Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been iden... more Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been identified as a key strategy to reduce such waste. However, reusable containers typically become worn, which may influence how consumers think and feel about reuse. The present research explored whether and how evaluations of a takeaway food service changed depending on the appearance of a reusable container. Two studies were conducted (using opportunity sampling) to (i) investigate the effects that signs of use have on people’s perceptions of reusable packaging systems using quantitative methods (Study 1) and (ii) understand the rationale underpinning these evaluations using qualitative methods (Study 2). Study 1 involved an online questionnaire where participants (n = 292) were shown images of reusable bowls for takeaway food with various levels of staining and asked to evaluate the container and the restaurant serving the food using rating scales. Study 2 involved in-person interviews whe...
Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity global... more Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity globally and many deliver interventions that seek to influence visitors' beliefs and behaviors with respect to conservation. However, despite primary studies evaluating the effect of such interventions, the overall effect of engaging with zoos and the factors that influence this effect remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effect of zoo-led interventions on knowledge, beliefs (attitudes, intentions, self-efficacy, and social norms), and behavior among zoo visitors. These outcomes were identified using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens. We identified and described the nature of zoo-led interventions in 56 studies and used the behavior change technique (BCT) taxonomy to identify 6 specific BCTs used in interventions to date. Multilevel meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive effect of engaging with zoo-led interventions on outcomes (d + = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.28-0.51). Specifically, visitors were more knowledgeable about conservation issues, held more favorable attitudes toward conservation, and reported being more likely to act for the benefit of biodiversity. No evidence of publication bias was present. Effect sizes were, however, heterogeneous and subgroup analyses revealed that the nature of the intervention or type of outcome did not explain this variance. Larger effects were, however, found in studies conducted at a single institution relative to research at multiple institutions and studies that used within-participant designs relative to between-participant designs. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how behavior change frameworks can be used to describe zoo-led interventions and supports the assertion that zoos and aquariums can promote changes in beliefs and behaviors that may help protect biodiversity.
A growing body of evidence points to relationships between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoi... more A growing body of evidence points to relationships between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking. However, studies are needed to examine (i) whether negative affect mediates the relation between insomnia and paranoid thinking, (ii) whether different types of insomnia exert different effects on paranoia, and (iii) to compare the impact of objective and self-reported sleeping difficulties. Structural equation modelling was therefore used to test competing models of the relationships between self-reported insomnia, negative affect, and paranoia. n = 348 participants completed measures of insomnia, negative affect and paranoia. A subset of these participants (n = 91) went on to monitor their sleep objectively (using a portable sleep monitor made by Zeo) for seven consecutive nights. Associations between objectively recorded sleep, negative affect, and paranoia were explored using linear regression. The findings supported a fully mediated model where self-reported delayed sleep onset, but not self-reported problems with sleep maintenance or objective measures of sleep, was directly associated with negative affect that, in turn, was associated with paranoia. There was no evidence of a direct association between delayed sleep onset or sleep maintenance problems and paranoia. Taken together, the findings point to an association between perceived (but not objective) difficulties initially falling asleep (but not maintaining sleep) and paranoid thinking; a relationship that is fully mediated by negative affect. Future research should seek to disentangle the causal relationships between sleep, negative affect, and paranoia (e.g., by examining the
Transportation Research Part F-traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Aug 1, 2021
Cycling has the potential to address a number of personal and societal challenges, not least with... more Cycling has the potential to address a number of personal and societal challenges, not least with respect to health and the need for more sustainable modes of transport. However, the best way(s) to promote cycling is still unclear. In an effort to answer this question, we identified 39 interventions designed to promote cycling, with a total sample of 46,102 participants. Random effects meta-analysis estimated a small but statistically significant effect of interventions on cycling behaviour (g+ = 0.14, 95% CI [0.05, 0.23]). To identify the most effective intervention strategies, we coded the behaviour change techniques used within each of the interventions. Interventions that prompted people to self-monitor their behaviour or added objects to the environment (e.g., provided shared bikes) were more effective than those that did not use these strategies. Interventions that restructured the physical environment (e.g., built new cycle paths) were less effective than the studies that did not do this. We also identified a number of factors that moderated the effect of the interventions on outcomes; specifically, interventions that targeted a specific group, used objective measures of cycling such as accelerometers, and that were tested using independent groups designs typically yielded stronger effects. The findings should help to guide interventions to promote cycling in the future.
Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity global... more Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity globally and many deliver interventions that seek to influence visitors' beliefs and behaviors with respect to conservation. However, despite primary studies evaluating the effect of such interventions, the overall effect of engaging with zoos and the factors that influence this effect remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effect of zoo-led interventions on knowledge, beliefs (attitudes, intentions, self-efficacy, and social norms), and behavior among zoo visitors. These outcomes were identified using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens. We identified and described the nature of zoo-led interventions in 56 studies and used the behavior change technique (BCT) taxonomy to identify 6 specific BCTs used in interventions to date. Multilevel meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive effect of engaging with zoo-led interventions on outcomes (d + = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.28-0.51). Specifically, visitors were more knowledgeable about conservation issues, held more favorable attitudes toward conservation, and reported being more likely to act for the benefit of biodiversity. No evidence of publication bias was present. Effect sizes were, however, heterogeneous and subgroup analyses revealed that the nature of the intervention or type of outcome did not explain this variance. Larger effects were, however, found in studies conducted at a single institution relative to research at multiple institutions and studies that used within-participant designs relative to between-participant designs. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how behavior change frameworks can be used to describe zoo-led interventions and supports the assertion that zoos and aquariums can promote changes in beliefs and behaviors that may help protect biodiversity.
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Jul 17, 2023
Despite research indicating that responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit can he... more Despite research indicating that responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit can help people to achieve their goals, there is evidence that people often struggle to respond with self-compassion when it would benefit them. One reason is that people may not be familiar with the concept of self-compassion or may think negatively of self-compassion. We propose that providing information about self-compassion and its benefits can help people to respond with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit. To test this, we randomly assigned participants to a self-compassion psychoeducation condition or control condition and then tested whether they responded with self-compassion to a recalled lapse. The results suggested that, although psychoeducation seemed to influence participants’ beliefs about self-compassion, there was no evidence that psychoeducation increased self-compassionate responding. This finding highlights the need to develop additional strategies to help people to translate knowledge about self-compassion into self-compassionate responses to lapses and difficulties.
Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Dec 7, 2015
Background: This paper reports the results of a repeat trial assessing the effectiveness of an on... more Background: This paper reports the results of a repeat trial assessing the effectiveness of an online theory-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in new university students. The original trial found that the intervention reduced the number of smokers at 6-month follow-up compared with the control condition, but had non-significant effects on the other targeted health behaviours. However, the original trial suffered from low levels of engagement, which the repeat trial sought to rectify. Methods: Three weeks before staring university, all incoming undergraduate students at a large university in the UK were sent an email inviting them to participate in the study. After completing a baseline questionnaire, participants were randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions. The intervention consisted of a self-affirmation manipulation, health messages based on the theory of planned behaviour and implementation intention tasks. Participants were followed-up 1 and 6 months after starting university. The primary outcome measures were portions of fruit and vegetables consumed, physical activity levels, units of alcohol consumed and smoking status at 6-month follow-up. Results: The study recruited 2,621 students (intervention n = 1346, control n = 1275), of whom 1495 completed at least one follow-up (intervention n = 696, control n = 799). Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that the intervention had a non-significant effect on the primary outcomes, although the effect of the intervention on fruit and vegetable intake was significant in the per-protocol analyses. Secondary analyses revealed that the intervention had significant effects on having smoked at university (self-report) and on a biochemical marker of alcohol use. Conclusions: Despite successfully increasing levels of engagement, the intervention did not have a significant effect on the primary outcome measures. The relatively weak effects of the intervention, found in both the original and repeat trials, may be due to the focus on multiple versus single health behaviours. Future interventions targeting the health behaviour of new university students should therefore focus on single health behaviours.
Background. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, increases when students ente... more Background. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, increases when students enter university. This study tests whether combining messages based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with instructions to form implementation intentions reduces the frequency of binge drinking in new university students. Methods. Students (N = 415) were recruited at the end of their first month at university and randomly assigned to condition in a 2 (TPB messages) × 2 (implementation intention) factorial design. Cognitions about binge drinking, as specified by the TPB, were assessed immediately post-intervention. Frequency of binge drinking was assessed one month later (n = 205). Findings. Participants who received the messages had significantly weaker intentions to engage in binge drinking (d = 0.32) and less favourable cognitions about binge drinking (affective attitude, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) than those who did not receive the messages. One month later, participants who were instructed to form an implementation intention to avoid binge drinking reported fewer instances of binge drinking (d = 0.37), although this effect only approached significance (p < .10). The main effect of messages on the frequency of binge drinking at follow-up and the interaction between messages and implementation intentions were non-significant. Discussion. The findings provide some support for the use of interventions based on the TPB to reduce intentions to engage in binge drinking and for forming implementation intentions to reduce the frequency of binge drinking in new university students. However, no evidence was found for the synergistic effect of combing the two interventions.
