Environmental Communication and Behaviour Change DUMF2078

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Social and Environmental Sustainability
  • Credits: 10
  • Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

Environmental Communication and Behaviour Change introduces students to the distinctive challenges faced by those trying to promote pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours. Underpinned by elements of communication theory and the psychology of persuasion (e.g., dual process theories, social power, the limitations of the information deficit model, and the use of stories and images to evoke emotional responses) it assesses the benefits and limitations of applied approaches to behaviour change such as nudge and dialogical interventions. These principles and approaches are also considered in the context of specific channels of environmental communication such as documentaries and news media coverage of climate change. Through understanding and assessing theories and examples of environmental communication, students will also improve their ability to generate environmental messages.

Timetable

1 hour per week lecture, 2 hours per week seminar

Requirements of Entry

Students must have achieved a D or better in any Level 1 Global Sustainable Development course to be admitted to this class.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

1. Exercise: Either an analysis or a theoretically justified creation of a short environmental message/intervention (approx.600 words) [ILOs 1-3] 30%

2. Essay on a topic of substantial debate within the field (1200 words) [ILOs 1-3] 70%

Course Aims

The aims of this course are to:

1. Introduce students to some of the fundamental principles of persuasive communication and the psychology of behaviour change (e.g. dual process theories, social power, and the use of stories and images to evoke emotional responses).

 

2. Explore the application of these principles to environmentally relevant attitudes and behaviours across a range of interventions, mediums, and audiences (such as nudge and dialogical interventions; and documentaries and news media coverage of climate change).

 

3. Assess the effectiveness of communication techniques and strategies found in a selection of classic and contemporary case studies, and develop students' ability to hypothesise theoretically informed alternative interventions.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Explain some of the fundamental principles of communication theory and the psychology of behaviour change;

2. Identify and analyse the application of these principles to environmentally relevant attitudes and behaviours across a range of interventions, mediums, and audiences;

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of communication and behaviour change techniques and strategies found in relevant case studies, and hypothesise plausible alternative approaches.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.