Promoting Behavior Change: The Case of Climate Change and
Environmental Sustainability
HumBio 164/264 - Spring Quarter 2007 - Mon 7-10
Course Information
Instructor: Thomas N. Robinson, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and of Medicine,
School of Medicine
Office: Hoover Pavilion, N066
E-mail: tom.robinson@stanford.edu
Consultation hours: ???
Instructor: Carrie Armel, Postdoctoral Fellow, Economics and Psychology Departments
Office: ???
E-mail: kcarmel@stanford.edu
Consultation hours: ???
Course web page: http://www.stanford.edu/~kcarmel/???.html
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to learn how to apply theory-driven principles of behavior change to
a real world public health problem. Students will accomplish this by creating an intervention, as a
class, to help high school students alter their behaviors. The topic this quarter is climate change
and environmental sustainability. Students will learn principles of behavior change and decisionmaking through a survey of research and methods from a variety of relevant perspectives. They
will then learn to apply these principles to develop their own interventions to promote behavior
change among high school students. Students will learn to use the scientific literature, formative
research and pilot-testing methods to develop the form and content of their interventions.
Course Overview
This is a one quarter seminar course. Students will learn the knowledge and skills necessary to
develop a feasible and theory-driven behavior change intervention for a specific public health
problem. The topic this year is Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. In future years
the course may use similar or different health-related topics to achieve the same objectives.
Classes meet one day per week for three hours. On most days the first two hours will be devoted
to lectures and lectures/discussions and the third hour will include demonstrations, student
presentations, class feedback, group work, etc. Students learn to apply what they are learning in
lectures by creating their own behavior change intervention for high school students. Throughout
the Quarter, students will work in small groups to develop a single behavior change lesson on a
specific topic that will be fit into a comprehensive behavior change intervention made up of all of
the individual lessons being developed. Students will be required to devote substantial effort
outside of class time to research their topic, conduct focus groups and pilot testing with members
of the target audience, and work in their groups to develop their intervention lesson, in addition to
completing the assigned readings regarding the theory and practice of behavior change. This
course involves service learning in local high schools. All students will be required to spend at
least 3 hours working with high school students in their schools. Depending upon the specific
needs of the school, this may include teaching a class and/or leading a discussion group in
addition to the other formative research required to develop a feasible, acceptable, and effective
intervention. There may be an opportunity for students to deliver and evaluate the completed
intervention during the summer or fall of 2007.
Make clear that students may not actually deliver the intervention during the course, but the goal
is to develop it & present it to the class at the end. This should be added to the previous
paragraph, and the current paragraph only for faculty to see.
Required work includes: One 1.5 hour exam; one 10-minute presentation to the class
summarizing an assigned reading (individual); two 10-20-minute presentations to the class of
2
work-in-progress on their intervention (group); one final written, scripted 30-minute intervention
lesson with accompanying educational materials as needed (group); one 30-minute final
presentation of their lesson (group); and seven 1-3 page summaries of the electronic readings,
one due at the beginning of each week. [this idea is growing on me more as I am picturing that at
the end of the quarter they will have a 1-3 page summary with their notes on each reading in a
binder with the readings?]
Required Reading
A free electronic course reader is available on the course website at
http://www.stanford.edu/~kcarmel/???.html. The course reader page is a secure site so you will
need to log in using your Stanford ID and password after you click on the course reader link. After
you do this, you will be directed to the download page which provides bibliographic information on
each paper. To download a paper, click on the PDF link associated with it. You must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to read these files. You will also find links to the
syllabus and details on the assignments, as well as any course announcements.
You also have several required books that should be available at the bookstore:
???
3
Schedule of Lectures
Date Topic
1
Class introduction including format, expectations, grading and overall goaldirected framework for the course.
Overview of steps of behavior change intervention design/development, basic
principles and methods.
Introduction to the fieldwork and service learning components.
(Robinson & Armel)
23
Student-led diiscussions of assigned readings [would be
assigned/volunteered for at end of class each week].
? Abridged screening of the film, An Inconvenient Truth with discussion of the
content and persuasive techniques used.
Identifying potential target behaviors.
- How to choose a good target behavior.
- Analysis of the footprint of different behaviors, and difficulty in overcoming
barriers to these behaviors. This part of the lecture provides an overview
of behaviors and their footprints, and theory/methodology behind
identifying target behaviors.
- Assessing one’s own footprint (participatory).
- Formation of groups by target behavior/topic.
(Robinson, perhaps Mastrandrea, Armel) 1
32
[Think this class should be #2, to jumpstart them on their research into the
content. At end of this class they should be able to start to identify their topic
and start forming groups. Then we can see Inconvenient Truth as entrée into
persuasive techniques and choosing target behaviors. Readings to be
completed before this class would be summaries of content recommended by
the speakers]
The science of climate change and environmental sustainability; essential
concepts, controversies, urgency for action.
- Climate change science and policy: The essentials. (Schneider &
Ehrlich) maybe one other person as well covering another aspect of
environment/globalization/economics? Either this or next class.
4
Student-led discussions of assigned readings.
Tools for intervention design: The research, parts I & II.
