Katherine M. Lacasse

Katherine M. Lacasse is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rhode Island College.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Clark University
• M.A. in Social Psychology from Clark University
• B.A. in Psychology from Providence College

Dr. Lacasse's research integrates social psychology to address critical societal issues across seven core areas: climate change and environmental sustainability, modeling socio-environmental systems, risk-perception and decision-making, pro-environmental behaviors and policy support, labeling and stigma, gender norms and health behaviors, and public perceptions of terrorists. Her work consistently examines how psychological frameworks influence responses to global challenges.

Analysis of her 10 most recent publications reveals distinct research phases: recent work (2022-2024) focuses on stigma dynamics in substance use recovery, terrorism labeling consequences, human behavior-climate system interactions, and gender norm impacts during the pandemic. Earlier research (2016-2019) centered on pro-environmental behavior spillover effects and the role of environmental identity in sustainable decision-making, demonstrating longitudinal evolution in applying social psychology to environmental and security contexts.