Faculty
Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science
Director, USC Schaeffer Behavioral Science and Policy Initiative
Education
PhD Behavioral Decision Research and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University
Expertise
Psychology of risk perception and communication
Health behavior and patient decision making
Public perceptions of climate change and sustainability
Economic expectations and financial decision making
Behavior change interventions
Social science of science communication
Age differences in decision making and well-being
Biography
Wändi Bruine de Bruin is Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC), and director of the USC Behavioral Science and Policy Initiative. Her research aims to understand and inform how people make decisions about their personal health, their carbon footprint, and their household finances. She has published more than 170 peer-reviewed publications on these topics. She is an editorial board member for Perspectives on Psychological Science, the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Decision, Medical Decision Making, the Journal of Risk Research, and Psychology and Aging. She served on the National Academy of Sciences committee on Communicating Science Effectively, the National Academy of Sciences committee on Respiratory Protection for the Public and Workers without Respiratory Protection Programs at their Workplaces. and the Council of the Canadian Academies committee on Health Product Risk Communication. Her recent projects focus on what to call vegan food, whether we should change the term we use for climate change, improving IPCC graphs, Medicare Part D beneficiaries’ difficulties with comparing plans, and using the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll to understand and inform people’s risk perceptions around the world.
Selected videos
*National Academies of Sciences: Science of Science Communication
Selected publications
- Straga, M., Mäntylä, T., Del Missier, F., Bruine de Bruin, W., Florean, I., & Zamon, D. (2025). The green decision maker: Restoring decision making through exposure to environmental stimuli. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 101, 102506.
- Hodson, N., Parker, J., Sobolev, M., & Bruine de Bruin, W. (2024). “Sludge audits” are needed to reduce barriers to care. British Journal of General Practice, 74, 182-183.
- Bruine de Bruin, W., Rabinovich, L., Weber, K., Babboni, M., Ignon, L., Wald, R., Dean, M., Kashdan, A., & Luz, S. (2024). Improving figures for climate change communications: Insights from interviews with international policy makers. Climatic Change, 177, 1-57.
In The News
USC Price News
Want to raise concern about climate change? Tell someone’s story
Featured Faculty: Wändi Bruine de Bruin
USC Schaeffer Center
Most Medicare Beneficiaries Do Not Compare Prescription Drug Plans – And May Be Sticking with Bad Plans
Featured Faculty: Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Psychology Today
Bruine de Bruin interviewed about her article on the importance of using accessible language to talk about climate change
Featured Faculty: Wändi Bruine de Bruin
The Conversation
Bruin de Bruine op-ed argues: if you want Americans to care about climate change, just call it “climate change”
Featured Faculty: Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Affiliated Research Centers
Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
Kudos
January 3, 2022 Dr. Bruine de Bruin joins the editorial board of Perspectives on Psychological Science.