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Post-Growth Transformation Lab

The Post-Growth Transformation Lab, based in LSE's Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, uses psychological and behavioural insights to explore how societies can prosper without relying on economic growth.

We are crossing multiple planetary boundaries, with climate change being a particularly urgent threat. At the same time, many people struggle to meet their basic needs while wealth and economic power remain highly concentrated. These intertwined ecological and social crises raise fundamental questions about economic systems that rely on continued growth.

For decades, economic growth has been at the heart of how our societies are organised. Yet thinkers including Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill anticipated that economies would eventually reach a stationary state and would need to organise themselves without continued growth. Today, growth has already slowed across many rich countries, while the need to bring human activity back within planetary boundaries is becoming increasingly urgent.

The questions, then, are how societies can prosper without depending on continued economic growth, what such societies could look like, and whether the transition towards them will happen by disaster or by design. At the Post-Growth Transformation Lab, we investigate the psychological and behavioural aspects of these issues.

Projects

Our past and current projects explore several post-growth-oriented questions.

  • What are the psychological underpinnings of people’s propensity to engage in transformative change? (Basso & Krpan, 2022; Basso, Lebrument, & Rochette, 2026; Krpan, 2024)
  • How can psychological and behavioural science help understand and communicate support for a post-growth economy? (Krpan & Basso, 2021; Krpan, Basso, Hickel, et al., 2025)
  • How can psychological and behavioural science help inform post-growth interventions (Basso & Krpan, 2023; Krpan, Basso, O’Dell et al., 2025), societal visions (Basso, 2026: Basso & Herrmann-Pillath, 2024; Basso & Trapp, 2025), or business practices (Krpan, Miles, & Basso, under review; Miles, Krpan & Basso, 2025; O’Dell, Basso, & Shreedhar, 2026; Trapp & Basso, 2026)?
  • What motivates the public and elites to engage in collective climate action (Dablander et al., 2024, 2026), what are the effects of such action (Dablander, Sachisthal, & Aron, 2025; Finnerty et al., 2026), and how can change be accelerated (Dablander, Berglund et al., 2025; Dablander, Hickey, et al. 2025; Young, Dablander, & Aron, 2026)?
  • How do the media and people respond to activist groups calling for radical societal change? (Dablander, Wimmer, & Haslbeck, 2025; Lewis & Vignoles, 2024; Lewis et al., 2026)
  • What role can the arts play in transitioning towards post-growth futures? (Light & Lewis, 2026)

Lab members

PBS faculty

  • Dr Fred Basso profile photo

    Dr Fred Basso

    Associate Professor of Economic Psychology

    Fred’s academic work aims to apply, improve and extend the literature on embodiment in order to promote a greater understanding of economic life and encourage transformative social and behavioural change that will enable us to flourish within planetary boundaries and in harmony with other living beings and Earth’s life-supporting systems.

  • Fabian Dablander profile photo

    Dr Fabian Dablander

    Assistant Professor of Psychological and Behavioural Science of Sustainability

    Fabian’s research focuses on understanding how climate action and wider societal transformation can be accelerated. Combining behavioural science, data science, and complex-systems approaches, he studies topics including sufficiency and limits, media coverage of climate change, the effects of extreme weather events, the role of scientists on a planet in crisis, and the drivers of climate engagement among elites and the wider public.

  • Dario Krpan profile photo

    Dr Dario Krpan

    Associate Professor of Behavioural Science and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey (UK)

    Dario’s main research focus is transformative behavioural change; that is, he is interested in how people can change their lifestyles to address the world’s most pressing challenges, in particular the climate change and challenges stemming from the current technological revolution marked by increased automation of society and artificial intelligence.

  • Harry Lewis profile photo

    Dr Harry Lewis

    Assistant Professor of Social and Environmental Psychology

    Harry’s research examines the social dynamics of collective action and its role in bringing about social change. He is particularly interested in how publics respond to protest, including how activist movements are contested and delegitimised online, and in how participatory, relational experiences can support the kinds of ecological and social transformation that go beyond individual behaviour change.

