July 4, 2025
We're happy to celebrate SCARP Associate Professor Mike Hooper's newest publication on one of the psychological aspects potentially affecting public opinion:
Disgust sensitivity and perceptions of urban density and densification
Published in Emerald Publishing
What accounts for the starkly different, and often very heated, opinions people have about densification?
To tackle this question, Dr. Hooper recently published a paper which asks whether disgust sensitivity might be related to perceptions of urban density. Based on a behavioural study in a decision science lab, the paper finds that people with higher disgust sensitivity find higher densities less appealing.
The findings serve as a call for further research on how emotions, including disgust, affect responses to density and other built environment features. Too little attention has been given to emotions’ role in urban planning and design and these fields can benefit from greater dialogue with insights from psychology and the behavioural sciences.
About Michael Hooper
Michael Hooper's research focuses on urban planning, policy and politics, with particular interest in displacement, disasters, and densification. He has a strong cross-cutting interest in public participation, governance and organizations.