What it is:

• A social psychology lab directed by Janet Swim
• Focused on modeling and facilitating pro-environmental behavior
• Experimental studies occuring both in and out of the lab setting

What I did:

• Reviewed literature to identify outcome measures for replication studies
• Proposed a study to a town council testing science-based justifications for renewable energy adoption
• Led participants through studies
• Fish Simulation Study: Lab study testing whether anger leads to increased competitiveness in commons dilemmas
• Nature Walk Study: Outdoor study testing whether exposure to natural environments reduces self-focused thoughts
• Facilitated data collection
• Walked participants through informed consent
• Maintained consistency in experience for data integrity
• Built cover story to improve data quality by increasing competitiveness

What I learned:

• CITI IRB/Human Subjects Research Certification
• Literature Review
• Scientific Communication
• Study Facilitation
• Informed Consent
• Data Security
• Data Collection
• Subject pool assignment

Why it interests me:

• Meaningful climate change aversion must come from behavioral and policy changes
• Understanding psychological or societal barriers to pro-environmental behavior can inform smarter policy
• Contributing to a field in novel ways is rewarding and exciting