PSCA Joint Research Group

Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption - Nature Reviews Clean Technology Consumer adoption of clean technologies is needed to reduce emissions and meet climate targets, but psychological and contextual barriers slow and even prevent uptake. This Review examines these barri...

Excited to share our new review article in @natrevcleantech.nature.com. We synthesize evidence across disciplines to understand the psychological and contextual determinants of household clean #energy adoption 🏘️🔋

Free read: rdcu.be/epJUS
#GreenSky @psbclab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

🙌 It’s been a pleasure working with a great team of co-authors on a truly interdisciplinary effort. Thanks to Anne Günther, Lukas Engel, Matthew Hornsey, @kristiansn89.bsky.social, Joyashree Roy, Linda Steg, Kim-Pong Tam, @valkengoed.bsky.social, Kim Wolske, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Ulf Hahnel (4/4)

2️⃣ Understanding these factors is key to designing interventions that actually work. We discuss the most effective interventions—psychological or structural—for targeting the psychological and contextual determinants. (3/4)

1️⃣ We examine what shapes people’s decisions to adopt clean technologies (EVs, PV, heat pumps, & battery storage) & bring together evidence on how cognitive biases, personal & social motivations as well as broader contextual conditions (e.g., infrastructure & pricing) affect adoption. (2/4)

Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption Nature Reviews Clean Technology - Consumer adoption of clean technologies is needed to reduce emissions and meet climate targets, but psychological and contextual barriers slow and even prevent...

🌱 We are excited to share our latest research: The review article “Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption” is now published in @natrevcleantech.nature.com!

✏️ Read the full article here: rdcu.be/epJUS
🔒 Download here: www.nature.com/articles/s44...
(1/4)

Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption - Nature Reviews Clean Technology Consumer adoption of clean technologies is needed to reduce emissions and meet climate targets, but psychological and contextual barriers slow and even prevent uptake. This Review examines these barri...

Consumer decisions depend on context:

🟢 policy/political
🟢 built environment
🟢 personal/household socio-demography
🟢 personal/social motivations

These factors shape our green tech uptake. Interventions combining them all could be more impactful & effective.

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

@kristiansn89.bsky.social
@zah-rahmani.bsky.social
@cameronbrick.bsky.social
@kimdoell.bsky.social
@leuphana.bsky.social
@bpsenvpsych.bsky.social
@epgroningen.bsky.social
@envpsyvienna.bsky.social
@cesenvironment.bsky.social
@olivergenschow.bsky.social
@de.in-mind.org

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to work on the intersection of psychology, sustainability, and transformation as part of the university-wide research development program “Embracing Transformation” of the Leuphana University.
#Academia #Leuphana #Postdoc

🚨 Another open postdoc position "Psychology of Transformation" at Leuphana in Lüneburg 🚨
✏️ Apply here: s.academiccloud.de/Thqqfi (5 years, 100%)
🔗 The position is related to this PhD position: bsky.app/profile/oliv...

🧠 More information on the postdoc position:

@kristiansn89.bsky.social @vedransekara.bsky.social @zah-rahmani.bsky.social @cameronbrick.bsky.social @kimdoell.bsky.social @leuphana.bsky.social @bpsenvpsych.bsky.social @epgroningen.bsky.social @envpsyvienna.bsky.social @cesenvironment.bsky.social

🚨 We’re hiring! Join our research team in Lüneburg 🚨
🔬 Postdoc: s.academiccloud.de/8fEM2Y
🎓 PhD: s.academiccloud.de/vNbRHM
We're looking for researchers to work on the intersection between psychology and sustainability. Apply now or share with someone who should!
#Academia #PhD #Postdoc

🔗 Read the full paper: doi.org/10.1037/mot0...
🔗 Read the preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf...

