People

Prof. Claire Wagner

All People

  • Role in Center:

    RC33 Africa President

  • Discipline:

    Psychology

  • University:

    University of Pretoria

  • Country:

    South Africa

Biography: Claire Wagner has a Master’s degree in Research Psychology and a Doctorate in Psychology. She is currently a full-time Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pretoria. Her interests include social research methodology and environmental psychology, and merging these to develop student capacity using project-based learning. She is especially interested in pro-environmental behaviour and environmental justice. Her research currently focuses on recycling behaviour, water sensitive urban design, urban household water use, and behaviour conducted in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. As a keen environmentalist and educator, Professor Wagner is a committee member of the Friends of the Colbyn Wetland, a group of volunteers who are dedicated to supporting local government’s conservation of a peatland and wetland located in the centre of South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, through youth education and preservation.

Selected Publications:

  • Du Toit, J.L./Wagner, C. (forthcoming): The effect of housing type on young householders’ self-reported participation in recycling. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment.

  • Wagner, C./du Toit, J.L. (2020): Developing research skills for the future workplace through interdisciplinary near-peer mentoring. Africa Education Review, 17(1), 181-196.

  • Wagner, C./Kawulich, B./Garner, M. (2019): A mixed research synthesis of literature on teaching qualitative research methods. Sage Open, 9(3), 1-18.

  • Wagner, C./du Toit, J.L. (2019): A qualitative study of interdisciplinary near-peer research mentoring in professional training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 13(1), 29-36.

  • Milfont, T.L./Bain, P.G./Kashima, Y./Steg, L./Wagner, C./Madsen, O.J./Lebedeva, N./González, R./Schultz, P.W./Saiz, J.L./Kurz, T./Gifford, R./Akotia, C.S./Saviolidis, N.M./Einarsdóttir, G. (2018): On the relation between social dominance orientation and environmentalism: A 25-nation study. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(7), 802-814.

  • Du Toit, J.L./Wagner, C. (2018): The effect of a weekly comingled kerbside collection service on household recycling in a gated community in Pretoria, South Africa. Sustainability, 10(1027), 1-16.

  • Sole, T.B./Wagner, C. (2018): Understanding domestic fuel use practices in an urban township. Building Research & Information, 46(2), 220-230.

  • Du Toit, J.L./Wagner, C./Fletcher, L. (2017): Socio-spatial factors affecting household recycling in townhouses in Pretoria, South Africa. Sustainability, 9(2033), 1-14.

  • Wagner, C. (2016): Reflections on the state of social science research on the African continent. Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 130, 90-96.

  • Bain, P.G./Milfont, T.L./Kashima, Y./Bilewicz, M./Doron, G./Gardarsdottir, R.B./Wagner, C/Saviolidis, N.M. (2016): Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world. Nature Climate Change, 6, 154-159. doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2814

Areas of Expertise:

  • Environmental Psychology
  • Social Research Methodology
  • Pro-Environmental Behaviour
  • Interdisciplinary Research
  • Project-Based Learning

Current Position(s):

  • Full-time professor in the Department of Psychology – since 2019

Past Position(s)

  • 2010-2018: Associate professor in the Department of Psychology
  • 2017-2018: Acting Head of the Department of Psychology

Prizes & Awards:

  • Humanities Teaching Excellence Award 2020
  • C2 rated NRF researcher from 2019
  • Award for exceptional paper at the 2015 SASBE Conference
  • Grants from the Department of Higher Education and Training to investigate interdisciplinary teaching programmes
  • PsySSA/Discovery award for the best psychologist presentation at the 2012 International Congress of Psychology
  • 2009 Interamerican Psychological Society award for environmental psychology paper on cross-cultural research on environmental attitudes

Memberships & Networks:

  • RC33 (ISA Research Committee for Logic and Methodology)
  • GCSMUS TU Berlin
  • Colbyn Valley Wetland Friends Committee