3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Public attitudes influence the political feasibility of passing new legislation on climate change policy, and consumer decisions contribute to as much as 40% of national emissions. As a result, governmental, non-profit, and commercial sectors have become interested in low-cost, non-regulatory “soft policy” approaches based on social science to inform public decision-making and behavior change. Communication—whether in the form of information provision, participatory decision-making, or social marketing—is among the foremost of these strategies. This course aims to expose students to social science research and methodology on human attitudes, behaviors, and decision-making with respect to climate and energy policy so they can directly apply it in their professional organizations. This course will challenge students not only to think about the varied communication factors that influence human decision-making and behavior, but to use that information in designing and evaluating programs. Special attention is given to the application of behavioral economics to climate, energy, and other environmental issues, and students will learn the fundamentals of social science statistical analysis using SPSS software. Prerequisite: AS.420.301 – Quantitative Methods or Statistics