Publications

Start here (selected papers):

Public perceptions of energy consumption and savings (PNAS, 2010) — Shows that people systematically misjudge which household behaviors use the most energy and which changes save the most, highlighting a persistent gap between perceived and actual impact.
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Perceptions of water use (PNAS, 2014) — Demonstrates that people often misunderstand the major drivers of household water use, revealing a broader pattern of impact miscalibration across resource domains.
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Simple interventions can correct misperceptions of energy use (Nature Energy, 2019) — Shows that simple decision aids can meaningfully improve judgments of energy use, helping people better distinguish high- from low-impact actions.
PDF | Journal | OSF

Better rules for judging joules: Exploring how experts make decisions about household energy use (Energy Research & Social Science, 2021) — Examines how experts reason about household energy and identifies heuristics so that expert reasoning gets translated into guidance.
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Shared vision for a decarbonized future energy system in the United States (PNAS, 2020) — Maps how Americans imagine a decarbonized energy future and identifies where public expectations align—or conflict—with transition pathways, shaping how policies and solutions are evaluated.
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Recycling bias and reduction neglect (Nature Sustainability, 2023) — Introduces and tests the concept of “recycling bias”—the tendency to overvalue recycling while undervaluing reduction—showing how salience distorts judgments of environmental effectiveness.
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Americans and policymakers underestimate endorsement for the most popular climate solution narrative, combining personal and political action (Communications Earth & Environment, 2025) — Finds that both the public and policymakers misperceive support for a widely endorsed climate solution narrative, revealing a barrier to collective and policy action even when agreement exists.
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Peer-reviewed articles

Do facts matter? Consumer misperceptions about adopting electrification technologies (Climatic Change, 2026) — Attari, S. Z., Motz, B., Mishra, A., Brautigam, G., Trapp, T., & Graham, J. D.
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Public attitudes and community engagement in large-scale solar siting (Environmental Research Letters, 2025) — Gadzanku, S., Qu, W., Attari, S. Z., Bergquist, P., Carley, S., Knasin, A., Konisky, D., Michaud, G., & Silva, J.
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Connecting climate change to important issues increases perception of climate change as a risk multiplier (Climatic Change, 2025) — Miniard, D., & Attari, S. Z.
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When are good feelings good for the world? A mixed-methods analysis of targets of hope and issue engagement for climate change and COVID-19 (Global Environmental Psychology, 2025) — Geiger, N., Ray, E., O’Reilly, C., Powers, P., & Attari, S. Z.
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Muddling through climate change: A qualitative exploration of India and U.S. climate experts’ perspectives on solutions, pathways, and barriers (Sustainability, 2024) — Yoder, L., Cain, A., Rao, A., et al., & Attari, S. Z.
PDF | Journal | SI

Recycling bias and reduction neglect (Nature Sustainability, 2023) — Barnett, M. J., Hancock, P. I., Klotz, L. E., & Attari, S. Z.
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Enabling an equitable energy transition through inclusive research (Nature Energy, 2022) — Ravikumar, A. P., Baker, E., Bates, A., et al. (Comment)
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Young adults face the future of the United States: perceptions of its promise, perils, and possibilities (Futures, 2022) — Kantenbacher, J., Miniard, D., Geiger, N., Yoder, L., & Attari, S. Z.
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Turning a coal state to a green state: Identifying themes of support and opposition to decarbonize the energy system in the United States (Energy Research & Social Science, 2021) — Miniard, D., & Attari, S. Z.
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Reorienting climate decision making research for smallholder farming systems through decision science (Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2021) — Waldman, K. B., Guido, Z., Todd, P. M., Evans, T. P., Carrico, A., & Attari, S. Z.
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Investigating similarities and differences in individual reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis (Climatic Change, 2021) — Geiger, N., Gore, A., Squire, C., & Attari, S. Z.
PDF | Journal | OSF

Moderating spillover: Focusing on personal sustainable behavior rarely hinders and can boost climate policy support (Energy Research & Social Science, 2021) — Sparkman, G., Attari, S. Z., & Weber, E. U.
PDF | Journal | SI | Survey | Data (file1 and file2)

Transforming energy use (Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 2021) — Attari, S. Z.
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Better rules for judging joules: Exploring how experts make decisions about household energy use (Energy Research & Social Science, 2021) — Kantenbacher, J., & Attari, S. Z.
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Agricultural decision making and climate uncertainty in developing countries (Environmental Research Letters, 2020) — Waldman, K. B., Todd, P. M., Omar, S., Blekking, J. P., Giroux, S. A., Attari, S. Z., Baylis, K., & Evans, T. P.
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Behavioural frameworks to understand public perceptions of and risk response to carbon dioxide removal (Interface Focus, 2020) — Shrum, T. R., Markowitz, E., Buck, H., Gregory, R., van der Linden, S., Attari, S. Z., & Van Boven, L.
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Shared vision for a decarbonized future energy system in the United States (PNAS, 2020) — Miniard, D., Kantenbacher, J., & Attari, S. Z.
PDF | Journal | SI | Data | Code

