Dr. Lupien is a social psychologist with areas of expertise in the psychology of the self, self-esteem and its various subcomponents, and factors that affect resilience vs. vulnerability. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Saint Michael’s College and her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Much of her graduate research examined the dark side of high self-esteem, specifically fragile high self-esteem, which has been associated with a number of defensive responses. Her research has examined the psychological experience of self-doubt that is easily activated during situations particularly relevant for validating fragile self-views, which may be responsible for the defensiveness seen among those with fragile high self-esteem.
In addition to her research, Dr. Lupien is passionate about teaching Psychology. She believes that it is a blessing to be able to interact with students and share her enjoyment of such a fascinating field of study. In her approach to teaching, she aims to inspire passion and excitement for learning as well as to foster mastery and critical thinking. The close-knit learning environment at Hilbert promotes a more personalized student-teacher relationship, which helps to facilitate these goals and allows students to become well-rounded members of the community, capable of lifelong learning.
Dr. Lupien has a number of published scholarly journal articles and has won awards for excellence in teaching from the graduate school at the University at Buffalo.
Outside of the classroom, Dr. Lupien likes spending time outdoors and being active, as well as enjoying the company of friends and family. She is also a member of a women’s arm-wrestling league whose mission is to raise awareness, empower women, and strengthen local communities through theatrics, arm wrestling, and philanthropy.