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Publications

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British Journal of Educational Studies (2026)

, Douglas Heather, Gifford Emma, Harkness Lori, MacPherson Isla, Matusiak Martyna, Summers Niamh,

(2026)

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British Journal of Educational Psychology Vol 96, pp. 270-285 (2026)

, Orr Scott, , Coyle Megan, Gallacher Megan, Hunter Amy, McGeehan Lucy, Molloy Rebecca, Noble Jessica, Peattie Lauren, Sutherland Georgia, Wilson Taylor,

Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Vol 115 (2025)

, , Rooney Robbie,

Prosthetics and Orthotics International Vol 49, pp. 60-65 (2025)

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British Journal of Educational Psychology Vol 94, pp. 328-345 (2024)

Teaching

Current and Recent Postgraduate Research (PhD) Students

• Abigail PatersonÌý(with Dr Susan Rasmussen and Dr Louise Nicholls, University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿): Implementation intentions, cognitive abilities and self-harm (full-time; 2018-present). Funded by the European and Economic Research Council (ESRC).Ìý
• Stefania PaganiÌý(with Dr Simon Hunter, University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿): Evaluation of the Mentors for Violence Prevention intervention in Scottish SchoolsÌý(full-time; 2017-present).ÌýJoint funded by the University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ (50%) and the Scottish Police Authority (50%).
• Ingeborg Storesund Hesjevoll (with Dr Beate Seibt, University of Oslo): Developing and testing volitional help sheets for increasing bicycling and walking and improving car driver safety for bicyclists and pedestrians (full-time; 2017-present). Funded by the Norwegian Research Council.
• Rebecca McCartan (with Dr Allan McGroarty, University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿): Development of cognitive dissonance-based attitude-change interventions (full-time; October 2015-present). Funded by the European and Economic Research Council (ESRC).
• Sarah Brewster (with Dr Steve Kelly, University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿): Using implementation intentions to change driver behaviour (completed in 2016). Funded by he University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿.
• Abir Abdel Rahman (with Dr Pauline Adair, Queens University): A theory-based exploration of adding sugar to beverages in Lebanese public school children (completed in 2016). Self-Funded.
• Christine McMonagle (with Dr Susan Rasmussen, Universiy of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿):ÌýThe use and usefulness of ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) for people with strokeÌý(part-time; Oct 2009 - present). Funded by the University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿.
• Shemane Murtagh (with Dr David Rowe, University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿): Understanding school travel behaviour: An application of the theory of planned behaviour and the construct of habit (completed in 2013). Funded by Sustrans and the National Physical Activity Research Evaluation Group.

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Postgraduate Teaching

I am Class Leader for C8939 Quantitative Research Methods. I also teach on:

C8939 Quantitative Research Methods:

• Correlation
• Simple Regression
• Multiple Regression
• Logistic Regression
• Factor Analysis

ÌýC8937 Dissertation (Project Areas):

• Social cognition models (e.g. theory of reasoned action theory of planned behaivour; prototype willingness model; social cognitive theory; MODE model; health-belief model)
• Attitude dimensionaliy, ambivalence, stability, accessibilityÌý
• Implicit and explicit attitudes
• Implementation intentions
• Cognitive dissonance interventions (e.g., induced compliance and hypocrisy induction)
• Persuasion/educational interventions in the areas of both health and safety behaviour

Undergraduate Teaching:

I am the Class Leader for both C8202 Social and Health Psycholoy and C8307 Social Psychology. I also teach on:

C8202 Social and Health Psychology:

• Principles of Social Psychology
• Attribution theories
• Attribution biases
• Situational determinants of prosocial behaviour
• Personal determinants of prosocial behaviour
• Models of aggression
• Media violence and aggressive behaviour

C8307 Social Psychology:

• Attitude formation
• Attitude change
• Attitude-behaviour correspondence
• Social cognition models
• Social schemas
• Social representations
• Prejudice

C8498 Psychology Dissertation (Project Areas):

• Same as for C8937, above

Research Interests

My research focuses on:

• Attitudes and attitude-change
• Social cognition models
• Habits and past behaviour
• Cognition- and behaviour-change interventions

I mainly research these topics in relation to driver risk-taking behaviour but I have also conducted research on other health-risk and educational behaviours including binge-drinking, smoking, unheathy eating, self-harm and inclusive teaching practices.

