Applications of Behavioral Simulation Models in Water Resources Management: A Systematic State-of-the-Art Review

Fardin Kamali and Reza Kerachian ()
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Fardin Kamali: University of Tehran
Reza Kerachian: University of Tehran

Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), 2025, vol. 39, issue 13, No 1, 6715-6736

Abstract: Abstract The growing crisis of global water scarcity has underscored the importance of managing water demand as a crucial component of sustainable water governance. To create and implement effective policies, it is vital to understand how consumers use water and the psychological factors that drive their choices. Many studies have explored water consumer behavior through various psychological frameworks. This paper systematically reviews research that investigate water conservation and management behaviors using behavioral theories, including the Theory of Planned Behavior, Protection Motivation Theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, Social Cognitive Theory, Health Belief Model, Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and Norm Activation Model. The review follows the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. After an extensive search of databases like Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus covering the years 1980 to 2024, 119 relevant papers were identified. Following a detailed screening process, 57 articles were selected for in-depth review. The findings show that while research in this area began in 1999, there has been a notable increase in the use of behavioral simulation models for water resources management since 2016. The Theory of Planned Behavior was the most commonly used theory, featuring in 54% of the studies. To improve the effectiveness of traditional behavioral simulation models, researchers have suggested enhancing data collection methods, adding new variables, using multi-group analysis, and integrating behavioral and decision-making models. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the existing literature. It offers recommendations for future research, including the use of behavioral simulation models to develop more effective agent-based decision-making frameworks.

Keywords: Theory of planned behavior; Water conservation; Behavioral theories; Health belief model; PRISMA; Social cognitive theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11269-025-04287-3

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