Elke U. Weber

Elke U. Weber
Picture of Elke Weber
Born (1957-04-06) April 6, 1957
NationalityGerman, American
Alma materHarvard University, York University
SpouseEric J. Johnson
AwardsBBVA Foundation Frontiers Award in Climate Change (2024), Howard Crosby Warren Medal (2025)
Scientific career
InstitutionsColumbia University (1999–2016); Princeton University (2016–)

Elke U. Weber (born April 6, 1957) is a Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University where she holds the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professorship in Energy & the Environment.[1] Prior to moving to Princeton in 2016, she spent 17 years at Columbia University, where she founded and co-directed the Earth Institute's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions [2] and the Columbia Business School's Center for Decision Sciences.[3]

Career

Weber received a B.A. in Psychology from York University in 1980 and a PhD. in Psychology from Harvard University in 1984. She began her professional career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1985. From 1988 to 1995, she was Assistant and then Associate Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. In 1995, she joined Ohio State University as Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Management and Human Resources. In 1999, Weber joined Columbia University as a Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology, and held the Jerome A. Chazen Professor of International Business from 2009 to 2016.[4] During her time at Columbia University, she also held a position as Earth Institute professor.[5] In 2016, she joined the faculty at Princeton as a Professor of Psychology and Public Policy.[1] In 2020, Weber was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[6] In 2024, Weber received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Social Sciences.[7]

She has done research related to perceived risk,[8] risk-taking,[9] Query Theory,[10] and the role that memory processes play in preference construction.[11]

More recently, she is known for her contributions to research on choice architecture and how to apply decision research to public policy.[12]

Weber has served as President of the Society for Neuroeconomics, the Society for Mathematical Psychology,[13] and the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.[14]

Research

Elke U. Weber's research spans several areas in psychology, behavioral economics, and environmental decision-making. Her work has helped define how individuals and societies perceive risk, form preferences, and make complex decisions—especially in domains involving uncertainty, long time horizons, sustainability, and cultural context. Her contributions have garnered numerous honors, including the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, election to both the U.S. and German National Academies of Sciences,[15] the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Risk Analysis,[16] and the Patrick Suppes Prize from the American Philosophical Society.[17]

Risk Perception and Risk Taking

Weber is recognized for her work on how people perceive and take risks.[18] Early in her career, she challenged the assumption that risk preference is a stable personality trait,[19] showing instead that it is sensitive to context, domain, and culture. Her co-development of the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking (DOSPERT) scale[20] has become a standard [21] in the field, allowing researchers to measure risk attitudes across different areas such as health, finance, and social behavior. Her work reveals that perceived risk, rather than objective probabilities, often drives decisions, and that affective responses play a critical role in shaping risk behavior.[22]

Preference and Choice as a Dynamic Construct: Query Theory

Along with longtime collaborator Eric Johnson, Weber developed Query Theory, a framework that treats preferences not as pre-existing, but as constructed in real time. According to this theory, people generate internal queries—mental questions that search memory for justifications—to arrive at decisions.[23] The order in which these queries are posed, which is influential by question format and context, can significantly influence choice, helping to explain phenomena like the endowment effect[24] and asymmetric time discounting.[25]

Weber and Johnson have collaborated extensively in the field of decision science, co-authoring works over nearly two decades, including papers on memory-based preference construction and mindful decision-making.[26][27][28]

Query Theory provided a formal and testable model for the long-standing idea that preferences are labile and context-dependent. It has been used to inform interventions ranging from consumer choice architecture to financial planning tools.[29]

Culture, Norms, and Society

Weber has explored how culture and social norms shape the ways people interpret and respond to information. Her cross-cultural research showed that while risk perceptions vary widely across societies, the influence of social norms on behavior is a universal feature of human psychology.[30]

Her research combines psychological and anthropological perspectives to examine how social norms emerge, persist, and change, particularly in collective action contexts.[31] She has contributed to efforts integrating behavioral science with systems thinking and network approaches to explore the role of cultural values in shaping sustainability, cooperation, and governance.[32]

