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Dr Michael Noetel

Senior Lecturer in Psychology

School of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
m.noetel@uq.edu.au

Overview

Research Interests

  • Scaling up behaviour change through online education
    How do we more cost-effectively scale-up behaviour change? Can online-learning bridge the gap? See my research website for more information: https://noetel.com.au/projects/
  • Effective altruism, existential risk, and decision-making
    How do we most effectively have a positive impact on the world? See 'available projects' for more information.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Australian Catholic University
  • Masters (Coursework), The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours), University of Sydney

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • Improving adolescents' rationality to improve career decision-making skills and promote wellbeing

    Doctor Philosophy

  • Bridging the research-practice gap: Using implementation frameworks to scale evidence-based knowledge translation in healthcare

    Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Improving decision-making and epistemics

    "When we think about doing good in the world we usually think about solving specific problems, and doing so better than existing institutions and organisations. But you could also improve the world in a different way: by making it easier for key institutions and decision-makers to learn about the world and solve problems. This might involve helping people have better ‘epistemics’ – ways of gathering information and using it in reasoning – e.g. by helping people avoid common thinking errors, better evaluate expertise, or make more accurate predictions." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

  • Building effective altruism

    "Scared Straight is a program that takes kids who have committed misdemeanors to visit prisons and meet criminals to confront their likely future if they don’t change their ways. The concept proved popular not just as a social program but as entertainment; it was adapted for both an acclaimed documentary and a TV show on A&E, which broke ratings records for the network upon its premiere. There’s just one problem with Scared Straight: multiple studies have found that the program actually increases crime. The effect is so significant that the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated that each $1 spent on Scared Straight programs causes more than $200 worth of social harm.1 Research shows that many attempts to do good are like Scared Straight. But while many attempts to do good fail, some succeed, and the best are exceptional. One example of an outstanding opportunity is providing bed nets that protect people from malaria in sub-saharan Africa. The charity evaluator GiveWell estimates that a donation of <$2,000 to the Against Malaria Foundation will save someone’s life. But many people aren’t aware of the best ways to help others, and as a result, they miss opportunities to make a tremendous difference. Effective altruism is a growing social movement dedicated to using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible. Promoting effective altruism means promoting the key ideas of effective altruism and growing the community of people who take these ideas seriously, and put them into action." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

  • The psychology of reducing existential risk

    "In 1939, Einstein wrote to Roosevelt: 'It may be possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium…and it is conceivable — though much less certain — that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.' Just a few years later, these bombs were created. In little more than a decade, enough had been produced that, for the first time in history, a handful of decision-makers could destroy civilisation. Humanity had entered a new age, in which we faced not only existential risks from our natural environment, but also the possibility that we might be able to extinguish ourselves." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Improving adolescents' rationality to improve career decision-making skills and promote wellbeing

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Bridging the research-practice gap: Using implementation frameworks to scale evidence-based knowledge translation in healthcare

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Improving decision-making and epistemics

    "When we think about doing good in the world we usually think about solving specific problems, and doing so better than existing institutions and organisations. But you could also improve the world in a different way: by making it easier for key institutions and decision-makers to learn about the world and solve problems. This might involve helping people have better ‘epistemics’ – ways of gathering information and using it in reasoning – e.g. by helping people avoid common thinking errors, better evaluate expertise, or make more accurate predictions." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

  • Building effective altruism

    "Scared Straight is a program that takes kids who have committed misdemeanors to visit prisons and meet criminals to confront their likely future if they don’t change their ways. The concept proved popular not just as a social program but as entertainment; it was adapted for both an acclaimed documentary and a TV show on A&E, which broke ratings records for the network upon its premiere. There’s just one problem with Scared Straight: multiple studies have found that the program actually increases crime. The effect is so significant that the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated that each $1 spent on Scared Straight programs causes more than $200 worth of social harm.1 Research shows that many attempts to do good are like Scared Straight. But while many attempts to do good fail, some succeed, and the best are exceptional. One example of an outstanding opportunity is providing bed nets that protect people from malaria in sub-saharan Africa. The charity evaluator GiveWell estimates that a donation of <$2,000 to the Against Malaria Foundation will save someone’s life. But many people aren’t aware of the best ways to help others, and as a result, they miss opportunities to make a tremendous difference. Effective altruism is a growing social movement dedicated to using evidence and reason to figure out how to benefit others as much as possible. Promoting effective altruism means promoting the key ideas of effective altruism and growing the community of people who take these ideas seriously, and put them into action." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

  • The psychology of reducing existential risk

    "In 1939, Einstein wrote to Roosevelt: 'It may be possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium…and it is conceivable — though much less certain — that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed.' Just a few years later, these bombs were created. In little more than a decade, enough had been produced that, for the first time in history, a handful of decision-makers could destroy civilisation. Humanity had entered a new age, in which we faced not only existential risks from our natural environment, but also the possibility that we might be able to extinguish ourselves." 80,000 hours—Click for a longer rationale for why this topic might be important.

    Click the linked title (or here) for an up-to-date list of project ideas related to this area.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Decision-making, Altruism, Prosocial behaviour, Positive psychology, Longtermism, Leadership, Motivation

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: I-4534-2019

ORCID: 0000-0002-6563-8203

Scopus ID: 57190857713

Google Scholar ID: RAe4W2QAAAAJ

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