Meet The Lab

 Dr. Mead's award winning research uncovers new psychological insights that empower people and policy makers to make more sustainable decisions for themselves, society, and the environment.  Drawing on her interdisciplinary training in psychology and business, Mead has developed interventions that improve social connection, healthy eating, financial saving, and pro-environmental behavior in both developed and developing countries (e.g., Uganda and India). As testament to her interdisciplinary research, Mead’s research has been published in high-impact outlets in general science (Science; Proceedings of the National Academy of Science), psychology (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) and business (Journal of Consumer Research; Journal of Marketing; Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes). Mead’s research has been funded by industry (e.g., ING Bank’s Think Forward Grant) and government (e.g., SSHRC) and has won numerous awards. Mead previously served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and currently serves as Area Editor for the International Journal of Research in Marketing, both A journals. Dr. Mead is the blogger of the “Happy Consumer” for Psychology Today.

When she's not teaching or doing research, Nicole loves to hike in the wilderness or cozy up with friends and family while sharing good food and wine. (Then again, her most meaningful ideas have been cooked up during these times!)

Michael is a fourth-year undergraduate student at York University, currently pursuing a Specialized Honours B.Sc in Psychology. He is interested in a broad array of topics in areas such as self-esteem, well-being and consumption alongside separate topics within cognitive neuroscience. Continuing his prior independent research project work, he is currently completing his thesis in the Gilboa Lab, exploring the possible impacts of anodal stimulation (using HD-tDCS) upon semantic knowledge integration ability. Within the Well-Being Research Lab, he has previously completed various literature searches, coding tasks and has conducted in-person testing sessions. With such experiences, he aims to continue into graduate school studies within clinical or experimental psychology domains, towards becoming a contributor within psychology at large as a clinician and/or a researcher. As a volunteer, he has prior experience within the Undergraduate Psychology Student Association at York, where he held positions as a peer tutor and a peer tutor coordinator, facilitating the progression of the program and ensuring his peers had the best opportunity to achieve their own progress in learning. Outside of school work and research, he enjoys jogging, journaling and novel reading. 

Megan has recently completed her Bachelor of Honours (BA) program in Psychology at York University. During her undergraduate years, she had grown a strong interest in social psychology with a focus in intimate relationships and gender studies. However, she is generally fascinated by factors relating to strengthening human connection, and aims to engage in work transforming environments into becoming more ethical and enjoyable. Outside the academic sphere, Megan thrives in visual arts, online games, and is a frequent concert-goer.

Jeremy Lee is a PhD student in Marketing at the Schulich School of Business. He received his BBA in Global Business & Marketing at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he has also worked as a research assistant and had his work published in PLoS One. He has also worked at L’Oreal as a business analyst. His current work lies at the intersection of meaningful consumption and morality. When not reviewing literature, gathering data, or musing about research ideas, he is playing the piano or saxophone, listening to or writing about classical music, and cooking or enjoying good food.

Fiona Yunqian Tian is a PhD student in Psychology at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), awarded the Presidential PhD Scholarship. She also earned a First Class Honours BSocSci degree in Psychology at HKU. During her penultimate year, she joined the WiRL under the HKU-Mitacs Globalink Research Internship Program and worked on a project about pro-environmental behavior. Her research interests include objectification, empathy, social attitudes, cyberpsychology, and consumer behavior. She is passionate about interdisciplinary research collaboration with multi-method approaches. She enjoys hiking, horseback riding, and pilates reformer workout in her free time.

Leonor Leão is a PhD student in Marketing at Nova School of Business and Economics. She holds an MSc in Management from Nova School of Business and Economics, where she has also worked as a research assistant. She has worked with UNICEF on social development projects in several developing countries (e.g. South Sudan and Kyrgyzstan). Her research interests emerge from her interdisciplinary background in business, design and psychology, and lie in the area of consumer behavior, consumer psychology and consumer wellbeing. In particular, she is interested in studying pro-environmental behavior and environmental policy support, interventions addressing consumer wellbeing, and consumers’ relationship with politics and perceptions of political discourse. Apart from research, she is passionate about hiking and running in nature, drawing and spending the afternoon with a book by the ocean.