Credibility, communication, and climate change: How lifestyle inconsistency and do-gooder derogation impact decarbonization advocacy (Energy Research & Social Science, 2020) — Sparkman, G., & Attari, S. Z.
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Easy but not effective: Why “turning off the lights” remains a salient energy conserving behaviour in the United States (Energy Research & Social Science, 2019) — Lundberg, D. C., Tang, J. A., & Attari, S. Z.
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The salience of climate change in farmer decision-making within smallholder semi-arid agroecosystems (Climatic Change, 2019) — Waldman, K. B., Attari, S. Z., Gower, D. B., Giroux, S. A., Caylor, K. K., & Evans, T. P.
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Big, hot, or bright? Integrating cues to perceive home energy use (Cognitive Science Society Proceedings, 2019) — Schille-Hudson, E. B., Marghetis, T., Miniard, D., Landy, D., & Attari, S. Z.
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Cognitive biases about climate variability in smallholder farming systems in Zambia (Weather, Climate, and Society, 2019) — Waldman, K. B., Vergopolan, N., Attari, S. Z., Sheffield, J., Estes, L. D., Caylor, K. K., & Evans, T. P.
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Farmer perceptions of conflict related to water in Zambia (Sustainability, 2018) — Marcantonio, R. A., Attari, S. Z., & Evans, T. P.
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Maize seed choice and perceptions of climate variability among smallholder farmers (Global Environmental Change, 2017) — Waldman, K. B., Blekking, J. P., Attari, S. Z., & Evans, T. P.
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Perceptions of water systems (Judgment and Decision Making, 2017) — Attari, S. Z., Poinsatte-Jones, K., & Hinton, K.
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Public preferences for species conservation: choosing between lethal control, habitat protection, and no action (Environmental Conservation, 2017) — Lute, M. L., & Attari, S. Z.
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Don’t rush to flush (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2015) — Lute, M. L., Attari, S. Z., & Sherman, S. J.
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Enabling energy conservation through effective decision aids (Journal of Sustainability Education, 2015) — Attari, S. Z., & Rajagopal, D.
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The water short list: The most effective actions U.S. households can take to curb water use (Environment, 2014) — Inskeep, B. D., & Attari, S. Z.
PDF | Journal | SI | Review

Reasons for cooperation and defection in real-world social dilemmas (Judgment and Decision Making, 2014) — Attari, S. Z., Krantz, D. H., & Weber, E. U.
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Does information feedback from in-home devices reduce electricity use? Evidence from a field experiment (NBER Working Paper, 2014) — Attari, S. Z., Gowrisankaran, G., Simpson, T., & Marx, S. M.
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On the importance of strengthening moderate beliefs in climate science to foster support for immediate action (Sustainability, 2013) — Wendling, Z. A., Attari, S. Z., Carley, S. R., et al.
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Catalyzing frontiers in water-climate-society research: A view from early career scientists and junior faculty (BAMS, 2012) — McNeeley, S. M., et al.
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Paying for what was free: Lessons from the New York Times paywall (Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2012) — Cook, J. E., & Attari, S. Z.
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Changing household behaviors to curb climate change: How hard can it be? (Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 2011) — Attari, S. Z., DeKay, M. L., Davidson, C. I., & Bruine de Bruin, W.
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Preferences for change: Do individuals prefer voluntary actions, soft regulations, or hard regulations to decrease fossil fuel consumption (Ecological Economics, 2009) — Attari, S. Z., Schoen, M., Davidson, C. I., DeKay, M. L., Bruine de Bruin, W., Dawes, R., & Small, M. J.
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Tools / games

WaterWorks Game (Tool/Game) — Knox, C., Hinton, K., Bast, B., Ford, I., Sridharamurthy, S. H., Kievit-Kylar, B., Spiegel, E., Studio Cypher, Sellers, M., & Attari, S. Z.
How the water system works | GitHub repository

Reports and other writing

Twenty questions about design behavior for sustainability (Nature Sustainability, 2019) — Akerlof, K., Andrews, C., Attari, S. Z., et al.
Report

Campus conversations: Climate change and the campus (Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy, 2009) — Cavalier, R., et al.
Report

Analysis of green energy options for the Phipps conservatory (Report, 2006) — Attari, S. Z., Gilmore, E., Grieshop, A., & Samaras, C.
Report

Life cycle assessment of waterless urinals (Report, 2005) — Attari, S. Z., Boonyachut, N., Lieberman, D., & McCarthy, N.
Report

Theses

Global climate change and human behavior: Decreasing energy consumption (Doctoral thesis, Carnegie Mellon University, 2009) — Attari, S. Z.
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Impact of folivory on red fluorescence emission using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) (Undergraduate thesis, 2004) — Attari, S. Z.
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Investigating solar cell efficiency at different temperatures and wavelengths (Undergraduate thesis, 2003) — Attari, S. Z.
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