Publications

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Research Grants

2022: IF-THEN behaviour-change app – proof of concept (Principal Investigator). KE Grant funded by the ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ University Stage Gate Process. £2,000.

2020-2022: MVP Lead Implementation Interviews (Co-Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Scottish Police Authority. £5,150.

2019-2020: Improving Parents' Driving Behaviour (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by Road Safety Scotland, the Scottish Government. £46,720.

2017-2018: Development and Evaluation of a Child-Parent Road Safety Educational Intervention to Influence Parental Driving Habits (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by Road Safety Scotland, the Scottish Government. £53,292.

2016-2020: Push and Show: Nudging for mode change in urban areas with road markings, intrinsic motivation and external rewards (Co-Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Norwegian Research Council. £850,000.

2014-2017: Challenging Hidden Barriers in the Workplace (Co-investigator). Research Grant funded by the Big Lottery Fund. £496,947.

2014-2015: Crowdsourcing Driving Sensonomies: Low-Cost Driving Hazard Awareness and Detection (Co-investigator). Research Grant funded by the University of ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿, Bridging the Gap Initiative. £7,000.

2007-2010: Monitoring Speed Awareness Courses: Baseline Data Collection (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the UK Department for Transport. £138,400.

2006-2008: Development of Pass Plus Scheme for Newly Qualified Drivers (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the UK Department for Transport. £220,626.

2005-2006: Changing Drivers' Attitudes and Speeding Behaviour (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Transport Research Foundation. £9,997.

2004-2006: Understanding Why Objects are Thrown at Traffic (Co-Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Highways Agency. £49,971.

2003-2004: How methods and levels of policing affect road casualty rates (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by Transport for London. £12,000.

2002-2005: Psychological Traffic Calming (Co-investigator). Research Grant funded by the Charging and Local Transport Division of the Department for Transport. £399,000.

2002-2007: Elderly and Disabled Motorists Requirements - Part II (Co-Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Mobility and Inclusion Unit of the Department for Transport. £199,692.

2002-2003: Driver Behaviour II (2002) (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Transport Research Foundation. £32,000.

2001-2007: The Cohort II Study of Learner and Novice Drivers (Co-investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the Department for Transport. £1,451,000.

2001-2004: Multivariate Analysis of Factors Affecting the Accident Risk of Motorcyclists (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the Department for Transport. £154,000.

2001-2004: Child Development and Road Safety Education Research Programme - Phase III: Road Safety in Early Adolescence (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the Department for Transport. £194,935.

2001-2002: Driver Behaviour I (2001) (Principal Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Transport Research Foundation. £34,000.

1999-2000: Motorcycle Safety: A Scoping Study (Co-Investigator). Research Grant funded by the Road Safety Strategy Division of the Department for Transport. £19,999.

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Professional Activities

Speaker

9/5/2024

Speaker

26/6/2018

Invited speaker

25/10/2017

Invited speaker

2017

Invited speaker

24/7/2016

Chair

24/7/2016

Projects

Findlay, Kelly (Principal Investigator) Butler, Stephen (Co-investigator) March, Joshua (Co-investigator) Hamilton, David (Co-investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator) McGroarty, Allan (Co-investigator)

This research project examines how higher education students decide whether to use or avoid generative artificial intelligence for specific academic tasks. Rather than treating GenAI use as a general behaviour, the study focuses on task-level decision-making, exploring how factors such as assessment relevance, ambiguity, time pressure, writing demand, perceived usefulness, risk, trust, confidence, and clarity of guidance shape students’ willingness to use GenAI. The project also considers whether these decision processes differ between neurotypical and neurodivergent students, with the aim of informing more inclusive and responsible guidance around GenAI use in higher education.

01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2027

Findlay, Kelly (Principal Investigator) March, Joshua (Co-investigator) Hamilton, David (Co-investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator) