Professor Thomas Webb
BA, MSc, PhD
Department of Psychology
Professor of Psychology
Full contact details
Department of Psychology
Floor G
Cathedral Court
1 Vicar Lane
Sheffield
S1 2LT
- Research interests
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Research interests
I am a social psychologist, interested in self-regulation and behaviour change. Specifically, I am interested in how people achieve their goals and make changes to their behaviour.
The usual answer is that people need to be motivated. However, even medium-to-large changes in people's intentions seem to have only a small-to-medium effect on their behavior. In short, motivation is not enough and the road to hell is likely paved with good intentions.
As a result, much of my research to date has investigated how the effects of motivation can be boosted by strategies such as monitoring progress, responding with self-compassion to lapses, or forming specific plans - known as "implementation intentions" - that link good opportunities to act with suitable responses to those opportunities.
Current research
I work with a number of organisations on promoting behaviour change in various contexts
For example, I am interested in strategies for reducing single use plastics as part of a large multidisciplinary project that brings together scientists from across the University (read more here) and I lead the behavioural component of the Healthy Lifespan Institute, which seeks to help everyone to live healthier, independent lives for longer.
I'm also developing an action control perspective on emotion regulation (see here) and (i) investigating why people struggle to regulate their emotions and (ii) what influences the strategies that people choose to regulate their own and others emotions.
Finally, I have am working on a project with Dr Fuschia Sirois, funded by the ESRC, to investigate how to overcome the barriers to being self-compassionate.
To hear me speculate about why the owners of pets may not protect them against fleas, click here. Click on the following links to hear me talk about my research on when people take action, self-monitoring, and how to feel happier at the weekend.
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Reducing plastic waste: a meta-analysis of influences on behaviour and interventions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 380.
- This has already been used! A paradigm to measure the point at which people become unwilling to use reusable containers. Journal of Cleaner Production, 363.
- Do people choose the same strategies to regulate other people’s emotions as they choose to regulate their own?. Emotion, 22(8), 1723-1738.
- Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 60.
- Identifying the determinants of emotion regulation choice: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 35(6), 1056-1084.
- Many happy returns: combining insights from the environmental and behavioural sciences to understand what is required to make reusable packaging mainstream. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 1688-1702.
- Understanding the effects of time perspective: A meta-analysis testing a self-regulatory framework. Psychological Bulletin, 147(3), 233-267.
- Assessing and promoting the use of implementation intentions in clinical practice. Social Science & Medicine, 265.
- The effect of an online self-help cognitive behavioural intervention for insomnia on negative affect and paranoia: a randomised controlled trial. Health Psychology Bulletin, 4(1), 39-52.
- A meta-analysis of the effects of training clinicians in exposure therapy on knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Clinical Psychology Review, 80.
- The Role of Compensatory Beliefs in Rationalizing Environmentally Detrimental Behaviors. Environment and Behavior.
- Feeling bad about progress does not lead people want to change their health behaviour. Psychology and Health.
- Which Factors Are Associated with Monitoring Goal Progress?. Frontiers in Psychology. View this article in WRRO
- Using Public Transport Can Make Up for Flying Abroad on Holiday. Environment and Behavior, 47(2), 184-204.
- Antecedents and consequences of monitoring domestic electricity consumption. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 228-238.
- 'I deserve a treat!': justifications for indulgence undermine the translation of intentions into action.. Br J Soc Psychol, 53(3), 501-520.
- 'The Ostrich Problem': Motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(11), 794-807. View this article in WRRO
- Effective regulation of affect: An action control perspective on emotion regulation. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 143-186.
- Dealing With Feeling: A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Strategies Derived From the Process Model of Emotion Regulation. PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 138(4), 775-808.
- Advice-taking as an unobtrusive measure of prejudice.. Behav Res Methods, 43(4), 953-963.
All publications
Journal articles
- Reducing plastic waste: a meta-analysis of influences on behaviour and interventions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 380.
- This has already been used! A paradigm to measure the point at which people become unwilling to use reusable containers. Journal of Cleaner Production, 363.
- Do people choose the same strategies to regulate other people’s emotions as they choose to regulate their own?. Emotion, 22(8), 1723-1738.
- Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 60.
- Identifying the determinants of emotion regulation choice: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Cognition and Emotion, 35(6), 1056-1084.
- Many happy returns: combining insights from the environmental and behavioural sciences to understand what is required to make reusable packaging mainstream. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 1688-1702.
- Understanding the effects of time perspective: A meta-analysis testing a self-regulatory framework. Psychological Bulletin, 147(3), 233-267.
- Assessing and promoting the use of implementation intentions in clinical practice. Social Science & Medicine, 265.
- The effect of an online self-help cognitive behavioural intervention for insomnia on negative affect and paranoia: a randomised controlled trial. Health Psychology Bulletin, 4(1), 39-52.
- A meta-analysis of the effects of training clinicians in exposure therapy on knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Clinical Psychology Review, 80.
- The Role of Compensatory Beliefs in Rationalizing Environmentally Detrimental Behaviors. Environment and Behavior.
- Feeling bad about progress does not lead people want to change their health behaviour. Psychology and Health.
- Which Factors Are Associated with Monitoring Goal Progress?. Frontiers in Psychology. View this article in WRRO
- Using Public Transport Can Make Up for Flying Abroad on Holiday. Environment and Behavior, 47(2), 184-204.
- Antecedents and consequences of monitoring domestic electricity consumption. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 228-238.
- 'I deserve a treat!': justifications for indulgence undermine the translation of intentions into action.. Br J Soc Psychol, 53(3), 501-520.
- 'The Ostrich Problem': Motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(11), 794-807. View this article in WRRO
- Effective regulation of affect: An action control perspective on emotion regulation. European Review of Social Psychology, 23(1), 143-186.
- Dealing With Feeling: A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Strategies Derived From the Process Model of Emotion Regulation. PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 138(4), 775-808.
- Advice-taking as an unobtrusive measure of prejudice.. Behav Res Methods, 43(4), 953-963.
- Reducing plastic waste: a meta-analysis of influences on behaviour and interventions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 380.
- Research group
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Social and Behavioural Change
Current postdoctoral researchers
- Sara Bru Garcia
- Meghann Matthews
- Sophie Pott
Current postgraduate students
- Poppy James
- Xavier McNally
- Michael Pan
- Laurynas Rutkauskas
- Alisha Suhag
- Teaching activities
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I teach social psychology at Level 1 (PSY1001) and Level 2 (PSY2001) and supervise Undergraduate research projects (PSY346) and MSc projects (PSY6009 / PSY6110 / PSY6233)
- Professional activities and memberships
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I am currently Associate Editor for Psychological Bulletin and am on the Editorial Boards of:
- Cognition & Emotion
- British Journal of Health Psychology
- Health Psychology Review
- Motivation and Emotion
I was formerly Associate Editor at the British Journal of Social Psychology (2018-2019), the European Journal of Social Psychology (2010-2014) and Frontiers in Personality and Social Psychology (2016-2017).
- PhD Opportunities
I am not currently accepting applications for PhD study.