Kim Wolske

Kim Wolske is a research associate professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and a fellow with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). Her work draws on the fields of environmental, social, and cognitive psychology to examine the behavioral dimensions of energy issues, with an eye toward improving the design of public-facing policies and programs. A central focus of her research is on understanding the motivations and barriers associated with consumer adoption of efficient and renewable energy technologies. She also researches public perceptions of climate change solutions, including large-scale technologies such as carbon dioxide removal. Dr. Wolske is a past president of the Society for Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology (Division 34 of the American Psychological Association) and an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association.

Wolske received a BA in environmental studies from Connecticut College, an MS in natural resource policy and behavior from the School of Natural Resources & Environment at the University of Michigan, and a PhD in environmental psychology, also from the University of Michigan. 

Select Publications

Raimi, K.T., Wolske, K.S., Hart, P.S. & Choi, S. (2024). Exploring public perceptions of carbon capture and utilization in the US. Sustainable Production and Consumption.

Nielsen, K. S., Cologna, V., Bauer, J. M., Berger, S., Brick, C., Dietz, T., Hahnel, U. J. J., Henn, L., Lange, F., Stern, P. C., & Wolske, K. S. (2024). Realizing the full potential of behavioural science for climate change mitigation. Nature Climate Change, 14(4), 322–330.

Wolske, K.S., Todd-Blick, A. & Tome, E. (2023). Increasing the reach of low-income energy programmes through behaviourally informed peer referral. Nature Energy, 8: 850–858.

Hart, P.S., Campbell-Arvai, V., Wolske, K.S., & Raimi, K.T. (2022). Moral hazard or not? The effects of learning about carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on mitigation support. Energy Research & Social Science, 89: 102656.

Stern, P.C., Wolske, K.S., & Dietz T. (2021). Design principles for climate change decisions. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 52, 9–18.

Wolske, K.S., Gillingham, K.T., Schultz, P.W., (2020). Peer Influence on Household Energy Behaviours. Nature Energy. 

Wolske, K.S. (2020). More alike than different: Profiles of high-income and low-income rooftop solar adopters in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science. 

Raimi, K.T., Wolske, K.S., Campbell-Arvai, V., Hart, P.S. (2019). The Aversion to Tampering with Nature (ATN) Scale: Individual Differences in (Dis)comfort with Altering the Natural World. Risk Analysis. 

Wolske, K.S. Raimi, K.T., Campbell-Arvai, V., & Hart, P.S. (2019). Public support for carbon dioxide removal strategies: The role of tampering with nature perceptions. Climatic Change. 

Wolske, K.S., Todd, A., Rossol, M., McCall, J. & Sigrin, B. (2018). Accelerating demand for residential solar PV: Can simple framing strategies increase consumer interest? Global Environmental Change.

Wolske, K.S. & Stern, P.C. (2018). Contributions of psychology to limiting climate change: Opportunities through consumer behavior. In S. Clayton & C. Manning (Eds). Psychology and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses. Elsevier Academic Press, pp. 127-160. 

Campbell-Arvai*, V., Hart*, P.S., Raimi*, K.T. & Wolske*, K.S. (2017). The influence of learning about carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on support for mitigation policies. Climatic Change. (*Shared first authorship)

Wolske, K.S., Stern, P.C., & Dietz, T. (2017). Explaining interest in adopting residential solar photovoltaic systems in the United States: Toward an integration of behavioral theories. Energy Research & Social Science.