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Towards a Psychological Theory and Comprehensive Rebound Typology

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Rethinking Climate and Energy Policies

Abstract

Based on considerations how energy efficiency improvements can interfere with processes of human decision-making, this chapter develops a theoretical model of how energy efficiency improvements—via psychological processes—may lead to rebound effects as well as to ‘beneficial effects’, which countervail rebounds. The chapter then advances a typology of rebound and beneficial effects that integrates, but goes beyond, the typology currently used in the microeconomic rebound literature. Model and typology explain how (economic) rebound research could benefit from psychological theory and provide the basis for empirically investigating rebound effects on more solid theoretical ground.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Vocational Education and Work Studies, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany

    Tilman Santarius

  2. Institute for Ecological Economy Research, Potsdamer Str. 105, 10785, Berlin, Germany

    Tilman Santarius

  3. School of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Riggenbachstrasse 16, 4600, Olten, Switzerland

    Martin Soland

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  1. Tilman Santarius
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  2. Martin Soland
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Correspondence to Tilman Santarius .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. for Ecological Economy Research, Free University of Berlin and Inst. for Ecological Economy Research, Berlin, Germany

    Tilman Santarius

  2. Western Norway Research Institute , Sogndal, Norway

    Hans Jakob Walnum

  3. Western Norway Research Institute , Sogndal, Norway

    Carlo Aall

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Santarius, T., Soland, M. (2016). Towards a Psychological Theory and Comprehensive Rebound Typology. In: Santarius, T., Walnum, H., Aall, C. (eds) Rethinking Climate and Energy Policies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38807-6_7

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