Event Details

Speaker:  Cindy McPherson Frantz, Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies, Oberlin College

For most of our existence, humans have had direct and continuous relationships with the resource systems (water, energy, food) that support us.  Modern industrialized life is radically different:  we spend most of our time in buildings that render resource systems invisible.  We no longer know where our water, energy, and food come from, and do not see the environmental costs associated with their procurement.  This talk will describe Environmental Dashboard, a multi-faceted feedback technology that makes resource use visible and promotes more sustainable behavior in psychologically impactful ways.  Preliminary data demonstrating the effectiveness of Environmental Dashboard will be presented.

Cindy McPherson Frantz is a social and environmental psychologist who researches humans’ relationship to the natural world and how to promote sustainable behavior.  Her projects include using feedback technology to encourage conservation behavior, understanding the impact of connecting to the natural world, and discovering ways to promote systems thinking.  Cindy also directs the Community Based Social Marketing Research Lab, a collaborative research program between faculty, students and staff to develop, test and promote behavior change programs that reduce Oberlin College’s carbon emissions.

This EnviroThursday is co-sponsored by Environmental Studies and Psychology Departments.

Refreshments provided.