Researcher

Dr. Beth Karlin PhD

Founder and CEO
See Change Institute

Areas of Expertise

Dr. Beth Karlin is the founder and CEO of See Change Institute, a research (and practice) institute devoted to studying and shaping behavior change programs for the greater good. Beth and her team deliver actionable research to support organizations in the fields of health, environment, social justice, and philanthropy. They are currently working on projects to increase Medicaid enrollment, measure inclusion in popular films, understand and influence the adoption of smart home technology, and support local community choice energy programs.

Beth has published her work in venues ranging from Psychological Bulletin to Peace Studies and is a sought-after speaker and trainer on Storytelling, Smart Homes, and the Social Science of Sustainability (and she loves alliteration). She is Past President of the American Psychological Association’s Division 34 (Environmental Psychology), U.S. National Expert on the International Energy Agency’s Demand-Side Management (DSM) Task 24 on Behavior Change, and a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences Environmental Health Matters Initiative. She also founded the Transformational Media Lab at the University of California, Irvine, and served as Research Director at the University of Southern California’s Norman Lear Center, which studies the impact of entertainment on society.

Before receiving her Ph.D. in Social Ecology from UC Irvine, Beth spent nearly a decade working in K-12 education, holding positions as a teacher, counselor, and school administrator. She believes that the role of a researcher is not only to better understand the world but also to improve it and hopes that her work is able to serve both purposes.

Publications

Rotmann, S. & Karlin, B. (2020). Training commercial energy users in behavior change: A case study. Proceedings of the 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. ACEEE.

Rotmann, S., Mundaca, L., Castaño-Rosa, R., O’Sullivan, K., Ambrose, A., Marchand, R., Chester, M., Karlin, B. and K. Ashby (2020). Hard-to-Reach Energy Users: A critical review of audience characteristics and target behaviours. User-Centred Energy Systems TCP – HTR Annex: Wellington.

Sanders, B.F., Schubert, J.E., Goodrich, K.A., Houston, D., Feldman, D.L., Basolo, V., Luke, A., Boudreau, D., Karlin, B., Cheung, W. and Contreras, S. (2020). Collaborative modeling with fine‐resolution data enhances flood awareness, minimizes differences in flood perception, and produces actionable flood maps. Earth’s Future, 8(1), e2019EF001391.

Ashby, K., Karlin, B., & Rotmann, S. (2019). Task 24 Policy Brief for U.S. International Energy Agency Demand Side Management (IEA-DSM) Technology Collaboration Platform.

Houston, D., Cheung, W., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Sanders, B.F., Karlin, B., Schubert, J.E., Goodrich, K.A., Contreras, S., & Luke, A. (2019). The influence of hazard maps and trust of flood controls on coastal flood spatial awareness and risk perception. Environment and Behavior, 51(4), 347-375.

Karlin, B., Chapman, D., & Saucier, C. (2019). Through the Looking Glass: An Experimental Study of 360 Video Experienced Through Different Lenses USC Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Karlin, B., Lindstrom, C., & Rosenblum, A. (2019). School Screenings of ‘Straws’: Engaging Youth with Film to Make a Difference. See Change Institute Report #M1902. Los Angeles: See Change Institute.

Karlin, B., Saucier, C., & Chapman, D. (2019). Messaging for Media Impact. USC Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, CA. Karlin, B., Chapman, D., & Saucier, C. (2019). Pressing for Change: The Role of Action Buttons in Online News Engagement. USC Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Karlin, B., Kim, H., Kelly, R., Blakley, J., Brenner, C., & Riley, P. (2018). Does Medium Matter? Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality in Journalism. USC Media Impact Project.

Karlin, B., Lopes, M.A., Ford, R., Peffer, T.E. (2018). Energy efficiency: Behavioral contributions from around the globe. Energy Efficiency, 11(7), 1561-1562.

Karlin, B., Sanguinetti, A., & Ford, R. (2018). Smart home energy management (HEM) products: Characterizing and comparing adoption, experience, and outcomes. Proceedings of the 2018 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Pacific Grove, CA: ACEEE.

Pritoni, M., Ford, R., Karlin, B., & Sanguinetti, A. (2018). Home energy management (HEM) database: A list with coded attributes of 308 devices commercially available in the US. Data in Brief, 16, 71-74.

Pritoni, M., Sanguinetti, A., Ford, R., & Karlin, B. (2018). Smart home energy management: Use cases and savings opportunities Proceedings of the 2018 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Pacific Grove, CA: ACEEE.

Sanguinetti, A., Karlin, B., Ford, R. (2018). Understanding the path to smart home adoption: Segmenting and describing consumers across the innovation-decision process. Energy Research & Social Science, 46, 274-283.

