Research keywords: behavior change, decision making, psychology, intervention, technology adoption, smart grid, energy use, power systems, electric vehicles, transportation behavior, sustainability, behavioral spillover, food-energy-water nexus, self-perception, symbolic attributes, cognitive attribution, cognitive bias, social influence
Biography
As an environmental psychologist, my work strives to advance psychological theory while producing insights that can be applied to benefit the environment and society. Broadly, I am interested in:
(1) illuminating the psychological, social, and contextual factors that influence individual-level behavior pertaining to environmental resource consumption
(2) developing and evaluating interventions aimed at promoting sustainable behavior
(3) investigating the cognitive, emotional, and social factors that influence intervention effectiveness.
My work takes an interdisciplinary approach grounded in behavioral science with a focus on quantitative methods (e.g., experimental, survey), often involving collection of high-resolution consumption (e.g., smart electric meter) and other consumer data. Key areas of interest include how individuals use energy in households, the adoption and use of energy efficient technologies (e.g., electric cars), and behavioral spillover across the food-energy-water nexus. My work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, World Wildlife Fund, and US Army Research Office. I hold a B.S. in Psychology / Ecology from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master’s in Psychology, graduate certificate in Sustainable Cities, and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Southern California. For information on current projects in my lab, click here.
Selected Publications
(*denotes student I have mentored)
Sintov, N., **White, L.V., & *Walpole, H. (2019). Thermostat Wars? The roles of gender and thermal comfort negotiations in household energy use behavior. PLOS ONE, 4(11): e0224198. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224198
White, L.V., & Sintov, N. D. (2018). Inaccurate consumer perceptions of monetary savings in a demand-side response programme predict programme acceptance. Nature Energy. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0285-y
White, L., & Sintov, N. (2017). You are what you drive: Environmentalist and social innovator symbolism drive electric vehicle adoption intentions. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 99, 94-113. doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2017.03.008
Schuitema, G., & Sintov, N. (2017). Should we quit our jobs? Challenges, barriers, and recommendations for interdisciplinary energy research. Energy Policy, 101, 246-250.
Sintov, N.D.,Geislar, S., & White, L. (2017). The role of cognitive accessibility in pro-environmental behavioral spillover: Results from a community field experiment of household food waste management. Environment and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916517735638
Chen, B., & Sintov, N.D. (2016). Bridging the gap between technology adoption and protecting natural resources: Predicting intentions to adopt energy management technologies in California. Energy Research and Social Science, 22, 210 223.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629616302389
Sintov, N.D., Dux, E., Tran, A., & Orosz, M. (2016). What goes on behind closed doors? How college dormitory residents change to save energy during a competition-based energy reduction intervention. International Journal for Sustainability in Higher Education, 17, 451-470. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2015-0027
