2025 Durie Medal: A window into the changing attitudes and values of Kiwis
Professor Chris Sibley of Waipapa Taumata Rau – the University of Auckland has won the Durie Medal for his achievements in political and social psychology, including the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS).
For more than 16 years, Chris has run this national longitudinal study, which tracks the evolving perspectives of more than 70,000 New Zealanders on health, personality, relationships, employment, values, beliefs, and habits.
This landmark project has captured watershed moments in our history, from the Christchurch mosque attacks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
His research output is prolific, and he has published in leading journals and edited reference books in social psychology. He collaborates widely and has mentored many students. His work has informed policies in areas such as reducing prejudice and discrimination, and monitoring societal trends in health, wellbeing, and societal engagement.
Chris says he wanted to create something that would be of use to Aotearoa in the long term.
“The New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study is unique and is a dataset that provides a window into our recent history and how people in our communities have changed over time."
“It can help us to understand the challenges people have faced over the last 16 years and identify the factors that predict how people react to change.”
He explains that because the study samples adults of all ages, it can also aid understanding of generational change, the factors affecting young adults today, and how these factors might differ from those young adults have faced in the past.
Chris says the longer the study can continue, the more informative this window into our recent history will become.
“I am most interested in understanding how the challenges facing young adults today shape their psychology compared with those faced by young adults from a decade or two ago.”
When thinking about his journey, Chris says his most memorable turning point was when he met Joseph Bulbulia around three years into the study.
“Joe saw opportunities to expand the NZAVS and take it in directions that had never occurred to me, and he was responsible for securing funding to keep the study going. The NZAVS would not have succeeded without him, and the two of us have jointly curated the study ever since.”
Chris says many Kiwis feel that the rate of change in society is increasing:
“My vision is to continue to track change in New Zealand society over time, and to provide an independent, scientific dataset that researchers can use to understand how New Zealand society has changed over the last few decades, and the factors that might predict how people respond to change in the following decades.”
Chris says he is honoured to receive the Durie Medal.
“As with all such awards, this is an award for the entire NZAVS research group, not just me."
“I thank my colleagues Joseph Bulbulia, Carla Houkamau, Danny Osborne, Kumar Yogeeswaran, Nickola Overall, Lara Greaves, Elena Zubielevitch, Kieren Lilly, Nicole Satherley, Eden Clarke, Christine Cho, and Marc Wilson, all of whom have been integral to helping design and manage the NZAVS over the years."
“I also thank my family, Isabelle Duck and Lauren Duck, for their support, and my mum and dad, Jenny and Laurence Sibley.”
Durie Medal:
For New Zealand’s pre-eminent social scientist, recognising research that has had both national and international impact.
Citation:
To Christopher Gordon Sibley, for the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, that has tracked thousands since 2009, transforming our understanding of social, political, economic, and demographic change across Aotearoa.