Dr Thomas Webb BA, MSc, PhD
Address:
University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TP
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)114 22 26516
Fax: (+44) (0)114 22 26515
Email: T.Webb@sheffield.ac.uk
Teaching and administrative duties
I am module organiser for PSY330: The Psychology of Goals and Goal Striving. I am also Learning and Teaching Development Champion and responsible for student evaluation of teaching. In addition, I am a member of the Psychology Management Group, Psychology Teaching Committee and Ethics Sub-Committee.
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. As a result, much of my research to date has investigated how the effects of motivation can be boosted by forming specific plans - known as "implementation intentions" - that link good opportunities to act with suitable responses to those opportunities.
Current research
In Summer 2011 I was awarded an ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (£700k) to investigate the role of monitoring (and not monitoring) in goal striving. The project proposes that there is an 'ostrich problem' such that people bury their heads in the sand and fail to monitor the relation between their current behaviour and their desired behaviour.
I also co-lead (with Prof Paschal Sheeran) the social psychology node of a large (£2.9 million) ESRC grant on 'Emotion regulation of others and self' (EROS). Our part of the project examines whether emotion regulation strategies and goals can be processed automatically.
I also co-lead (with Dr Chris Jones) the psychology node of a large (£7 million) ERDF grant called 'The Big Energy Upgrade'. Our part of the project investigates the behavioural aspects of household energy efficiency interventions.
Finally, I am involved in a grant funded by the John Templeton Foundation (£272k) titled 'Enacting virtue, controlling vice: Testing three strategies for overcoming unconscious influences and translating good intentions into action' (lead by Prof Paschal Sheeran), and a grant funded by the MRC National Prevention Research Initiative (£486k) titled 'Time to change! Using the transition from school to university to promote healthy lifestyle habits in young people' (lead by Dr Paul Norman).
Professional activities
I am Associate Editor at the European Journal of Social Psychology and on the Editorial Boards of the British Journal of Health Psychology, Psychology & Health, Health Psychology Review, and Motivation and Emotion
Selected publications
Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (in press). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin. PDF
Webb, T. L., Sheeran, P., Totterdell, P., Miles, E. M., Mansell, W., & Baker, S. (in press). Overcoming the effect of mood on risky and impulsive behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology. PDF
Webb, T. L., Sheeran, P., & Pepper, J. (2012). Gaining control over responses to implicit attitude tests: Implementation intentions engender fast responses on attitude-incongruent trials. British Journal of Social Psychology, 51, 13-32. PDF
Webb, T. L. (2011). Advice taking as an unobtrusive measure of prejudice. Behavior Research Methods, 43, 953-963. PDF
Gollwitzer, P. M., Sheeran, P., Trotschel, R., & Webb T. L. (2011). Self-regulation of priming effects on behavior. Psychological Science, 22, 901-907. PDF
Varley, R., Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2011). Making self-help more helpful: A randomized controlled trial of the impact of augmenting self-help materials with implementation intentions on promoting the effective self-management of anxiety symptoms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 123-128. PDF
Webb, T. L., Ononaiye, M. S. P., Sheeran, P., Reidy, J. G., & Lavda, A. (2010). Using implementation intentions to overcome the effects of social anxiety on attention and appraisals of performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 612-627. PDF
Webb, T. L., Joseph, J., Yardley, L., & Michie, S. (2010). Using the internet to promote health behavior change: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of theoretical basis, use of behavior change techniques, and mode of delivery on efficacy. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12, e4. PDF
Webb, T. L., Sniehotta, F. F., & Michie, S. (2010). Using theories of behavior change to inform interventions for addictive behaviors. Addiction, 105, 1879-1892. PDF
Webb, T. L., Sheeran, P., & Luszczynska, A. (2009). Planning to break unwanted habits: Habit strength moderates implementation intention effects on behaviour change. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48, 507-523. PDF
Goodman, R., Webb, T. L., & Stewart, A. J. (2009). Communicating stereotype-relevant information: Is factual information subject to the same communication biases as fictional information? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 836-852. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2008). Mechanisms of implementation intention effects: The role of goal intentions, self-efficacy, and accessibility of plan components. British Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 373-395. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2007). How do implementation intentions promote goal attainment? A test of component processes. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 295-302. PDF
Webb, T. L., Christian, J., & Armitage, C. J. (2007). Helping students turn up for class: Does personality moderate the effectiveness of an implementation intention intervention. Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 316-327. PDF
Poliakoff, E., & Webb, T. L. (2007). What factors predict scientists' intentions to participate in public engagement of science events? Science Communication, 29, 242-263. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 249-268. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2005). Integrating concepts from goal theories to understand the achievement of personal goals. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 69-96. PDF
Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). The interplay between goal and implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 87-98. PDF
Sheeran, P., Aarts, H., Custers, R., Rivis, A., Webb, T. L., & Cooke, R. (2005). The goal-dependent automaticity of drinking habits. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 47-63. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2004). Identifying good opportunities to act: Implementation intentions and cue discrimination. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 407-419. PDF
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2003). Can implementation intentions help to overcome ego-depletion? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 279-286. PDF