News History
Podcast
My
applied social psychology research on ego energy and ego depletion is featured
in a
News features
October, 2 2008. I was interviewed on BBC radio West Midlands about the introduction of
photographic images on cigarette packets on 1st October 2008 and
interviewed as part of BBC Radio Five
Live’s breakfast show on the subject of initiation ceremonies in sports
clubs at Universities on.
August 5, 2008. I was interviewed as part of Simon Mayo’s show on BBC Radio Five Live on a programme
entitled “Can we really escape?”
May 22, 2008. I was interviewed for an article published the BBC online on smoking
cessation and social support.
March 4, 2008. I commented on an article published by the
Times newspaper on gym membership and the undermining effect of extrinsic
motivation.
May 29, 2009.
Interview on BBC Radio Nottingham, commented on a lighthearted news piece on what
people find attractive in a partner as part of Francis Finn’s daytime show.
May 27, 2009. Interview on BBC World Today programme on BBC World Service Radio commenting on recent survey
conducted by YouGov sponsored by the World Cancer Research Fund on people’s
health habits. The report suggests that over fifty percent of those surveyed
now ignore scientific advice as regards health/ diet and possible cancer due to
conflicting research. In the discussion my view was that messages tend to vary
according to the focus of different conditions e.g. cancer, diabetes,
hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and this may create conflicting
advice. Messages, I argue, need to be clear, consistent, and simple so that
people find the message accessible. The script of the BBC piece follows:
“Seaweed stops cancer,
glutamine MAY prevent cancer, well-done meat increases the risk of cancer ...
just three stories picked at random over the weekend talking about food and
cancer. Add to that another report. This one says the public is so fed-up with
being bombarded with mixed messages about the links between cancer and food and
drink, that most people now either don't trust or outright ignore the message
altogether. So we did our own survey -- do people pay attention to what the
food scientists say?
So too much confusing
information may seriously damage your health....or then again, maybe not.
Should anyone be surprised that
most people don't take the various conflicting health messages they're
bombarded with to heart? Dr Martin Hagger is a social and health psychologist
at
January 2, 2010. Commented on how psychology can be used to boost the success of new
year’s resolutions in a press release by www.gocompare.com. An extract from the article follows: “Dr. Martin
Hagger, an expert in Social and Health Psychology from the University of
Nottingham, suggests that people need to plan in order to achieve their
resolutions: ‘New Year’s resolutions are essentially a list of goals. These are
often unachievable or unrealistic because people fail to consider how they will
achieve them. ‘In order to break a bad habit such as smoking, or take up a
beneficial one like going to the gym, we need to consider how we can change our
behaviour. Most people are often highly motivated to make positive changes, and
make resolutions with all the right intentions, but they need to be aware of
the behaviours they need to change or introduce in order to produce the desired
outcome.’ For those people who need a little more help, Dr Hagger has prepared
a three point plan for making your New Year’s resolutions stick this year.”
The news release can be
viewed here.
Keynote addresses
I presented a keynote
address at the BPS Division
of Health Psychology Scotland Branch annual scientific meeting on 7th March
2008 entitled “Less is more, more or less: Integrated theoretical approaches to
the self-regulation of health behaviour”. A flyer of the meeting can be
downloaded here.
I presented a keynote address at the 2008 Annual Conference of The
British Psychological Society Northern Ireland Branch held at the Four Seasons
Hotel, Carlingford, Co Louth over the weekend of the 9-11th May 2008. The conference theme was Forensic,
Educational, and Health Psychology. A flyer of the meeting can be downloaded here.
I presented a keynote
address at the Leisure Studies Association annual conference on 7th-9th
July 2009 at Canterbury Christ Church University entitled “Motivation and leisure-time physical
activity”. For more details click here.
NICE Guidelines on Physical Activity and Children
The National
Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence published its public guidance on Promoting
Physical Activity for Children and Young People in January 2009. These guidelines provide
evidence-based advice and recommendations for healthcare professionals, policy
makers, governmental bodies, local partnerships, sports leaders, researchers,
and educators on children’s physical activity. I was part of the Programme Development Group (PDG) that developed the guidelines and is an important
advance in initiating physical activity among children for health and social
benefits.
Publication News
The book Social Psychology of Exercise and Sport, which I wrote with my colleague Dr. Nikos Chatzisarantis
has been translated into Japanese available
from July 2008.