Cynthia (Cindy) Frantz
- Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies
- Chair of Psychology
Notes
Cindy Frantz and John Petersen Receive Award from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
August 6, 2024
Environmental studies professors Cindy Frantz and John Petersen were honored with an Outstanding Project Award by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for their ongoing work on two grant-funded projects related to the “Environmental Dashboard,” a digital tool used to promote environmental sustainability among schoolchildren. The projects, which incorporate real-time resource usage feedback and community voices, have involved numerous Oberlin students over the past decade.
American Psychological Association Presents Cindy Frantz with Fellow Status
December 6, 2021
Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz has been named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Fellow status is an honor bestowed upon APA members who have shown evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology and requires that a person's work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond a local, state, or regional level.
Frantz served as an expert panelist for the Solutions Session at the Behavior, Energy, and Climate Change conference (virtual) on November 9. The session focused on the question: How can rural landowners be encouraged to embrace, welcome, and even demand new solar installations, as opposed to protest them?
Frantz presented the talk “Yes we can! How to talk about climate change to inspire action and fight despair” on November 17 to the Lorain County Commmunity College Psi Beta Club.
Cindy Frantz Gives Keynote Address and Talk
April 9, 2019
Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy McPherson Frantz gave the Johnson Lecture and Minnesota Psychological Association's keynote address on April 3, 2019 at Macalaster College. The talk was titled "What is systems thinking, and does it improve decision making?" She also presented a talk titled "Environmental Dashboard: Using feedback technology to change culture and behavior" on April 4, 2019 at Macalaster College.
Cindy Frantz Gives Keynote Address
July 3, 2018
Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz gave the keynote address on June 20, 2018 at the Nature Connections Conference at the University of Derby in Derby, United Kingdom. Frantz’s talk was titled "Connection to Nature: A Core Social Motive Approach.”
Cindy Frantz Quoted in Washington Post
November 29, 2017
Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz was quoted in the Washington Post about the recent tide of apologies made by famous men accused of sexual misconduct.
Cindy Frantz Interviewed on NPR
June 2, 2017
Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz was interviewed for the story, "Finding The Middle in the Incivility War" on NPR's All Things Considered.
Cindy Frantz Quoted on Climate Change Communication
December 19, 2016
Professor Cindy Franz is quoted in Yale Climate Connections on climate change communication.
Cindy Frantz Publishes, Gives Invited Talk
September 11, 2015
The article “An Examination of Gender Differences in the American Fisheries Society’s Peer Review Process,” co-authored by Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz and Grace Handley ’12, has been published in the September issue of Fisheries, an American Fisheries Society publication. According to Frantz, she and Handley found gender differences but no evidence for gender bias on the part of editors and reviewers.
Frantz also delivered the invited talk "Metaphors as Magic Bullets? Harnessing Psychological Science to Promote Sustainability" on September 7 at Davidson College.
Cindy Frantz American Psychological Association Convention Talks
August 27, 2015
Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz gave two talks in August at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto.
The first talk, “Using Technology to Transform Environmental Norms, Identity, and Behavior,” was part of a symposium with David Miller, Toronto mayor from 2003-2010 and current World Wildlife Fund Canada president and CEO. The second talk, “What Is Systems Thinking and How Shall We Measure It? An Introduction,” was part of a symposium Frantz chaired, titled “The psychology of systems thinking: Implications for decision making, policy, and practice.”
Cindy Frantz Gives Talk
July 9, 2015
Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz gave the talk "Harnessing the most powerful drivers of human behavior to promote wildlife conservation" at the USC Conference on Conservation, Computation, & Criminology (C4) on June 29, 2015, in Washington DC. The talk discussed how powerful motivations that are not in individuals’ economic or biological best interests can be harnessed to promote the protection of forests, fisheries, and wildlife.
Cindy Frantz Gives Talks, Receives Grant
April 28, 2015
Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz, currently a visiting scholar at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, has given two invited talks at her host university.
The first talk, titled “Environmental Dashboard: Combining public displays of real-time resource use with community voices to engage, empower, and celebrate stewardship” was given at University of Otago’s Centre for Sustainability's seminar series on April 16. The second talk, titled “Why do humans benefit from nature? An argument for the need to belong.” was given at the University of Otago’s Psychology Seminar series on April 20.
Frantz—along with Paul Thibodeau, assistant professor of psychology; John Petersen, director of environmental studies and Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of environmental studies; and Rumi Shammin, associate professor of environmental studies—has also been awarded a National Science Foundation grant from the Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences program for $329,325.
The grant focuses on systems thinking, a way of conceptualizing reality and making decisions that emphasizes relationships and interdependencies. Their research will empirically test the contention that systems thinking improves decision making. It will also test whether mental models, such as metaphors, can induce a systems thinking mindset and whether decision makers must value the system in question for systems thinking to have beneficial effects on decision making.
Cindy Frantz and Stephen Mayer Publish Article in Journal of Social Issues
May 19, 2014
Associate Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz and Professor of Psychology Stephen Mayer published an article entitled “The Emergence of Climate Change.” The article appears in the Journal of Social Issues, a publication of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. It explores the psychology behind the disparities between the scientific consensus on climate change and people’s willingness to recognize and respond to it.
Cindy Frantz Receives Teaching Award
May 7, 2014
Associate Professor of Psychology Cindy Frantz has received the 2014 Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). Her award citation made note of her classroom application of psychological theories to current social issues and her guidance of student research. The SPSSI also invited to speak at the this summer at the 2014 SPSSI Conference in a special SPSSI teaching session.
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