Sanguinetti, A., Karlin, B., Ford, R., Salmon, K., & Dombrovski, K. (2018). What’s energy management got to do with it? Exploring the role of energy management in the smart home adoption process. Energy Efficiency, 11(7), 1897–1911.

Adams, R. M., Karlin, B., Eisenman, D. P., Blakley, J., & Glik, D. (2017). Who participates in the great ShakeOut? Why audience segmentation is the future of disaster preparedness campaigns. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(11), 1407.

Blakley, J., Karlin, B., Trotta Valenti, L., Brenner, C., & Amel Rogers, A. (2017). From the Sofa to the Streets: Strategies to Ignite Social Action through Documentary Media. MIP Insights Series. USC Norman Lear Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Ford, R., Pritoni, M., Sanguinetti, A., & Karlin, B. (2017). Categories and functionality of smart home technology for energy management. Building and Environment, 123, 543-554.

Houston, D., Cheung, W., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Sanders, B. F., Karlin, B., Schubert, J.E., Goodrich, K.A., Contreras, S. & Luke, A. (2017). The influence of hazard maps and trust of flood controls on coastal flood spatial awareness and risk perception. Environment and Behavior, 0013916517748711.

Karlin, B., Carr Kelman, C., Goodrich, K., & Lowerson, V. (2017). The role of the university: Engaged scholarship in the anthropocene. In Dinar, A. (Ed.), The Social Ecology of the Anthropocene: Continuity and Change in Global Environmental Politics. World Scientific Publishers.

Karlin B., Koleva S., Kaufman J., Sanguinetti A., Ford R., Chan C. (2017) Energy UX: Leveraging multiple methods to see the big picture. In: Marcus A., Wang W. (eds) Design, User Experience, and Usability: Understanding Users and Contexts. DUXU 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10290. Springer.

Karlin, B., Lupkin, L., Forster, H., Zaval, L., Koleva, S., & Ford, R. (2017). From Categorizing to Characterizing: A Landscape Analysis of Behavior-Based Energy Programs. Pacific Gas and Electric, San Francisco, CA, Emerging Technology Report ET14PGE7791.

Cheung, W., Houston, D., Schubert, J. E., Basolo, V., Feldman, D., Matthew, R., Sanders, B.F., Karlin, B., Goodrich, K.A., Contreras, S.L. & Luke, A. (2016). Integrating resident digital sketch maps with expert knowledge to assess spatial knowledge of flood risk: A case study of participatory mapping in Newport Beach, California. Applied Geography, 74, 56-64.

Cornish, L., Karlin, B., Sanguinetti, A., & Kaufman, J. (2016). How do small businesses experience energy reports? Proceedings of the 2016 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Pacific Grove, CA: ACEEE.

Feldman, D., Contreras, S., Karlin, B., Basolo, V., Matthew, R., Sanders, B. Houston, D., Cheung, W., Goodrich, K., Reyes, A., Serrano, K., Schubert, J. & Luke, A. (2016). Communicating flood risk: Looking back and forward at traditional and social media outlets. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 15, 43-51.

Ford, R., Karlin, B., & Frantz, C. (2016). Evaluating Energy Culture: Identifying and validating measures for behaviour-based energy interventions. Proceedings of the International Energy Program Evaluation Conference. Amsterdam: IEPEC.

Ford, R., Karlin, B., Sanguinetti, A., Nersesyan, A., & Pritoni, M. (2016). Assessing Players, Products, and Perceptions of Home Energy Management. Pacific Gas and Electric, San Francisco, CA, Emerging Technology Report ET15PGE8851.

Karlin, B., Kaufman, J., Lupkin, L., & Ford, R. (2016). Empowering energy action: A theoretical model and implications for programs. BEHAVE, 4th European Conference on Behaviour and Energy Efficiency, Coimbra, 8-9 September 2016.

Karlin, B., Ford, R., & Frantz, C.M., (2015). Exploring Deep Savings: A Toolkit for Assessing Behavior-Based Energy Interventions. Proceedings of the International Energy Program Evaluation Conference. Long Beach, CA: IEPEC.

Karlin, B., Ford, R., Sanguinetti, A., Squiers, C., Gannon, J., Rajukumar, M., & Donnelly, K.A. (2015). Characterization and Potential of Home Energy Management (HEM) Technology. San Francisco, CA: Pacific Gas and Electric.

Karlin, B., Ford, R., Wu, A., Nasser, V., & Frantz, C. (2015). What Do We Know About What We Know? A Review of Behaviour-Based Energy Efficiency Data Collection Methodology. Report prepared for the International Energy Agency Demand Side Management Programme (IEA-DSM) Task 24 –Behaviour Change in DSM. Paris: IEA (International Energy Agency).

