Lavallee, Dr. Loraine
Biography
Dr. Lavallee received her PhD in social psychology from UBC in 2000 and took a faculty position at UNBC that same year. She has an interdisciplinary background having completed a BA in history and a research fellowship in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. She is past Chair of the Environmental Section of the Canadian Psychological Association.
Research and Expertise
Within the field of conservation psychology, my research is focused on the impact of the socio-cultural context on the individuals’ ability to live sustainably and happily. Very broadly, I am interested in forces that disconnect individuals from knowing nature and understanding their environmental impact and interested in ways to reconnect and involve individuals in collective approaches to environmental conservation.
One line of inquiry is how socio-economic forces promoting competitive achievement, wealth, and fame as the primary markers of individual success can disconnect individuals from each other, from community and from nature. My graduate students also examine carbon mitigation policy tools, such personal cap and trade systems, that can reconnect citizens to their environmental impact and involve them in a collective approach to reducing carbon emissions.
I am not accepting students in the Psychology graduate program. I will only be considering master's students in the NRES Environmental Studies program. Graduate student applicants must have undergraduate courses in psychology and courses in either environmental studies or sociology.
Research Fields:- Conservation
- Culture
- Health and Wellbeing
- Psychology
- Sustainability
Conservation psychology, cultural values, social psychology
Languages Spoken:- English
- MA NRES Environmental Studies
Selected Publications
Lavallee, L. F., Hadley, L. (2021). Getting to sustainable living: The individual within complex collective problems. Psynopsis-Climate Change Issue, 43 (2), 18-19.
