EFFECTIVE DISSEMINATION OF ENERGY-RELATED INFORMATION - APPLYING SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGY AND EVALUATION RESEARCH

This article reviews deficiencies in energy information programs that are based on the rational-economic model to change individual-level behaviors. Literature from social psychology, environmental psychology, evaluation research, and innovation diffusion is used to address two needs. The first is the need to supplement the rational-economic model with social and behavioral theories to understand the problem. The second is the need to use some of the tools from these fields to make energy information-dissemination programs more effective at the individual level. Government agencies commonly seek to change public behavior using informational energy programs; however, program designs rarely take into account psychological theories about how people perceive or use the information.