Incorporating Behavior in Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling

Resource: Learning Materials

Most modeling efforts have included policies, behaviors, or decisions either as exogenous to the model (e.g., predetermined top-down scenarios) or with endogenous dynamics driven purely by economic considerations. Today, however, one of the most important advances is the dynamic incorporation of psychologically complex behavior change and decision making in socio-environmental system modeling. After all, social drivers interact with other elements in models, respond to feedbacks, and change over time—which can have a significant impact on the outcome.

In this video, Gilligan provides an overview of efforts to include behavior change into socio-environmental models. He explains how latest studies go beyond describing behavior in simple economic terms (e.g., assuming rationale actor theory to maximize utility) to include both individual and collective interactions that influence decision making. Using a rich array of examples from his and others’ work, he shows how modelers are testing environmental and social outcomes using a variety of psychological behavior theories. Much work remains to increase such models quantitatively, but the field is rapidly growing, and results are very encouraging.

This video was shown at the beginning of a webcast titled, Modeling Behavioral Change in Socio-Environmental Systems, which also included the perspectives of four well-known socio-environmental scholars: Katherine LaCasse, Firouzeh Taghikhah, Gilberto Montibeller, and Marco Janssen.

About the Presenters

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Jonathan Gilligan

Dr. Jonathan Gilligan is Associate Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor at Vanderbilt University, where he directs Vanderbilt's Grand Challenge Initiative on Climate and Society. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Swarthmore College and his PhD in physics from Yale University. He was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a postdoctoral research associate at the National Oceanic and...

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Jonathan Gilligan

Dr. Jonathan Gilligan is Associate Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor at Vanderbilt University, where he directs Vanderbilt's Grand Challenge Initiative on Climate and Society. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Swarthmore College and his PhD in physics from Yale University. He was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and a postdoctoral research associate at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Environmental Research Laboratory. His research has been recognized with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Group Achievement Award, a NOAA Outstanding Scientific Paper Award, and the 2017 Morrison Prize for the highest-impact paper of the year on sustainability law and policy. His book, Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change was named by Environmental Forum as one of the most important books on environmental policy of the last 50 years.