Research
The focus of our research is on understanding the psychological processes underlying individual and collective decision-making in the energy and climate domain. Our goal is to develop evidence-based interventions and provide valuable insights for behavioral public policy. Our work also extends to the integration of psychological data into energy and climate models, allowing us to examine the wide-ranging impacts of human decisions at a systems level. Through rigorous research methods, our center is advancing behavior change research in the context of sustainability.
Sustainable Judgment and Decision-Making
The evidence base for the damaging effects of anthropogenic climate change is clear. Behavior change towards less carbon intensive lifestyles, however, has been largely insufficient. Reasons for limited actions are manifold, spanning from polarization and politicization of the topic – fueled by systematic climate disinformation – to established habits, misperceptions, and contextual barriers. We aim to better understand the psychological mechanisms of individual and collective sustainable behavior in various environments and societal groups by using a broad methodological spectrum.
Evidence Based Behavioral Interventions
Classic policy instruments such as taxes, subsides, and bans are often not sufficient to motivate systematic behavior change or lack the needed support in the public. We develop and validate theory-based behavioral interventions to promote more sustainable behavior and test how their effectiveness varies across contexts. We further aim to unravel the cognitive, affective, and social mechanisms driving individual and collective behavior change, for instance by coupling experimental paradigms with process tracing tools.
Human-Centered Climate and Energy Modeling
Behavior does not occur in isolation but is impacted by our social and physical environments.
Research from psychology however often neglects such influences and dynamics in the study of
human behavior. Moreover, policy making is primarily interested in accumulated effects of
behavior on the level of larger societal systems rather than individual behavior. We address this
issue by developing modelling frameworks based on state-of-the-art psychological research,
paying particular attention to the integration of experimental human decision data into system
modelling.