Climate Change Perception and Climate Change Action

Weber's research has examined how individuals perceive and respond to the threat of climate change. Her work highlights that climate impacts are often viewed as abstract, distant, and uncertain, which can contribute to lower public engagement.[33]

She has explored the roles of affect, social norms, and perceived efficacy in shaping climate-related behavior, suggesting that these factors may influence willingness to act on climate issues.[34]

Weber served as a lead author for both the Fifth and Sixth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).[35] Her contributions have emphasized the role of behavioral science in climate mitigation, and she has worked to integrate insights from psychology into policy frameworks.[36]

Awards and honors

Weber has received numerous awards and honors for her work.

  • Fellow, Association for Psychological Science.[37] (1998)
  • Honorary degree in psychology from the University of Basel.[38] (2009)
  • Fellow, Society for Risk Analysis.[39] (2011)
  • Honorary professorship in economic science from Technical University Munich.[40] (2012)
  • Fellow, Society for Experimental Psychology.[41] (2015)
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[42] (2016)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science.[43] (2018)
  • Patrick Suppes Prize, American Philosophical Society.[44] (2023)
  • Honorary doctorate in sustainability from Leuphana University.[45] (2024)
  • Named among the 100 Best Heads in Science in Berlin.[46] (2024)
  • BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Social Sciences.[7] (2024)
  • Newman-Proshansky Career Achievement Award, American Psychological Association (APA), Division 34 (Environmental, Population, and Conservation Psychology).[47] (2024)
  • Howard Crosby Warren Medal, Society for Experimental Psychology.[48] (2025)

Selected Works

  • Weber, Elke U. (1994). "From subjective probabilities to decision weights: The effect of asymmetric loss functions on the evaluation of uncertain outcomes and events". Psychological Bulletin. 115 (2): 228–242. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.115.2.228.
  • Weber, Elke U.; Hsee, Christopher K.; Sokolowska, Joanna (1998). "What folklore tells us about risk and risk taking: Cross-cultural comparisons of American, German, and Chinese proverbs". Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. 75 (2): 170–186. doi:10.1006/obhd.1998.2812.
  • Weber, Elke U.; Hsee, Christopher K. (1999). "Models and mosaics: Investigating cross-cultural differences in risk perception and risk preference". Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 6 (4): 611–617. doi:10.3758/BF03212979.
  • Loewenstein, George F.; Weber, Elke U.; Hsee, Christopher K.; Welch, Ned (2001). "Risk as feelings". Psychological Bulletin. 127 (2): 267–286. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.267.
  • Ostrom, Elinor E.; Dietz, Thomas E.; Dolšak, Nives E.; Stern, Paul C.; Stonich, Susan E.; Weber, Elke U. (2002). The drama of the commons. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-06972-0 {{isbn}}: Check isbn value: checksum (help).
  • Weber, Elke U.; Blais, Ann-Renée; Betz, Nancy E. (2002). "A domain‐specific risk‐attitude scale: Measuring risk perceptions and risk behaviors". Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 15 (4): 263–290. doi:10.1002/bdm.414.
  • Weber, Elke U.; Shafir, Sharoni; Blais, Ann-Renée (2004). "Predicting risk sensitivity in humans and lower animals: risk as variance or coefficient of variation". Psychological Review. 111 (2): 430–445. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.111.2.430.
  • Hertwig, Ralph; Barron, Greg; Weber, Elke U.; Erev, Ido (2004). "Decisions from experience and the effect of rare events in risky choice". Psychological Science. 15 (8): 534–539. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00715.x.
  • Weber, Elke U. (2006). "Experience-based and description-based perceptions of long-term risk: Why global warming does not scare us (yet)". Climatic Change. 77 (1): 103–120. doi:10.1007/s10584-006-9060-3.
  • Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J.; Milch, Karen F.; Chang, Heejung; Brodscholl, Jeanne C.; Goldstein, Daniel G. (2007). "Asymmetric discounting in intertemporal choice: A query-theory account". Psychological Science. 18 (6): 516–523. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01932.x.
  • Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J. (2009). "Mindful judgment and decision making". Annual Review of Psychology. 60 (1): 53–85. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163633.
  • Weber, Elke U. (2010). "What shapes perceptions of climate change?". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 1 (3): 332–342. doi:10.1002/wcc.41.
  • Hardisty, Daniel J.; Johnson, Eric J.; Weber, Elke U. (2010). "A dirty word or a dirty world? Attribute framing, political affiliation, and query theory". Psychological Science. 21 (1): 86–92. doi:10.1177/0956797609355572.
  • Weber, Markus; Weber, Elke U.; Nosić, Ana (2013). "Who takes risks when and why: Determinants of changes in investor risk taking". Review of Finance. 17 (3): 847–883. doi:10.1093/rof/rfs021.
  • Weber, Elke U. (2017). "Breaking cognitive barriers to a sustainable future". Nature Human Behaviour. 1 (1): 0013. doi:10.1038/s41562-016-0013.
  • Creutzig, Felix; Roy, Joyashree; Lamb, William F.; Azevedo, Inês M.L.; Bruine de Bruin, Wändi; Dalkmann, Holger; ... Weber, Elke U. (2018). "Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change". Nature Climate Change. 8 (4): 260–263. doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0121-1.
  • Jachimowicz, Jon M.; Duncan, Scott; Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J. (2019). "When and why defaults influence decisions: A meta-analysis of default effects". Behavioural Public Policy. 3 (2): 159–186. doi:10.1017/bpp.2018.22.