Free training materials for mental health professionals to help their clients to achieve their go... more Free training materials for mental health professionals to help their clients to achieve their goals.
Background. Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST) proposes that behaviour is determined by intent... more Background. Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST) proposes that behaviour is determined by intention, which is predicted by beliefs about the connectedness (likelihood), temporality and valence of behavioural outcomes. The link between intention and behaviour is hypothesized to be moderated by behavioural prepotency (BPP) and self-regulatory capacity (SRC), which also directly influence behaviour. This study aimed to test these relationships for healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour. Methods. An online survey measured the key components of TST for fruit and vegetable intake (N = 139) or unhealthy snacking (N = 128), i.e., connectedness, temporality and valence beliefs, intention, BPP (past behaviour, habit) and SRC (self-control). Eating behaviour was assessed one week later. Findings. TST explained 23% of variance in fruit and vegetable intentions and 22% of the variance in snacking intentions. TST explained 46% of the variance in fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up, with inte...
A new unobtrusive measure of prejudice is proposed based on an advice-taking task. The computerba... more A new unobtrusive measure of prejudice is proposed based on an advice-taking task. The computerbased task requires participants to find a token hidden behind one of two boxes. Prior to making their choice, however, someone (depicted by a name or a face) provides advice as to the token's location. An unobtrusive measure of prejudice is derived by manipulating the advice-giver's social group (e.g., male or female, Asian or White) and comparing the proportions of advice taken from each group. In Experiment 1, although the participants were not aware of it, they took more advice from males than from females. In Experiment 2, the relative proportion of advice taken from Asian versus White advice-givers correlated with responses to a news story pertaining to Asians. In Experiment 3, the relative proportion of advice taken from Asian versus White advice-givers correlated with scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and predicted discriminatory behaviour, as indexed by the lost e-mail technique, better than other measures. In Experiment 4, scores on the advice task were uncontaminated by social desirability concerns and reactance and reflected the relative amounts of trust that people placed in different social groups. Taken together, these findings suggest that the advice task may be a useful tool for researchers seeking an unobtrusive measure of prejudice with predictive validity.
Background: Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with problems sleeping being associated with... more Background: Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with problems sleeping being associated with a variety of mental health di culties. Recently, insomnia has been linked with the experience of paranoia, a relationship that is likely to be mediated by negative a ect. Given these links, the present research aimed to test whether a self-help intervention designed to improve sleep can also improve negative a ect and paranoia. Method: Participants were recruited from a mailing list of University sta and were randomly allocated to one of three conditions; a wait-list control group, an active control group who completed a sleep diary each day for 6 weeks, and an experimental group who received an online self-help intervention targeting sleep problems alongside the same sleep diary. Levels of insomnia, negative a ect, and paranoia were measured at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 4-and 18-weeks post-intervention. Results: There were no signi cant di erences between the groups on levels of insomnia, negative a ect, and/or paranoid thinking at post-intervention, 4-weeks, or the 18-week follow-up. However, a relatively large number of participants dropped out of the study, particularly in the intervention group, which meant that the primary analysis was underpowered. Conclusion: Due to a high level of participant dropout, the ndings from the present research are inconclusive, and suggest that retaining participants in trials of online interventions is a signi cant challenge that needs to be addressed in future research.
Self-regulation is the process by which people direct their thoughts, feelings, and actions in or... more Self-regulation is the process by which people direct their thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to achieve their goals. For example, how does a person control their alcohol consumption or remember to feed the cat? A starting point for understanding self-regulation is the concept of intention, which is assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence behaviour. However, recent experimental evidence suggests that a ‘medium-to-large’ change in intention leads only to a ‘small-to-medium’ change in subsequent behaviour. Investigation of the volitional issues that people face when trying to act on their intentions reveals that intentions are more likely to be translated into behaviour if they are supplemented with specific plans about when, where, and how to perform be aviour (known as ‘implementation intentions’, Gollwitzer, 1999). Furthermore, there is evidence that motivation and volition interact such that implementation intentions only benefit self-regulation when respective goal intentions are strong and activated. The final part of this review considers evidence for two mechanisms which may underlie the beneficial effects of implementation intentions; namely, heightened accessibility of specified situational cues and strong cue-response linkages.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Dec 19, 2018
This is a repository copy of Diversity may help the uninterested: Evidence that exposure to count... more This is a repository copy of Diversity may help the uninterested: Evidence that exposure to counter-stereotypes promotes cognitive reflection for people low (but not high) in need for cognition.
Responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit helps people to achieve their goals, ye... more Responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit helps people to achieve their goals, yet evidence suggests that some people struggle to respond with self-compassion. The current research proposes that social cognition models such the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Prototype Willingness Model could explain why some people, such as those high in perfectionistic concerns, struggle to respond with self-compassion. We therefore conducted a pre-registered prospective study that measured participants' beliefs about self-compassion, difficulties enacting self-compassionate responding, perfectionistic concerns, and then tested their ability to be self-compassionate in response to a recalled and future lapse. The results showed that participants were less likely to respond with self-compassion to lapses if they held negative beliefs about self-compassion and experienced difficulties enacting self-compassion. Participants high in perfectionistic concerns were more likely to have negative beliefs about self-compassion and experience difficulties enacting self-compassion. Together, these findings provide evidence that social cognition models can be used to understand self-compassionate responding and identify why some people struggle to respond with self-compassion to goal lapses.
Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been iden... more Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been identified as a key strategy to reduce such waste. However, reusable containers typically become worn, which may influence how consumers think and feel about reuse. The present research explored whether and how evaluations of a takeaway food service changed depending on the appearance of a reusable container. Two studies were conducted (using opportunity sampling) to (i) investigate the effects that signs of use have on people’s perceptions of reusable packaging systems using quantitative methods (Study 1) and (ii) understand the rationale underpinning these evaluations using qualitative methods (Study 2). Study 1 involved an online questionnaire where participants (n = 292) were shown images of reusable bowls for takeaway food with various levels of staining and asked to evaluate the container and the restaurant serving the food using rating scales. Study 2 involved in-person interviews whe...
Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity global... more Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity globally and many deliver interventions that seek to influence visitors&#39; beliefs and behaviors with respect to conservation. However, despite primary studies evaluating the effect of such interventions, the overall effect of engaging with zoos and the factors that influence this effect remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effect of zoo-led interventions on knowledge, beliefs (attitudes, intentions, self-efficacy, and social norms), and behavior among zoo visitors. These outcomes were identified using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens. We identified and described the nature of zoo-led interventions in 56 studies and used the behavior change technique (BCT) taxonomy to identify 6 specific BCTs used in interventions to date. Multilevel meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive effect of engaging with zoo-led interventions on outcomes (d + = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.28-0.51). Specifically, visitors were more knowledgeable about conservation issues, held more favorable attitudes toward conservation, and reported being more likely to act for the benefit of biodiversity. No evidence of publication bias was present. Effect sizes were, however, heterogeneous and subgroup analyses revealed that the nature of the intervention or type of outcome did not explain this variance. Larger effects were, however, found in studies conducted at a single institution relative to research at multiple institutions and studies that used within-participant designs relative to between-participant designs. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how behavior change frameworks can be used to describe zoo-led interventions and supports the assertion that zoos and aquariums can promote changes in beliefs and behaviors that may help protect biodiversity.