The goal is to learn theories and practices of behavior change from the fields
of psychology and education
Tools I: Education. Overview of educational tools to improve comprehension,
motivation, and memory. (Shrager; perhaps Richard Shavelson education
faculty)
- Tools II: Consumer behavior and public service announcements.
Relevant consumer behavior & advertising findings (Shiv, Armel).
Start first work-in-progress group presentations
5
Student-led discussions of assigned readings.
Tools for intervention design: The research, parts III & IV
- Tools III: Social psychology. Topics include psychological research on
the perception of norms, traits of an effective spokesperson, etc. (Monin)
- Tools IV: Social cognitive theory (& education entertainment?)
(Bandura).
Complete first work-in-progress group presentations
6
Student-led discussions of assigned readings.
[May want to have another set of guest lecturers here as well, maybe
something on motivation from Lee Ross or Mark Lepper or something on
communication methods from someone in film or tipping point/diffusion of
innovations stuff or other? before starting the bringing it all together lectures
Readings
4
because really not enough content for formal lectures more practice-based
learning topics].
Bringing it all together: designing interventions, part I (Robinson/Armel).
Applying theory and methods, from target behavior to intervention strategy;
Social marketing, focus groups
Start second work-in-progress group presentations
7
Bringing it all together: designing interventions, part II (Robinson/Armel).
Applying theory and methods, from intervention strategy to intervention
development; communication methods, feasibility, acceptability, pilot testing,
overcoming barriers
Complete second work-in-progress group presentations
8
1.5 hour exam at the beginning of class? [how about 45 min- 1 hour] 1.5
None
additional hours of class on what topic? A discussion section to go over
problems on projects?
Bringing it all together: designing interventions, part III (Robinson/Armel).
Assessing effectiveness, building evaluation into intervention design
Open forum: problem solving
Specify guidelines and procedures for final presentations and grading
9
Final 30-minute Group Presentations of completed intervention lesson (4-5
None
max)
10
Final 30-minute Group Presentations of completed intervention lesson (4-5
None
max)
1Note for Carrie: Measurement units may also be covered (e.g., for research and also for
providing feedback, as in what units are easy to convert and salient to lay people).
5
Required work and assignments
Exam. A 1.5 hour exam will test knowledge of specific facts covered in the readings or lectures.
Reading Summary/Reaction piece. You are required to turn in a summary/reaction
piece for each week’s readings. Write about half a page (a good paragraph) for
each reading that describes briefly the paper’s aims, focus, and importance (what it contributes to
our understanding of the topic or a successful behavioral intervention), and your assessment of
its strengths and weaknesses. A second paragraph or bulleted list should describe how you
might translate three or more aspects of the reading into your intervention. The summary pieces
are due at the beginning of each class, for the readings that will be covered in class that day.[no
readings before 1st class sodon’t understand what you had here]. There will be a total of 7
summary pieces due (none are due for classes 8-10), the length of which will vary as the number
of readings per week varies. You will be asked to keep your reading summaries as a resources to
aid you in developing your intervention and to help you prepare for the exam.
10-minute presentation to the class summarizing an assigned reading. At the beginning of
classes 2-7, students will concisely summarize the assigned readings. Each student will be
responsible for signing up for and presenting one reading assignment during the quarter.
Presentions will be graded by the instructors for accuracy, relevance and conciseness.
Group work-in-progress presentations. Each group will make two 10-20-minute work-inprogress presentations to receive feedback from the class and the instructors. The first will be in
weeks 4 or 5 and the second in weeks 6 or 7. Presentations will be graded by the instructors for
adequate progress and effectiveness in applying principles learned in the course.
Final written, scripted 30-minute intervention lesson. By the beginning of exam week, each
group will turn in their completed final intervention lesson that is the product of their effort
throughout the quarter, including all accompanying educational materials as needed. Each
student’s contribution will be detailed as part of their groups lesson, similar to the way that
authors are identified for their contributions in published medical research articles. Lessons will
be graded by the instructors on their completeness, creativity, fidelity of applying theory and
methods taught during the course, and…
30-minute final presentation. In weeks 9 or 10, each group will deliver their intervention lesson
to the class and instructors. Presentations will be evaluated by both their fellow class students,
instructors, and possibly outside experts, using a structured evaluation instrument.
Grading
We will be grading your work in this course on a letter grade scale or pass/fail if you elect. Your
final written lesson will count for 25%, the final group presentation for 25%, the exam for 20%,
your written summary of assigned readings for 10%, your presentation of an assigned reading for
10%, and your attendance, class participation, preparation and delivery of work-in-progress (???),
and work in the schools for 10% of your final grade. Each assignment will receive a letter grade
(A+ to F) with the exception of your summary pieces. If you turn in at least 6 out of 7 summary
pieces of acceptable quality and when due you will receive an A for overall summary piece grade
(5=B, 4=C, 3=D, 2=E, ≤1=F).
Think we need to make this as objective and specified up front as possible, for all parts, instead
of counting on our judgement. We can do so with presentation using the average of scores. We
can do so for attendance. for work in progress presentations maybe we can just make it 2
satisactory =A, 1satisfactory =B, 0 satisfactory = F, written final lesson will be the greatest
challenge to make objective.
