Faculty Research Interests

On this page:

Lana Besel, BA (UVic), MA, PhD (UBC) - On leave

Office: Fir 447   Local: 2479
E-mail: lbesel@capilanou.ca

Dr. Lana Besel teaches Introductory Psychology and Child Development. She specializes in forensic psychology and her research interests include emotional facial expression recognition, theories on the origin of empathy, and disorders with empathy deficits. She also has a background in mediation as an alternative to the adversarial approach to resolve disputes.

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Leonard George, BSc (U Toronto), MA, PhD (U Western Ontario) 

Office: Fir 433   Local:  2495
E-mail:  lgeorge@capilanou.ca

Dr. Leonard George's interests include historical & philosophical aspects of psychology, anomalistic & health psychology, psychology and the arts, & schizophrenia. His other interests include writing, fitness, meditation, & the finer & the stranger things in life. 
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Rajiv Jhangiani, BA, MA, PhD (UBC)

Office: Fir 455    Local: 2522
E-mail: rjhangia@capilanou.ca

Dr. Rajiv Jhangiani's research interests include the psychological effects of terrorist attacks, elite decision-making under stress, and the psychology of genocide and other ethnopolitical conflict. He teaches Introductory and Social Psychology at Capilano. His hobbies include cricket, yoga, alternative energy systems, and sustainable living.
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Laura MacKay, BA, MA, PhD  (SFU)

Office: Fir 441    Local: 2476
E-mail: lmackay@capilanou.ca

Dr. Laura MacKay is a health psychologist whose research focuses on factors that influence health and well-being during adolescence. Specifically, her research examines risk and resilience among vulnerable youth populations. She has published a number of community reports on street-involved and at-risk youth. She teaches Introductory Psychology here at Capilano University.

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Hammond Tarry, MA, DPhil (U of Oxford)

Office: Fir 441   Local: 2476
E-mail: htarry@capilanou.ca 

Dr. Hammond Tarry started at Capilano in January 2007, having moved to BC from the UK in early 2006. He currently teaches Psyc 100 and Group Dynamics. He has some background in developmental, social and forensic psychology. His main research interests are currently moral reasoning and its relationship to antisocial behaviour, political identity and altruism.  Hammond's main hobbies are travel and playing sports, including golf, tennis and soccer. He can usually be found very early on a Saturday morning watching live European soccer somewhere around Commercial Drive, particularly his beloved Arsenal FC.
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Claire Vanston,  BA, MSc, PhD (SFU)

Office: Fir 449   Local: 2328   
E-mail:  vanston@sfu.ca or cvanston@capilanou.ca        

Dr. Claire Vanston's research interests & specialties fit neatly into the mega-category of human sexuality. Her doctoral dissertation addressed the effects of sex hormones on cognitive function in pregnant women. She is also interested in male & female differences in cognitive function & behaviour. Other scholarly interests include reproductive endocrinology (or, the hormones of sex & reproduction), & typical & atypical sexual development. She also works as a Sexual Health Educator for Options for Sexual Health B.C. and is in the process of co-authoring an Introductory Psychology textbook. She is currently teaching Psychology 100 & 101, Biopsychology, Human Neuropsychology and Human Sexuality. 
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Sally Walters, BA (UBC), MA, PhD (SFU)

Office: 445   Local: 2487
E-mail: swalters@capilanou.ca

Dr. Sally Walters is an evolutionary psychologist with a particular interest in the human consequences of living in contemporary environments that differ greatly from those in which we evolved. She teaches Introductory Psychology, Child Development, & Adult Development. She is also interested in the use of technology in education and teaches the Psychology department's mixed-mode and online courses.
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Janet Waters, BA, MA, PhD (SFU)

Office: Fir 409    Local: 2475
E-mail: jawaters@capilanou.ca

Dr. Janet Waters has been teaching at Capilano University since 1987, after several years as a therapist in private practice.  Her research interests include theories of emotion, personality, and cognition (especially in the areas of consciousness & imagery); emotion-focussed, narrative & existential psychotherapy, & qualitative research design (phenomenology). She teaches Introductory Psychology, Cognitive, Personality, & History of Psychology, Research Methods & Statistics for Music Therapy, & Organizational Behaviour. She has also been a therapist for 30 years. In her spare time she likes to bask on the beach on the Sunshine Coast, watch Lord of the Rings, & write science fiction.
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Paul Wehr, BA, MA, PhD 

Office: Fir 476   Local: 2496
E-mail: wehr@psyc.ubc.ca

Dr. Paul Wehr teaches Psychology 100 & 101 at Capilano University.  Dr. Wehr's research utilizes an adaptationist approach to investigating the psychological mechanisms associated with human behaviour.  Topics of current studies include: the preference for truncated development in human adult faces; the contingency of mate-selection strategies and their sensitivity to cues of reproductive uncertainty in the environment; cross-cultural comparisons of attitudes toward interracial romantic relationships; the application of life-history theory to bereavement; and the role of punishment in establishing and maintaining cooperation in social dilemmas. In addition, Dr. Wehr also consults on statistical issues in behavioural research, and has supervised a large, and growing number of undergraduate and graduate student research projects.
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Cara Zaskow, BA (UBC), MA,  PhD (SFU)
ABA-A Coordinator

Office: Fir 415, Local: 2464
E-mail: czaskow@capilanou.ca

Dr. Cara Zaskow is the coordinator for the new ABA-A program. Her research specialties & interests include the topic of emotions, especially the facial expression & development of emotion. She has taught at Capilano University since 1991, teaching Introductory Psychology, Research Design, Statistical Methods, & Child Development. Cara also works as a therapist for "Share - Family & Community Services", a non-profit organization in the Tri-cities area. She works with adolescents, families, couples & individuals on a wide range of issues (eg. family conflict, depression, & anxiety). She can often be found, Spring through Fall, kayaking around Indian Arm, or working on her garden, an ongoing project that seems like it will never be done!
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