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DR PHILLIPPA LALLY
Research Associate in Health Psychology
EXPERTISE
Habitual behaviour, particularly habit formation.
Weight control in adults.
Social norms for eating behaviour.
RESEARCH
Research interests
My principle area of interest is habit formation. My PhD tested the utility of habit formation theory for designing behaviour change advice for weight loss. This involved testing a weight loss intervention based on
habit-theory and also examined the process of habit development for diet and activity behaviours. A randomised controlled trial of habit-based weight loss advice compared with a no-treatment
control group showed significantly greater weight loss in the intervention group (over 8 weeks), which was maintained over follow up (a further 6 months). The recommended behaviours also became increasingly automatic.
In another study I tracked changes in automaticity over three months as volunteers repeated one eating or activity behaviour in a consistent context on a daily basis. The results of this study showed that simple advice
can result in habit formation and developed a methodology for modelling the habit formation process on an individual basis. This research has contributed to the understanding of habit
formation and shown that it may be a useful foundation for simple, easily disseminable, weight loss interventions. I plan to build on these findings in future studies.
Current grants
I currently hold an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. As part of this I spent a month at Duke University in North Carolina working with Professor Wendy Wood and have presented the results from my PhD at conferences and
workshops. I am now focusing on writing papers relating to my PhD work.
BIOGRAPHY
Appointments
2007- Research Associate
Qualifications
2007 PhD in Health Psychology, University College London
2004 MSc in Health Psychology, University College London
2002 BSc in Psychology, University of Warwick
Other
I am currently working towards my Stage 2 qualification in Health Psychology.
PUBLICATIONS
This page last modified 25 May, 2010 by Mark Livermore |
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CONTACT DETAILS
Telephone:
+44 (0)20 7679 8254
Internal: x48254
Fax: +44 (0)20 7679 8354
Email: p.lally@ucl.ac.uk
Postal address: Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, UCL, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
Office: Room 209, 1-19 Torrington Place, WC1E 7HB
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