#BehaviorChange #Sustainability #ChoiceArchitecture #Nudging#SelfControl (6/6)

❗ Even though the focus of this framework lies on the individual's self-control process, the authors stress that nudging can only be a complementary strategy to larger systemic changes in mitigating climate change. (5/6)

3️⃣ Derive hypotheses on the main intervention effects and moderating effects of self-control components,
4️⃣ Show how nudges, nudging plus, and boosts might affect similar self-control processes, and
5️⃣ Call for more targeted, theory-driven, and scalable behavior change interventions. (4/6)

By integrating choice architecture literature with self-control theory, they:
1️⃣ Contribute to understanding when and why interventions work (or don’t),
2️⃣ Propose six key psychological mechanisms of influence, (3/6)

The paper provides a novel perspective on how nudges work. They argue that the effectiveness of choice architecture interventions might lie in their influence on self-control processes—including desire inhibition, goal activation, control motivation & capacity, & behavioral feasibility. (2/6)

New Publication in APA's Motivation Science!

We are excited to share our latest work: “Empowering Change: A Self-Control Perspective on How Choice Architecture Interventions Can Promote Sustainable Behavior Change” from Lukas Engel, Charlotte A. Kukowski & Ulf Hahnel. (1/6)

Check out the preprint here osf.io/preprints/ps... with open data, analysis and supplementary materials. Thanks to all coauthors (5/5)

New preprint alert with @tspampatti.bsky.social, Sebastian Gluth, Kim-Pong Tam and Ulf Hahnel! What messages about climate change do people consume? In our pre-registered three-country study, we find that people prefer to read messages that are aligned with their initial climate beliefs. (1/5)

10 lucky winners get to take home the groceries they selected during a food choice study. Our master student Lara is all smiles as she rewards the participants. Lara did a great job leading this research project with an incentive-compatible food choice task.

We had a great & inspiring PhD Conference last week. Doctoral students of the Society and Choice Program presented their ongoing research projects: plenty of fruitful discussions and exciting contributions. Thanks to the Doctoral Program and the Faculty of Psychology for hosting such a great event.

Co-adoption of low-carbon household energy technologies The model simulates the diffusion of four low-carbon energy technologies among households: photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps, and home batteries. We model household d...

The model is published open access (doi.org/10.25937/vjc...) and, thanks to its accessible design, can be customized to meet the needs of researchers, practitioners, and the general public.

Article link (open access): doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... (7/7)

The results underscore the need for tailored policy mixes that ensure a balanced and equitable energy transition. These insights can help policymakers design effective policy mixes that drive the widespread adoption of low-carbon technologies and reduce the consumers' environmental impact. (6/7)

For example, while subsidies can effectively promote solar panel adoption, their impact increases significantly when combined with complementary policies such as neighborhood batteries and tenant support. (5/7)

The findings reveal that policy interventions, such as subsidies, environmental standards, and support for tenants, are critical for advancing the energy transition at the household level. Importantly, the study shows that stimulating adoption and co-adoption requires tailored policy mixes. (4/7)

Unlike previous models that have focused on individual technologies and policies, this model explores how consumers adopt multiple technologies and how various policy mixes influence these decisions. (3/7)

And how can policymakers encourage the co-adoption of these technologies?
Mart van der Kam, Maria Lagomarsino, Elie Azar, Ulf Hahnel, and David Parra present an agent-based model simulating consumer decisions about adopting these technologies based on data from 1,469 Swiss respondents. (2/7)

Combining solar panels with electric vehicles and heat pumps offers benefits for households by enabling the use of clean energy for transportation and home heating and for grid stability by balancing local energy demand and supply. But do households actually want to adopt this combination? (1/7)

Erkenntnisse aus der Verhaltenswissenschaft zur Förderung von Systemwandel und Suffizienz durch behavioral change (behavioural change) In diesem Leitfaden geht es darum, diese Erkenntnisse aus der Verhaltenswissenschaft für unsere systemische Arbeit zu nutzen.

How can behavioral science drive systemic change & sufficiency?
One Planet Lab's new Behavioural Design Guide explores psychological, cognitive & social factors shaping sustainable action. With insights from our team members Ulf Hahnel & Anne Günther.
Read more: www.one-planet-lab.ch/post/behavio...

New joint research with Doron Cohen and Ulf Hahnel out! doi.org/10.1017/jdm.... Can carbon labels increase sustainable choices? We find that, yes, labels significantly increased carbon-neutral choices. (1/4)