I am an adviser with the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government, but online you'll mostly find me on instagram: @hannemwatkins
This website is a time capsule from my time as Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Psychology of Peace and Violence Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
For more information about me, please scroll, see my CV or pick your preferred social media format.
How do people make moral judgments about soldiers?
This question motivates my main line of research. Drawing on philosophical just war theory and experimental moral psychology, I have shown that third-party observers are more likely to accept parochial and utilitarian moral trade-offs during war compared to in peace; that soldiers are stereotyped as dangerous, brave, and cold; and that people judge the killing of and by soldiers less harshly than if the same events involve civilians. Some of this research thus shows that commonsense moral judgments align with the prescriptive and normative frameworks proposed by just war theory and international law. But, this is not always the case: “Hate the war, love the warrior” is a common bumper-sticker sentiment which also reflects the backbone of traditional just war theory, but it does not appear to hold up when people make concrete judgments of soldiers at war - “love the war, love the warrior” is the norm instead.
CALL FOR COLLABORATORS: I have been reading and thinking a lot lately about emerging technologies in war - especially drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles. Eventually my thoughts will coalesce into a research project, but in the meantime, please get in touch if you’re interested in this topic too. Especially if you are not a moral psychologist. (Recommended reading here, here, and here.)
Thinking to the past to generate concern for the (environmental) future
From 2016 to August 2018 I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, with Dr. Geoff Goodwin, on a grant funded by the John Templeton Foundation's Beacon Project. The overarching goal of the project was to better understand what motivates exceptional moral concern for the environment and for future generations. For example, one intriguing possibility is that a sense of moral obligation towards future generations can be generated by looking to the past - specifically, by considering the sacrifices made by past generations. In May 2018 I co-organized a conference on the Psychology of Sustainable Consumption; as a result of this meeting I am now guest editing a special issue of the Journal of Social Issues on this topic as well. While living in Philadelphia I also started my first vegetable garden.
Open Science
I am very interested in ongoing efforts to increase the reliability, validity, and transparency of psychological science, and am always aiming to learn about and implement new best practices. I recently had my first Registered Report (with Dr Mark Brandt) published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, which was a great experience!
Ongoing Projects
With Dr Bernhard Leidner at UMass I am currently investigating how war commemorations influence support for diplomatic or military solutions to international conflict. I am also addressing a limitation of my earlier studies (which were primarily about “hypothetical” wars) by replicating these findings using real-world war scenarios as well.