Kristin Hurst
Dr. Kristin Hurst is an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability and the Geography and Environmental Resources program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and completed postdoctoral training in Behavior and Sustainability at The Ohio State University. Her research examines the human dimensions of environmental challenges, with a particular focus on sustainability psychology, pro-environmental behavior, climate change engagement, and human-environment interactions.
Dr. Hurst’s scholarship explores how values, identities, emotions, and social dynamics influence environmental decision-making and collective action. Her work has been published in leading journals including Journal of Environmental Psychology, Conservation Biology, and Climate, advancing understanding of environmental communication, behavior change, climate adaptation, and sustainability education.
At SIU, Dr. Hurst teaches courses in sustainability, environmental behavior, research methods, and human-environment relationships. She is committed to developing research that bridges science and society, helping communities and decision-makers foster meaningful responses to environmental and climate-related challenges. Her work combines rigorous social science methods with a practical focus on building a more sustainable and resilient future.
Education
Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Ohio State University
PhD, Virginia Tech
MS, Texas A&M
BA, Emerson College
Selection of Courses Taught
Geography, People, and the Environment
Sustainability Leadership
Identity and Environmental Conflict
Social Science Methods
Research Interests:
Dr. Hurst's research interests include Sustainability Psychology, Pro-environmental Behavior, Climate Change Engagement, and Human-Environment Interactions.
Recent Publications
Hurst, K. F., Carrel, A. L., Gore, C., & Sintov, N. D. (2024). Transit stories: How hearing about others’ experiences impacts transit use and satisfaction. Travel Behaviour and Society, 36, 100770.
Null, D. C., Hurst, K. F., & Duram, L. A. (2024). Beyond the classroom: Influence of a sustainability intervention on university students’ environmental knowledge and behaviors. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 1-12.
Adhikari, S., Hurst, K. F., & Joshi, O. (2023). Understanding the Barriers to Adoption of Mixed-Species Herbivory in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 90, 157-164.
Stern, M. J., Hurst, K. F., Brousseau, J. J., O’Brien, C., & Hansen, L. J. (2023). Ten Lessons for Effective Place-Based Climate Adaptation Planning Workshops. Climate, 11(2), 43.
Hurst, K.F., Sintov, N.D., & Donnelly, G. E. (2023). Let’s talk about it: increasing sustainable behavior through conversation. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Hurst, K. F., & Sintov, N. D. (2022). Trusting Autonomous vehicles as moral agents improves related policy support. Frontiers in Psychology (in press)
Sintov, N. D., & Hurst, K. F. (2022). Experimental support for a trust heuristic. Journal of Risk Research, 1-26.
Hurst, K. F., & Sintov, N. D. (2022). Guilt consistently motivates pro-environmental outcomes while pride depends on context. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 80, 101776.
Adams, I., Hurst, K., & Sintov, N. (2020). Experienced guilt, but not pride, mediates the effect of feedback on pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 101476.
Hurst, K., Stern, M.J. (2020). Messaging for Environmental Action: The Role of Moral Frame and Message Source. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Hurst, K., Stern, M. J., Hull, R. B., & Axsom, D. (2020). Addressing identity-related barriers to collaboration for conservation through self-affirmation theory and moral foundations theory. Conservation Biology.
Hurst, K., C.P. Ramsdell, and M.G. Sorice. (2017). Applying Life Course Theory to Understand Ranching Involvement in Central Texas. Ecology and Society, 22(1).