Applied research & intervention.
A key goal of this program is not only to map how moral concern is patterned by systems, culture, and identity, but to design interventions that can move those patterns in durable, scalable ways.
Across projects, we develop and test approaches that target malleable psychological levers like imagination, perceived norms, moral education, and the way beneficiaries are represented to reduce parochial biases and increase support for high-impact prosocial action. This includes interventions aimed at widening the temporal scope of concern (e.g., future generations), strengthening pro-environmental engagement, and shifting public support for collective solutions to large-scale problems.
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We also study how interventions travel through real-world contexts where attention, trust, and identity matter. For example, we examine how sustainability messages embedded in on-screen media and adjacent content can shape awareness, preparedness, and policy support, and we test strategies for increasing backing for initiatives that benefit both future and present-day communities. Because interventions can succeed or fail depending on who delivers the message and how it aligns with people’s identities and social realities, we build in tests of heterogeneity, asking whether an intervention works, for whom it works, under what conditions, and through which psychological pathways.
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SELECT PUBLICATIONS​​
*Denotes Joint First-Authorship and Equal Contribution.​
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Law, K. F., Gittle, E., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Mapping and Increasing Americans’ Actual and Perceived Support for Initiatives Protecting Future Generations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/G7HH5YN3BW2UAXQ7I3FG/full
Link(s) to Press Coverage: Character & Context
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Law, K. F.*, Syropoulos, S.*, Young, L., & O’Connor, B. B. (2025). Mapping prescriptive beliefs on seventh generation stewardship and increasing the temporal scope of intergenerational concern. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 37618. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21466-9
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​Law, K. F., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Cultivating multigenerational moral expansion: Interventions cultivate moral concern for future generations in boundless and zero-sum contexts. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), e12892. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12892​
Link(s) to Press Coverage: The Conversation; Greater Good
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​​Law, K. F., Colaizzi, G., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Climate change is an intergenerational challenge that requires intergenerationally focused behavioral solutions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 61, 101467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101467
Link(s) to Press Coverage: Illuminem
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Syropoulos, S., Law, K. F., Kraft-Todd, G., Mah, A., Markowitz, E., & Young, L. (2025). Responsibility to future generations: A strategy for combatting climate change across political divides. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(1), e12775. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12775
Link(s) to Press Coverage: Illuminem
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​Syropoulos, S.* & Law, K. F.*, & Young, L. (2024). The case for longtermism: Concern for the far future as a catalyst for pro-climate action. Npj Climate Action, 3(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00110-8.
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Syropoulos, S.* & Law, K. F.*, & Young, L. (2024). Longtermist education interventions increase concern for and action to protect future generations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506241228465. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241228465​
​PREPRINTS
*Denotes Joint First-Authorship and Equal Contribution.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Tiwathia, A., Dodson, S., Law, K. F., Syropoulos, S., Ashraf, S., Thulin, E., & Watamanuk, E. (2025). TV medical dramas and social media content increase awareness, preparedness, and policy support for extreme heat. Under Review.
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Jansen, M. A., Law, K. F., Prem, P., Syropoulos, S., & Siddiqui, A. (2025). Examining the meaning of sustainability on the moon. Under Review.​
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Law, K. F.*, Wang, Z.*, Rogers, B., Young, L., Goya-Tocchetto, D., Amormino, P., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Impartial intergenerational beneficence as a source of work meaningfulness. Under Review.
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Tiwathia, A., Watamanuk, E., Syropoulos, S., Dodson, S., Law, K. F., & Thulin, E. (2025). A majority of Americans support climate-friendly content in entertainment. Under Review.
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​Fowler, Z., Stone, K., Law, K. F., Young, L., & Syropoulos, S. (2025). Uncovering and targeting individual differences predicting identification with all of humanity. Under Review.
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Fowler, Z., Law, K. F., Young, L., Schooler, J., & Syropoulos, S. (2024). Gratitude towards our past self and general gratitude enhance self-continuity. Under Review.