A growing body of evidence points to relationships between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoi... more A growing body of evidence points to relationships between insomnia, negative affect, and paranoid thinking. However, studies are needed to examine (i) whether negative affect mediates the relation between insomnia and paranoid thinking, (ii) whether different types of insomnia exert different effects on paranoia, and (iii) to compare the impact of objective and self-reported sleeping difficulties. Structural equation modelling was therefore used to test competing models of the relationships between self-reported insomnia, negative affect, and paranoia. n = 348 participants completed measures of insomnia, negative affect and paranoia. A subset of these participants (n = 91) went on to monitor their sleep objectively (using a portable sleep monitor made by Zeo) for seven consecutive nights. Associations between objectively recorded sleep, negative affect, and paranoia were explored using linear regression. The findings supported a fully mediated model where self-reported delayed sleep onset, but not self-reported problems with sleep maintenance or objective measures of sleep, was directly associated with negative affect that, in turn, was associated with paranoia. There was no evidence of a direct association between delayed sleep onset or sleep maintenance problems and paranoia. Taken together, the findings point to an association between perceived (but not objective) difficulties initially falling asleep (but not maintaining sleep) and paranoid thinking; a relationship that is fully mediated by negative affect. Future research should seek to disentangle the causal relationships between sleep, negative affect, and paranoia (e.g., by examining the
Transportation Research Part F-traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Aug 1, 2021
Cycling has the potential to address a number of personal and societal challenges, not least with... more Cycling has the potential to address a number of personal and societal challenges, not least with respect to health and the need for more sustainable modes of transport. However, the best way(s) to promote cycling is still unclear. In an effort to answer this question, we identified 39 interventions designed to promote cycling, with a total sample of 46,102 participants. Random effects meta-analysis estimated a small but statistically significant effect of interventions on cycling behaviour (g+ = 0.14, 95% CI [0.05, 0.23]). To identify the most effective intervention strategies, we coded the behaviour change techniques used within each of the interventions. Interventions that prompted people to self-monitor their behaviour or added objects to the environment (e.g., provided shared bikes) were more effective than those that did not use these strategies. Interventions that restructured the physical environment (e.g., built new cycle paths) were less effective than the studies that did not do this. We also identified a number of factors that moderated the effect of the interventions on outcomes; specifically, interventions that targeted a specific group, used objective measures of cycling such as accelerometers, and that were tested using independent groups designs typically yielded stronger effects. The findings should help to guide interventions to promote cycling in the future.
Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity global... more Zoos and aquariums are well placed to connect visitors with the issues facing biodiversity globally and many deliver interventions that seek to influence visitors' beliefs and behaviors with respect to conservation. However, despite primary studies evaluating the effect of such interventions, the overall effect of engaging with zoos and the factors that influence this effect remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effect of zoo-led interventions on knowledge, beliefs (attitudes, intentions, self-efficacy, and social norms), and behavior among zoo visitors. These outcomes were identified using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a theoretical lens. We identified and described the nature of zoo-led interventions in 56 studies and used the behavior change technique (BCT) taxonomy to identify 6 specific BCTs used in interventions to date. Multilevel meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive effect of engaging with zoo-led interventions on outcomes (d + = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.28-0.51). Specifically, visitors were more knowledgeable about conservation issues, held more favorable attitudes toward conservation, and reported being more likely to act for the benefit of biodiversity. No evidence of publication bias was present. Effect sizes were, however, heterogeneous and subgroup analyses revealed that the nature of the intervention or type of outcome did not explain this variance. Larger effects were, however, found in studies conducted at a single institution relative to research at multiple institutions and studies that used within-participant designs relative to between-participant designs. Taken together, these findings demonstrate how behavior change frameworks can be used to describe zoo-led interventions and supports the assertion that zoos and aquariums can promote changes in beliefs and behaviors that may help protect biodiversity.
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Jul 17, 2023
Despite research indicating that responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit can he... more Despite research indicating that responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit can help people to achieve their goals, there is evidence that people often struggle to respond with self-compassion when it would benefit them. One reason is that people may not be familiar with the concept of self-compassion or may think negatively of self-compassion. We propose that providing information about self-compassion and its benefits can help people to respond with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit. To test this, we randomly assigned participants to a self-compassion psychoeducation condition or control condition and then tested whether they responded with self-compassion to a recalled lapse. The results suggested that, although psychoeducation seemed to influence participants’ beliefs about self-compassion, there was no evidence that psychoeducation increased self-compassionate responding. This finding highlights the need to develop additional strategies to help people to translate knowledge about self-compassion into self-compassionate responses to lapses and difficulties.
Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Dec 7, 2015
Background: This paper reports the results of a repeat trial assessing the effectiveness of an on... more Background: This paper reports the results of a repeat trial assessing the effectiveness of an online theory-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours in new university students. The original trial found that the intervention reduced the number of smokers at 6-month follow-up compared with the control condition, but had non-significant effects on the other targeted health behaviours. However, the original trial suffered from low levels of engagement, which the repeat trial sought to rectify. Methods: Three weeks before staring university, all incoming undergraduate students at a large university in the UK were sent an email inviting them to participate in the study. After completing a baseline questionnaire, participants were randomly allocated to intervention or control conditions. The intervention consisted of a self-affirmation manipulation, health messages based on the theory of planned behaviour and implementation intention tasks. Participants were followed-up 1 and 6 months after starting university. The primary outcome measures were portions of fruit and vegetables consumed, physical activity levels, units of alcohol consumed and smoking status at 6-month follow-up. Results: The study recruited 2,621 students (intervention n = 1346, control n = 1275), of whom 1495 completed at least one follow-up (intervention n = 696, control n = 799). Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that the intervention had a non-significant effect on the primary outcomes, although the effect of the intervention on fruit and vegetable intake was significant in the per-protocol analyses. Secondary analyses revealed that the intervention had significant effects on having smoked at university (self-report) and on a biochemical marker of alcohol use. Conclusions: Despite successfully increasing levels of engagement, the intervention did not have a significant effect on the primary outcome measures. The relatively weak effects of the intervention, found in both the original and repeat trials, may be due to the focus on multiple versus single health behaviours. Future interventions targeting the health behaviour of new university students should therefore focus on single health behaviours.
Background. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, increases when students ente... more Background. Excessive alcohol consumption, including binge drinking, increases when students enter university. This study tests whether combining messages based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) with instructions to form implementation intentions reduces the frequency of binge drinking in new university students. Methods. Students (N = 415) were recruited at the end of their first month at university and randomly assigned to condition in a 2 (TPB messages) × 2 (implementation intention) factorial design. Cognitions about binge drinking, as specified by the TPB, were assessed immediately post-intervention. Frequency of binge drinking was assessed one month later (n = 205). Findings. Participants who received the messages had significantly weaker intentions to engage in binge drinking (d = 0.32) and less favourable cognitions about binge drinking (affective attitude, descriptive norms, and self-efficacy) than those who did not receive the messages. One month later, participants who were instructed to form an implementation intention to avoid binge drinking reported fewer instances of binge drinking (d = 0.37), although this effect only approached significance (p < .10). The main effect of messages on the frequency of binge drinking at follow-up and the interaction between messages and implementation intentions were non-significant. Discussion. The findings provide some support for the use of interventions based on the TPB to reduce intentions to engage in binge drinking and for forming implementation intentions to reduce the frequency of binge drinking in new university students. However, no evidence was found for the synergistic effect of combing the two interventions.
Free training materials for mental health professionals to help their clients to achieve their go... more Free training materials for mental health professionals to help their clients to achieve their goals.
Background. Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST) proposes that behaviour is determined by intent... more Background. Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (TST) proposes that behaviour is determined by intention, which is predicted by beliefs about the connectedness (likelihood), temporality and valence of behavioural outcomes. The link between intention and behaviour is hypothesized to be moderated by behavioural prepotency (BPP) and self-regulatory capacity (SRC), which also directly influence behaviour. This study aimed to test these relationships for healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour. Methods. An online survey measured the key components of TST for fruit and vegetable intake (N = 139) or unhealthy snacking (N = 128), i.e., connectedness, temporality and valence beliefs, intention, BPP (past behaviour, habit) and SRC (self-control). Eating behaviour was assessed one week later. Findings. TST explained 23% of variance in fruit and vegetable intentions and 22% of the variance in snacking intentions. TST explained 46% of the variance in fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up, with inte...
A new unobtrusive measure of prejudice is proposed based on an advice-taking task. The computerba... more A new unobtrusive measure of prejudice is proposed based on an advice-taking task. The computerbased task requires participants to find a token hidden behind one of two boxes. Prior to making their choice, however, someone (depicted by a name or a face) provides advice as to the token's location. An unobtrusive measure of prejudice is derived by manipulating the advice-giver's social group (e.g., male or female, Asian or White) and comparing the proportions of advice taken from each group. In Experiment 1, although the participants were not aware of it, they took more advice from males than from females. In Experiment 2, the relative proportion of advice taken from Asian versus White advice-givers correlated with responses to a news story pertaining to Asians. In Experiment 3, the relative proportion of advice taken from Asian versus White advice-givers correlated with scores on the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and predicted discriminatory behaviour, as indexed by the lost e-mail technique, better than other measures. In Experiment 4, scores on the advice task were uncontaminated by social desirability concerns and reactance and reflected the relative amounts of trust that people placed in different social groups. Taken together, these findings suggest that the advice task may be a useful tool for researchers seeking an unobtrusive measure of prejudice with predictive validity.