PhD students

  • Ms Rebecca Merritt

Rebecca’s research explores how structural awareness and fashion business education can help future industry leaders understand and address the deeper, structural causes of sustainability challenges in the fashion industry. Rebecca spent over ten years working in the fashion industry and holds an MSc in Applied Psychology to Fashion from the University of the Arts London (UAL), and has completed an MSc in Societal and Environmental Psychology at LSE.

  • Ms Anastasia Nazarava

Anastasia’s research explores how imaginative utopian thinking can revitalise our capacity to envision possibilities beyond economic growth, and how the moral values and metaphors shaping these visions may inspire societal change in different contexts. She spent over twelve years in the tech industry and holds an MSc in Psychology of Economic Life from LSE.

  • Ms Lillian Spiegl

Lillian’s research explores how prosperity in fashion can be understood within planetary boundaries, and how this can translate into tangible conditions for well-being beyond dominant growth-oriented models through participatory action research. She has over five years of experience working across environmental and psychological fields, with a focus on interdisciplinary research. Lillian holds an MSc in Applied Psychology in Fashion from the University of the Arts London (UAL) and is currently Operations Coordinator for the UAL DESIS (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability) Lab.

Visiting scholars

  • Dr Dallas O’Dell, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, and Visiting Fellow at LSE
  • Professor Nil Özçağlar-Toulouse, Director of IAE Paris-Sorbonne Business School, France, and Visiting Professor at LSE
  • Dr Marina Requena-i-Mora, Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Spain, and Visiting Fellow at LSE

Collaborators

  • Professor Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, Professor and Permanent Fellow at the Max Weber Centre for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies, University of Erfurt, Germany
  • Professor Jason Hickel, Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain, Visiting Professor at LSE International Inequalities Institute
  • Professor Giorgos Kallis, Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Spain
  • Ms Jeni Miles, independent business consultant, UK
  • Dr Torben Trapp, Post-doctoral Researcher, JKU Business School, Austria

References

  • Basso, F. (2026). Embodied economics, utopian impulse, and societal transformation: conceptual pathways and empirical investigations [Paper]. 8th International Conference in Philosophy and Economics:Paradoxes and Contradictions, University of Lorraine, Nancy, France. https://doi.org/10.21953/researchonline.lse.ac.uk.00138680
  • Basso, F., & Herrmann-Pillath, C. (2024). Embodied Market Utopia: Human Flourishing in Economic Life. In Embodiment, Political Economy and Human Flourishing: An Embodied Cognition Approach to Economic Life (pp. 477-577). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54971-7_8
  • Basso, F., & Krpan, D. (2022). Measuring the transformative utopian impulse for planetary health in the age of the Anthropocene: A multi-study scale development and validation. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(3), e230-e242. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00004-3
  • Basso, F., & Krpan, D. (2023). The WISER framework of behavioural change interventions for mindful human flourishing. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(2), e106-e108. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00336-9
  • Basso, F., Lebrument, N., & Rochette, C. (2026). From utopian impulse to urban engagement: The role of doughnut economics in shaping residents' participation in smart cities. Ecological Economics, 250, 109129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2026.109129
  • Basso, F., & Trapp, T. (2025). On the WEIRDo neoliberal policies that protect free markets over the planet and its people. The Lancet Planetary Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101307
  • Benmecheddal, A., Özçağlar-Toulouse, N., & Türe, M. (2025). Adapting for change: the evolution of degrowth repertoire of contention and public policy influence. Marketing Theory, 14705931251321818. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931251321818
  • Dablander, F., Berglund, O., Bhatnagar, D., Ahern, A., Brick, C., Cox, L., Farrell, C., Grüning, N.-M., Hallowes, D., Hällström, N., Horn, L., Kenward, B., Leggett, J., Ostarek, M., Pape, J., Rodrigues, M., Sach, A., Schmelzer, M., Tan, M. J., . . . Steinberger, J. (2025). Understanding and accelerating collective climate action [Report]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17583133
  • Dablander, F., Cologna, V., Sachisthal, M. S., & Haslbeck, J. M. (2026). Techno-optimistic scientists take fewer climate actions. Environmental Research Letters, 21, 194012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aea4c7
  • Dablander, F., Hickey, C., Sandberg, M., Zell-Ziegler, C., & Grin, J. (2025). Embracing sufficiency to accelerate the energy transition. Energy Research & Social Science, 120, Article 103907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103907
  • Dablander, F., Sachisthal, M. S. M., & Aron, A. R. (2025). Out of the labs and into the streets: Effects of climate protests by environmental scientists. Royal Society Open Science, 12(4), Article 241001. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241001
  • Dablander, F., Sachisthal, M. S. M., Cologna, V., Strahm, N., Bosshard, A., Grüning, N.-M., Green, A. J. K., Brick, C., Aron, A. R., & Haslbeck, J. M. B. (2024). Climate change engagement of scientists. Nature Climate Change, 14(10), 1033–1039. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02091-2
  • Dablander, F., Wimmer, S., & Haslbeck, J. (2025). Media coverage of climate activist groups in Germany. Climatic Change, 178, Article 144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-03959-8
  • Finnerty, S., Sachisthal, M., Cologna, V., Dablander, F., Messling, L., & van Eck, C. (2026). Climate advocacy and activism by scientists: A narrative review. PLOS Climate, 5(6), Article e0000942. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000942
  • Krpan, D. (2024). Agenda for psychological and behavioural science of transformative behavioural change. Behavioural Public Policy, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2024.30
  • Krpan, D. (2026). Agentic AI for Sustainable Behaviour: A Coaching Framework and Workflow. Prototypes for Humanity, 365. https://doi.org/10.18502/rq457c78_48
  • Krpan, D., & Basso, F. (2021). Keep degrowth or go rebirth? Regulatory focus theory and the support for a sustainable downscaling of production and consumption. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 74, 101586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101586
  • Krpan, D., Basso, F., & Miles, J. (Under review). Understanding post-growth in business organisations: Support, predictors, and systemic challenges. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5462921 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5462921
  • Krpan, D., Basso, F., Hickel, J, & Kallis, G. (2025). Assessing public support for degrowth: survey-based experimental and predictive studies. The Lancet Planetary Health, 101326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101326
  • Krpan, D., Basso, F., O’Dell, D., Hickel, J, & Kallis, G. (2025). A call for psychological and behavioural science on degrowth. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02211-8
  • Lewis, H. M., & Vignoles, V. L. (2024). Construction and contestation of climate activist identities in the comments section of a large UK-based online newspaper. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54(1), 154–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2999
  • Lewis, H. M., Saab, R., Devitt, A., Franklin, B., Pell, H., Fernandes-Jesus, M. & Vignoles, V. L. (2026). Public Opposition to Protest Online: A Qualitative Content Analysis of YouTube Comments on UK Climate Activism Videos. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.70089
  • Light, A., & Lewis, H. (2026). Collective Enactments, Affective Prefigurations and Immersive Speculations for Eco-Social Change. In Designing Immersive Participatory Practices for Enacting Eco-Social Transformations. Routledge. https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003660187-1
  • Miles, J., Krpan, D., Basso, F. (2025). The Hidden Business Majority: From Private Support to Post-Growth Transformation. Wholeloop Labs Report.
  • O’Dell, D., Basso, F., & Shreedhar, G. (2026). Translating system-level change to individuals: Experimental evidence on avenues to communicate about degrowth and green growth. PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, 5(5), e0000245. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000245
  • Trapp, T., & Basso, F. (2026, October 13). The ‘neoliberal’ assault on imagination: From WEIRDo to WISER business education. The Grand Challenges Blog. https://grandchallengesblog.ch/the-neoliberal-assault-on-imagination/ or https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/141363/ (extended version)
  • Young, K. A., Dablander, F., & Aron, A. R. (2026). From moral motivations to material interests: Building a mass climate movement through transformative adaptation. Energy Research & Social Science, 137, Article 104687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2026.104687