Our applied areas range from physical activity and healthy diet to work performance and well-being. Our mission is to develop both theory and methodology in the study of human motivation, attitudes and behaviour change.
The research group also coordinates a monthly seminar for researchers interested in Behaviour Change, Health and Well-being (BeaCHWeB). Please see the BeaCHWeB website for more information!
Here we portray some current topics in our group's interests.
We are passionate about improving our understanding of motivation - both at individual level and at an interpersonal level. We study the techniques people themselves can use in managing their own motivation and behaviour. For example, we examine how people are able to agentically shield their motivation in negative social environments.
A wealth of research has shown that people's behaviour is largely guided by automatic, habitual processes rather than rational conscious decision making. Our group is interested in how we can use the understanding of habit formation and implicit processes in intervening to help people to improve their activity and dietary behaviours.
We are interested in investigating how people form beliefs regarding genomics, benefits of lifestyle change as well as the concept of physical activity. Lay beliefs form a key basis of motivation and attempts at lifestyle change.
Our group examines how health and human service professionals can improve their interpersonal styles to optimally promote motivation and successful behaviour change. To do this, we use qualitative and quantitative data from quasi-experimental research designs.