A Brief Guide to Behaviour Change
An introduction to understanding and implementing behaviour change. Read more about the Wales Centre for Behaviour Change.
Embracing Contact Tracing
What is Contact Tracing? In a bid to control the spread of Coronavirus, the UK government have initiated the development of ‘contact tracing’ technology. Those who become infected can report their diagnosis using a smartphone app, which will then notify anyone with whom they have had significant and recent contact. This technology is particularly useful…
Review so far: How do we improve behavioural compliance?
We’ve had several weeks of lockdown in the UK in an effort to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19. How have we performed and how can we Improve? One of the most powerful impacts on behaviour is role-modelling. We imitate and try to emulate those in authority and those we respect. However, we are also…
Internalising Motivation: Behave Because We Want To!
What is it? We often discuss either ‘having’ or ‘lacking’ motivation as a core driver of behaviour. However, motivation can also exist in several different forms which dictate not only whether we we initiate action, but also how committed we are1. There are various forms of motivation described in a framework known as the internalisation continuum2. The important…
(Keep Your) Psychological Distance
What is it? The perception of distance between ourselves and the mental representation of an object, event or action influences how we behave and think1. This can refer to spatial distance (is it geographically near or far?), temporal distance (is it now or in the future?), hypothetical distance (is it likely or unlikely to happen?) and…
Wellbeing for Frontline Staff
Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice Dr Rebecca Crane, Director CMRP In a time of crisis, frontline workers need ongoing support to help maintain wellbeing and health. Psychotherapy, counselling and mindfulness training may be of benefit after the crisis when many will need space to process the sadness, trauma and grief that they have been…
Using Social Norms to Influence Population Behaviour
What is it? At a time when the population is being urged to socially distance, it is important to recognise how social norms impact human behaviour, and how to leverage this in fighting Covid-19. Behavioural scientists define ‘social norms’ as the unwritten rules or expectations within a society or group (1), for example shaking hands…
To be offended or not to be… that is your decision
There is a sense that we, as a society, are taking offence more readily and with more passion than in previous times. Trolling on Twitter and ranting threads on Facebook are becoming more common and are often the result of one person’s opinion differing from another’s. One example of this is that, at Universities, there…
Optimal Functioning: How can we help people perform to the best of their abilities?
This boils down to effective goal achievement, and an overarching research perspective of my lab concerns the interface of motivation with cognition and behaviour. The components of interest to me are: (1) Motivation (as defined through Self-Determination theory); (2) Individual differences in future- oriented thinking (e.g. strategic optimism vs defensive pessimism); (3) Behavioural and Cognitive…
Wales Centre for Behaviour Change: Approach, Theory and Application
Voyage into Chaos One challenge for positive psychology is in providing solutions that generalize or have universal effects (particularly given its scope across the population). However, there is some evidence that not everyone benefits from the same intervention (Lyubomirsky et al., 2011). Indeed, our own work in primary schools using interventions such as Three Good…