Victoria Campbell-Arvai

I am an interdisciplinary scholar who seeks to explore theoretically interesting questions with an applied twist.  My research focuses on how people do (and do not) use information to form judgments, make decisions, and adopt environmentally significant behaviors.  I use mixed methods to explore these questions (surveys, survey-based experiments, focus groups and interviews), as well as though community-engaged participatory research.  I have worked primarily in three main contexts: Food, Energy & Climate, and Urban Ecosystems/Ecosystem Services, and have recently expanded the scope of my work to include conservation-related topics in freshwater & marine ecosystems, and human-nature interactions.  I hold a BSc (Trent University), a MSc in Ecology (UBC), and a PhD in Environmental Science and Policy from Michigan State University.  Prior to joining the Environmental Studies Program at USC, I worked as a Research Scientist at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment & Sustainability and was a Postdoctoral Associate in the University of Calgary’s Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE) and Department of Geography.

I also love teaching!  From the start of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to teach in the Biological and Social Sciences.  Here at USC Dornsife I am currently teaching ENST 100 (Introduction to Environmental Studies), GESM 130 (Seminar in Social Analysis – Nudging for Behavior Change), ENST 486 (Social Science Research Methods), and ENST 405: “Public Engagement for Nature Conservation.”

Selected Publications:

Campbell-Arvai, V., Vergel, R. S., Lindquist, M., Fox, N., & Van Berkel, D. (2024). Tree selection for a virtual urban park: Comparing aided and unaided decision-making to support public engagement in greenspace design. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 99, 128447. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128447 

Hart, P. S., Campbell-Arvai, V., Wolske, K. S., & Raimi, K. T. (2022). Moral hazard or not? The effects of learning about carbon dioxide removal on perceptions of climate mitigation in the United States. Energy Research & Social Science, 89, 102656. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102656 

Fox, N., Campbell-Arvai, V., Lindquist, M., Van Berkel, D., & Serrano Vergel, R. (2022). Gamifying Decision Support Systems to Promote Inclusive and Engaged Urban Resilience Planning. Urban Planning, 7, 2183-7635. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v7i2.4987 

Guo, T., Campbell-Arvai, V., & Cardinale, B. J. (2021). Why does the public support or oppose agricultural nutrient runoff regulations? The effects of political orientation, environmental worldview, and policy specific beliefs. Journal of Environmental Management, 279, 111708. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111708

Linder, J. & Campbell-Arvai V. (2021).  Uncertainty in the “new normal”: Understanding the role of climate change beliefs and perceptions in Michigan tree fruit growers’ adaptation behaviors.  Weather, Climate, and Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-20-0058.1

Lindquist, M., & Campbell-Arvai, V. (2021). Co-designing vacant lots using interactive 3D visualizations – Development and application of the Land.Info DSS. Landscape and Urban Planning, 210, 104082. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104082

Campbell-Arvai, V. & Lindquist, M. (2021). From the ground up: Using structured community engagement to identify objectives for urban green infrastructure planning. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 59, 127013. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127013

Raimi, K.T., K.S. Wolske, P. S. Hart, and V. Campbell-Arvai. 2020. The Aversion to Tampering with Nature (ATN) Scale: Individual Differences in (Dis)comfort with Altering the Natural World. Risk Analysis. doi:10.1111/risa.13414

Wolske, K.S., K.T. Raimi, P.S. Hart and V. Campbell-Arvai.  2019.  Public support for carbon dioxide removal strategies: The role of tampering with nature.  Climatic Change  152: 345-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02375-z

Campbell-Arvai, V.  2018.  Engaging urban nature: improving our understanding of public perceptions of the role of urban biodiversity.  Urban Ecosystems 22: 409-423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0821-3

Campbell-Arvai, V., P.S. Hart, K.T. Raimi, and K.S. Wolske. 2017. The influence of learning about carbon dioxide removal (CDR) on support for mitigation policies. Climatic Change 143(3-4): 321-336.

Bessette, D. L., V. Campbell-Arvai, and J.L. Arvai. 2016. Expanding the reach of participatory risk management: Testing an online decision-aiding framework for informing internally consistent choices.  Risk Analysis 36(5):992-1005. DOI: 10.1111/risa.12481

Campbell-Arvai, V. 2015. Food-related environmental beliefs and behaviours: A mixed-methods study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 16(3): 279-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2013-0071

Bessette, D. L., J.L. Arvai, and V. Campbell-Arvai. 2014. Decision support framework for developing regional energy strategies. Environmental Science & Technology 48 (3): 1401–1408.  DOI: 10.1021/es4036286   

Past Professional Appointments:  

2015-2020:     Research Scientist, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan

2012-2015:     Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy & Department of Geography, University of Calgary.

2006-2011:     PhD Program, Environmental Science and Policy, Michigan State University

2003-2005:     Instructor, Biological Sciences, Columbus State Community College

2002-2003:     Research Scientist, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University

1996-2001:     Instructional Faculty, First-Year Biology Program, University of British Columbia