Interests: Psychology of Belief, Science and Religion, Climate Change Attitudes Research description: I study the psychology of belief, and what makes those beliefs meaningful. My research has explored concepts of mind and agency, God, political attitudes, and climate change attitudes. Broad themes in my research explore the relationship between ideologies, such as inter-religious conflict, and conflict between religion and science.

Representative Publications:

• Preston, J. L., Coleman, T., & Shin, F. (2023). The Spirituality of Science: Implications for meaning, well-being, and learning.  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

• Preston, J. L. & Khan, A. (2023). Comparing the influence of intellectual humility, religiosity, and political conservatism on vaccine attitudes in the U.S., Canada, and UK. Public Understanding of Science

• Preston, J. L., & Shin, F. (2022). Opposing effects of spirituality and religious fundamentalism on environmental attitudes. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 80  

• Preston, J. L., & Baimel, A. (2021). Towards a psychology of religion and the environment. Current Opinion in Psychology, 40, 145-149.

• Preston, J. L., & Shin, F. (2021). Anthropocentric biases in teleological thinking: How nature seems designed for humans. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(5), 943–955.

• Shin, F. & Preston, J. L. (2021). Greening the gospel: The positive effects of stewardship belief on climate change concern. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13 (4), 437–447.

• Rutjens, B. T., & Preston, J. L. (2020). Science and religion: a rocky relationship shaped by shared psychological functions. Chapter in C. Routledge & K. Vail (Eds.) The science of religion, spirituality, and existentialism, (pp. 373-385). Elsevier Academic Press.

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