Karlin, B., Ford, R., & Zinger, J., (2015). The Effects of Feedback on Energy Conservation: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 141(6), 1205–1227.

Karlin, B., Goodrich, K., Chen, M., Jimenez, M., Nguyen, P., Tran, A. (2015). Engaged Scholarship as an Alternative to Public-Private Partnerships. Proceedings of the International Studies Association (ISA) Convention. New Orleans, LA.

Karlin, B., Sanguinetti, A., Davis, N., Bendanna, K., Figueira, K., Baker, J., Kirkby, D., & Stokols, D. (2015). Diffusion of Feedback: Perceptions and Adoption of Devices in the Residential Market. A. Marcus (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2015 Human Computer Interaction (HCII) Conference, pp. 368-379.

Penzenstadler, B., Richardson, D., Tomlinson, B., Fleischmann, K. R., Becker, C., Nathan, L., Blevis, E., Silberman, S., Karlin, B., Norton, J. & Raturi, A. (2015). ICT for Sustainability—Current and future research directions. iConference 2015 Proceedings.

Karlin. B. (2014). Attitudes and behaviors. in Debra Rowe, ed. Achieving Sustainability: Visions, Principles, and Practices. Detroit: Macmillan, pp. 40-44.

Karlin, B. (2014). Residential Energy Feedback: Research, Technology, and Potential for the Informed Home (Doctoral dissertation, UC Irvine).

Karlin, B., Davis, N., Sanguinetti, A., Gamble, K., Kirkby, D., & Stokols, D. (2014). Dimensions of conservation: Exploring differences among energy behaviors. Environment and Behavior, 46(4), 423-452.

Karlin, B., Ford, R. & Squiers, C. (2014). Energy Feedback Technology: A Review and Taxonomy of Products and Platforms. Energy Efficiency, 7(3), 377-399.

Karlin, B., Murphy, C., & Ahu, K., (2014). Exploring a New Model of Global Citizenship: An Evaluation of the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit. eScholarship. Sacramento, CA.

Karlin, B., Penzenstadler, B., & Cook, A. (2014). Pumping up the Citizen Muscle Bootcamp: Improving user experience in online learning. in Aaron Marcus, ed. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8519, 562-573.

Penzenstadler, B., Richardson, D. J., Karlin, B., Cook, A., Callele, D., & Wnuk, K. (2014). Using Non-Profit Partners to Engage Students in RE. In REET (pp. 1-10).

Ford, R. & Karlin, B. (2013). Graphical Displays in Energy Feedback Technology: A Cognitive Approach. A. Marcus (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2013 Human Computer Interaction (HCII) Conference, pp. 486-495). Springer-Verlag.

Karlin, B. (2013). Technology and Psychology—Natural Enemies or Just Plain Natural? Ecopsychology. 5(4): 217-218.

Karlin, B. (2013). Film to School (FtS) Programs: Active Engagement for Filmmakers in Education. Proceedings of ISA ’13: International Studies Association: San Francisco, CA: ISAnet.

Karlin, B., Davis, N., & Matthew, R. (2013). GRASP: Testing an Integrated Approach to Sustainability Education. Journal of Sustainability Education. Spring 2013: Experiential Education, Part One.

Karlin, B. & Ford, R. (2013). The Usability Perception Scale (UPscale): A measure for evaluating feedback displays. A. Marcus (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2013 Human Computer Interaction (HCII) Conference, pp. 312-321). Springer-Verlag.

Karlin, B., & Ford R. (2013). Beyond kWh: A New Tool for Assessing Behavior-Based Energy Interventions. Report prepared for the International Energy Agency Demand Side Management Program (IEA-DSM) Task 24-Behaviour Change in DSM.

Karlin, B. (2012). Educating, Empowering & Engaging Through Film-Based Activism: A Survey of Invisible Children Participation and Impacts. eScholarship. Sacramento, CA. Karlin, B. (2012). Public Acceptance of Smart Meters: Integrating Psychology and Practice. Proceedings of the 2012 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Pacific Grove, CA: ACEEE.

Karlin, B. (2012). The Social, the Media, and the Activism: Kony Meets World. Opinio Juris. Karlin, B. (2012). Power through Participation: Impacts of Youth Involvement in Invisible Children. International Studies Association Conference Archive. San Diego, CA: ISAnet.

Karlin, B. & Matthew, R. (2012). Kony 2012 and the Mediatization of Child Soldiers. Peace Review, 24(3), 255-261. Karlin, B. (2011). Tracking and learning: Exploring dual functions of residential energy feedback. In Proceedings, 6th Annual International Conference on Persuasive Technology. Columbus, OH: ACM.

Karlin, B. & Johnson, J.S. (2011). Measuring impact: The importance of evaluation for documentary film campaigns. M/C Journal 14(6).