References

  1. ^ a b "eweber". Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
  2. ^ "Elke U. Weber - Center for Research on Environmental Decisions".
  3. ^ "Directors". Center for Decision Sciences. April 23, 2012.
  4. ^ "Columbia Business School Directory : Detail : Elke+Weber". www4.gsb.columbia.edu. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  5. ^ "Methane, Modern Science, and the Dalai Lama". State of the Planet. Columbia University. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Elke Weber, leading behavioral scientist, elected to the National Academy of Sciences". 28 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award 2023
  8. ^ Loewenstein, George F.; Read, Daniel; Baumeister, Roy F., eds. (2016). The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 308. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  9. ^ Hansson, Sven Ove, ed. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Risk and Uncertainty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. XXX. ISBN 978-0-19-959645-4. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  10. ^ Wedel, Michel; Pieters, Rik, eds. (2019). The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 784. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  11. ^ Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J. (2006). "Constructing Preferences from Memory". In Lichtenstein, Sarah; Slovic, Paul (eds.). The Construction of Preference. Cambridge University Press. pp. 397–410.
  12. ^ O'Hara, Delia. "AAAS Fellow Elke Weber Studies Decision Making During Crises". AAAS. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. ^ Elke Weber. *The Earth Institute, Columbia University*. Retrieved July 16, 2025, from https://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2329
  14. ^ “Elke U. Weber.” *National Academy of Sciences*, Member Directory. Accessed July 16, 2025. Elke Weber is the Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment and Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.
  15. ^ "Elke Weber, Princeton University". Annenberg Public Policy Center. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Awards". Society for Risk Analysis. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  17. ^ "2023 Patrick Suppes Prize". American Philosophical Society. 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  18. ^ Figner, Bernd; Weber, Elke U. (2011). "Who Takes Risks When and Why? Determinants of Risk Taking" (PDF). Current Directions in Psychological Science. 20 (4): 211–216. doi:10.1177/0963721411415790. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  19. ^ "Personality and Risk Taking". Columbia Business School. 2001. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  20. ^ "DOSPERT Scale". Columbia Business School. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  21. ^ Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J. (2019). "Preferences and decision making: Introduction to the special issue". Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 32 (5): 457–460. doi:10.1002/bdm.2337. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  22. ^ Weber, Elke U. (2017). "Understanding public risk perception and responses to changes in perceived risk". In Viscusi, W. Kip; Gayer, Ted; Hamilton, James T. (eds.). Policy Shock: Recalibrating Risk and Regulation After Oil Spills, Nuclear Accidents and Financial Crises. Cambridge University Press. pp. 82–106.
  23. ^ Weber, E. U., & Johnson, E. J. (2011). "Query theory: Knowing what we want by arguing with ourselves". Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 34(2), 91–133. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X10000938
  24. ^ Ting, H., & Wallsten, T. S. (2011). A query theory account of the effect of memory retrieval on the sunk cost bias. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18(4), 767–773. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-011-0107-5
  25. ^ Sun, H. Y., Ma, J. T., Zhou, L., Jiang, C. M., & Li, S. (2022). Waiting is painful: The impact of anticipated dread on negative discounting in the loss domain. Judgment and Decision Making, 17(6), 1353–1378. http://journal.sjdm.org/21/211017/jdm211017.pdf
