate change Global Environmental Change. 21(3), 1015-1024
• SPENCE, A, VENABLES, D, PIDGEON, N and POORTINGA, W. AND DEMSKI, C., 2010. Public Perceptions of Climate Change and Energy Futures in Britain: Summary Findings of a Survey Conducted in January-March 2010. Technical Report (Understanding Risk Working Paper 10-01).
• SPENCE, A, POORTINGA, W., PIDGEON, N. and LORENZONI, I, 2010. Public perceptions of energy choices: The influence of beliefs about climate change and the environment Energy and Environment. 21(5), 385-407
• SPENCE, A. and PIDGEON, N., 2010. Framing and communicating climate change: the effects of distance and outcome frame manipulations Global Environmental Change. 20(4), 656-667
• FERGUSON, E., SPENCE, A., TOWNSEND, E., PROWSE, C., PALMER, J., FLEMING, P. and VAN HILTEN, J.A., 2009. What information is trusted by whom:a multi-level analysis of the stability of the information source-trust association for blood transfusion. Transfusion. 49(8), 1637-1648
• SPENCE, A, PIDGEON, N. and UZZELL, D., 2009. Climate Change: Psychology's Contribution The Psychologist. 21, 108-111
• SPENCE, A and PIDGEON, N., 2009. Psychology, Climate Change and Sustainable Behaviour Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development. 51, 9-18
• FERGUSON, E., PROWSE, C., TOWNSEND, E., SPENCE, A., VAN HILTEN, J.A. and LOWE, K., 2008. Acceptability of blood and blood substitutes Journal of Internal Medicine. 263(3), 244-255
• SPENCE, A. and TOWNSEND, E., 2008. Spontaneous evaluations: similarities and differences between the affect heuristic and implicit attitudes Cognition and Emotion. 22(1), 83-93
• SPENCE, A. and TOWNSEND, E., 2007. Predicting behaviour towards genetically modified food using implicit and explicit attitudes. British Journal of Social Psychology. 46(2), 437-457
• SPENCE, A. and TOWNSEND, E., 2006. Implicit attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) foods: a comparison of context-free and context-dependent evaluations Appetite. 46(1), 67-74
• SPENCE, A. and TOWNSEND, E., 2006. Examining Consumer Behavior Toward Genetically Modified (GM) Food in Britain Risk Analysis. VOL 26(NUMBER 3), 657-670
• SPENCE, A., 2005. Using implicit tasks in attitude research: A review and a guide Social Psychological Review. 7, 2-17