Behavioral Science and Climate Change

David Zax wrote a piece for Seed magazine about social scientist Ben Ho who is applying what he knows about behavioral economics to climate change, and how people might be "tricked" into reducing their carbon footprints.

Residents of a community were shown how their energy use measured up against the communal average. If they consumed more than the average, most reduced energy in the months ahead. If households saw that they consumed less energy than their peers, however, their energy use actually rose, except when the frugal households were given the merest of rewards: a smiley face on their bill.

Can we trick ourselves into saving ourselves?