??? One idea (depending on student enrollment) is to have students work in groups for their
project presentation, have one of the group members present on their project, and those not
6
presenting on the project will lead the discussion sections described in the next paragraph.
However, I wonder whether we really have time for 1+ hrs of student led discussions though for
Lectures 2-5?
For Lectures 2-7 the 1-2 hour lectures will be followed by student-led presentations that both
elaborate upon and describe in detail some of the principles we cover in the readings, and that
also facilitate discussion of the application of these principles to intervention design in the domain
of climate change.
7
Discuss with Tom how to implement course structure to test the following
hypotheses:
1. “Causes” are stronger motivators than personal benefits like
longevity/improved health. (complexities…overgeneralization? Personal
benefits like attractiveness or peer approval may be strong but health
weak. Causes may be strong when seen to have immediate or severe
effects, but perhaps not when they are uncertain or effort to change the
behavior is great.)
2. Mutually beneficial behaviors.
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Brief Research Biographies for Course Instructors and Potential Guest Lecturers
Carrie Armel, Economics & Psychology, S&H (Postdoctoral Fellow). Dr. Armel studies how affect
and motivation influence individual decision making using psychological, psychophysiological,
eye-tracking, and neuroscientific tools. She hopes to unite her Neuroeconomics work and
environmental interest to develop an effective methodology for changing environmentally relevant
behaviors.
Albert Bandura, Psychology, S&H (David Starr Jordan Professor of Social Science in
Psychology). (Advising participant). Dr. Bandura studies self and communal efficacy, social
learning theory, and moral disengagement. His work has been adapted through telenovelas to
promote virtually unprecedented levels social change in the areas of population control and
increased literacy.
Paul Ehrlich, Biological Sciences, S&H (Bing Professor of Population Studies). Dr. Ehrlich
studies conservation biology, ecology, evolution, and behavior of natural populations. Most well
known for his book The Population Bomb, his current focus is on reducing the severity of climate
change caused by over-consumption. He addresses this by studying how cultural evolution can
be facilitated through the diffusion of norms.
Michael Mastrandrea, CESP (Postdoctoral Fellow). Dr. Mastrandea develops integrated
assessment modeling of the climate and economy as a tool for climate policy analysis, with an
emphasis on quantifying risk and uncertainty. In collaboration with Dr. Schneider, he has recently
reviewed and is beginning to incorporate psychological perceptions of risk into his work.
Benoit Monin, Psychology, S&H (Assistant Professor). Dr. Monin studies perceptions of group
norms, the moralization of everyday life, and cognitive dissonance. He is especially interested in
identifying which traits make an effective spokesperson on moral issues, including environmental
issues, as well as what psychological processes play a role in the tragedy of the commons
problem.
Hayagreeva Rao, Organizational Behavior and Human Resources, GSB. (Atholl McBean
Professor). Dr. Rao applies quantitative sociological methods to study the creation and
transformation of social structures using real world data. He is particularly interested in
identifying what factors facilitate or hinder important social and environmental movements.
Tom Robinson, General Pediatrics, Medicine (Associate Professor). Dr. Robinson develops and
evaluates health promotion and disease prevention interventions for children and adolescents.
He believes that addressing climate change through behavior modification will also have
substantial beneficial impacts on health issues, such as obesity.
Kristine Samuelson, Communications, S&H (Professor). Dr. Samuelson has been an
independent film producer for twenty-two years and teaches documentary producing and
directing. She hopes to apply cinematic techniques that engage and motivate viewers concerning
climate change issues.
Steve Schneider, Biological Sciences, S&H (Professor). Dr. Schneider studies climate change,
such as climatic modeling of paleoclimates and human impacts on climate. In collaboration with
Dr. Mastrandrea, he has recently reviewed and is beginning to incorporate psychological
perceptions of risk into his work. He has had significant interactions with policy makers and
industry.
Baba Shiv, Marketing, GSB (Associate Professor). Dr. Shiv has published on decision making,
from consumer behavior to neuroscience. He believes the emerging field of Neuroeconomics will
provide unique approaches to studying and improving environmental decision making.
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Jeff Shrager, Symbolic Systems, S&H (Consulting Professor). Dr. Shrager studies how novices
learn science and how to facilitate this learning. He also develops computer tools, such as
knowledge operating systems, to aid more complex scientific inquiries. Consistent with his
environmental interests, his most recent work aids biologists in clarifying the role of climate
change and other environmental stressors on cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic ocean organism
that produces half the oxygen and absorbs half the CO2 in the atmosphere.
We also plan on contacting Mark Granovetter (S&H, Joan Butler Ford Professor of Sociology)
who has developed some of the most influential theories in modern sociology. His quantitative
social network analysis has led to his theories on threshold models of fads, the problem of
embeddedness, and the strength of weak ties, which have been popularised by Malcolm
Gladwell's book The Tipping Point. Dr. Granovetter has a particular interest in environmental
issues and has used the electricity industry as a model for much of his work.