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Shahzeen Attari (Indiana University)

Perceptions of electricity and water use

Understanding the relationship between human behavior and resource use is vital. In this presentation, I summarize two studies where participants reported their perceptions of energy use and water use for a variety of household activities. When asked for the single most effective strategy they could implement to conserve energy and water, most participants mention curtailment (e.g., turning off lights, shorter showers) rather than efficiency improvements (e.g., installing more efficient light bulbs, low-flow toilet), in contrast to experts’ recommendations. Participants had small overestimates for low-energy or water consuming activities and large underestimates for high-energy or water consuming activities. When asked to recommend conservation strategies—individuals want to incorporate easier non-effective behaviors for themselves and want others to implement harder more-effective behaviors. After summarizing these papers, I would like to open up the discussion to future lines of research that stem from the presented work.

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