  26. ^ Weber, E. U., & Johnson, E. J. (2006). "Constructing preferences from memory". In S. Lichtenstein & P. Slovic (Eds.), The Construction of Preference (pp. 397–410). Cambridge University Press.
  27. ^ Weber, E. U., & Johnson, E. J. (2009). "Mindful judgment and decision making". Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), 53–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163633
  28. ^ Composto, J. W., Duncan, S. M., Johnson, E. J., & Weber, E. U. (2025). "A meta-analysis of Query Theory, a psychological process account of framing effects". Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-025-09414-0
  29. ^ Weber, Elke U.; Johnson, Eric J.; Milch, Kerry F.; Chang, Hannah H.; Brodscholl, Jennifer C.; Goldstein, Daniel G. (2007). "Asymmetric Discounting in Intertemporal Choice: A Query Theory Account". Psychological Science. 18 (6): 516–523. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  30. ^ Kahneman, Daniel; Lovallo, Dan; Sibony, Olivier (23 December 2016). "Noise: How to overcome the high, hidden cost of inconsistent decision making". Science. 354 (6312): 1422–1423. doi:10.1126/science.aaf8317. PMID 28008009.
  31. ^ Constantino, S. M., Sparkman, G., Kraft-Todd, G. T., Bicchieri, C., Centola, D., Shell-Duncan, B., Vogt, S., & Weber, E. U. (2022). "Scaling Up Change: A Critical Review and Practical Guide to Harnessing Social Norms for Climate Action". Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 23(2), 50–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006221105279
  32. ^ Marx, S. M., Weber, E. U., Orlove, B. S., Leiserowitz, A., Krantz, D. H., Roncoli, C., & Phillips, J. (2007). "Communication and mental processes: Experiential and analytic processing of uncertain climate information". Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.41
  33. ^ "Elke U. Weber". Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  34. ^ "Nudging Behavior Toward Climate Solutions, with Elke Weber". Resources Radio. Resources for the Future. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  35. ^ "Elke Weber awarded the Howard Crosby Warren Medal for outstanding contributions to experimental psychology". Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE), Princeton University. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Winds, Waters, and Watts: How Colombia's Ports Can Fuel a Green Hydrogen Economy". World Bank Open Knowledge Repository. World Bank. 2025-07-29. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  37. ^ "Tribute to Daniel Kahneman". Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  38. ^ "Honorary Awards Faculty of Psychology". University of Basel. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  39. ^ "Fellows of the Society". Society for Risk Analysis. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  40. ^ "Honors and Awards – Elke U. Weber". Elke U. Weber personal website. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  41. ^ "Society for Experimental Psychologists: Fellows". Society for Experimental Psychologists. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  42. ^ "Elke U. Weber". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  43. ^ "AAAS Fellow Elke Weber Studies Decision-Making During Crises". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  44. ^ "2023 Patrick Suppes Prize".
  45. ^ "Honorary doctorate 2024 for Prof. Dr Dr Elke Weber". Leuphana University Lüneburg – School of Sustainability. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  46. ^ "Thematic Conference "Heat Transition – Renewable Ready" for Berlin on 07.11". Climate Change Center. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  47. ^ "Princeton SPIA Annual Report 2024". Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Princeton University. 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  48. ^ "Warren Medal Award Recipients". Society of Experimental Psychologists. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
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