Background: Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with problems sleeping being associated with... more Background: Sleep and mental health go hand-in-hand, with problems sleeping being associated with a variety of mental health di culties. Recently, insomnia has been linked with the experience of paranoia, a relationship that is likely to be mediated by negative a ect. Given these links, the present research aimed to test whether a self-help intervention designed to improve sleep can also improve negative a ect and paranoia. Method: Participants were recruited from a mailing list of University sta and were randomly allocated to one of three conditions; a wait-list control group, an active control group who completed a sleep diary each day for 6 weeks, and an experimental group who received an online self-help intervention targeting sleep problems alongside the same sleep diary. Levels of insomnia, negative a ect, and paranoia were measured at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 4-and 18-weeks post-intervention. Results: There were no signi cant di erences between the groups on levels of insomnia, negative a ect, and/or paranoid thinking at post-intervention, 4-weeks, or the 18-week follow-up. However, a relatively large number of participants dropped out of the study, particularly in the intervention group, which meant that the primary analysis was underpowered. Conclusion: Due to a high level of participant dropout, the ndings from the present research are inconclusive, and suggest that retaining participants in trials of online interventions is a signi cant challenge that needs to be addressed in future research.
Self-regulation is the process by which people direct their thoughts, feelings, and actions in or... more Self-regulation is the process by which people direct their thoughts, feelings, and actions in order to achieve their goals. For example, how does a person control their alcohol consumption or remember to feed the cat? A starting point for understanding self-regulation is the concept of intention, which is assumed to capture the motivational factors that influence behaviour. However, recent experimental evidence suggests that a ‘medium-to-large’ change in intention leads only to a ‘small-to-medium’ change in subsequent behaviour. Investigation of the volitional issues that people face when trying to act on their intentions reveals that intentions are more likely to be translated into behaviour if they are supplemented with specific plans about when, where, and how to perform be aviour (known as ‘implementation intentions’, Gollwitzer, 1999). Furthermore, there is evidence that motivation and volition interact such that implementation intentions only benefit self-regulation when respective goal intentions are strong and activated. The final part of this review considers evidence for two mechanisms which may underlie the beneficial effects of implementation intentions; namely, heightened accessibility of specified situational cues and strong cue-response linkages.
Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Dec 19, 2018
This is a repository copy of Diversity may help the uninterested: Evidence that exposure to count... more This is a repository copy of Diversity may help the uninterested: Evidence that exposure to counter-stereotypes promotes cognitive reflection for people low (but not high) in need for cognition.
Responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit helps people to achieve their goals, ye... more Responding with self-compassion to lapses in goal pursuit helps people to achieve their goals, yet evidence suggests that some people struggle to respond with self-compassion. The current research proposes that social cognition models such the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Prototype Willingness Model could explain why some people, such as those high in perfectionistic concerns, struggle to respond with self-compassion. We therefore conducted a pre-registered prospective study that measured participants' beliefs about self-compassion, difficulties enacting self-compassionate responding, perfectionistic concerns, and then tested their ability to be self-compassionate in response to a recalled and future lapse. The results showed that participants were less likely to respond with self-compassion to lapses if they held negative beliefs about self-compassion and experienced difficulties enacting self-compassion. Participants high in perfectionistic concerns were more likely to have negative beliefs about self-compassion and experience difficulties enacting self-compassion. Together, these findings provide evidence that social cognition models can be used to understand self-compassionate responding and identify why some people struggle to respond with self-compassion to goal lapses.
Previous research has linked exposure to counter-stereotypical diversity (e.g., a female mechanic... more Previous research has linked exposure to counter-stereotypical diversity (e.g., a female mechanic, a Harvard-educated carpenter) to enhanced cognitive outcomes, such as cognitive flexibility and creativity. However, more recent findings suggest that the effects of exposure to counter-stereotypes (CSTs) on cognitive performance may depend on individual differences. In the present work, we explored a novel and theoretically important moderator of the effect of exposure to CSTs on cognitive flexibility: Need for Cognition (NFC), also known as epistemic / intellectual curiosity. Across three experiments (N = 887), we found support for the prediction that people low in NFC cognitively benefit from exposure to CSTs (d = .36), while people high in NFC showed decreased cognitive flexibility after being exposed to CSTs (d = -.21). This suggests that individuals’ motivation to engage in cognitive activity may be an important consideration for CST interventions. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.
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Papers by Thomas L Webb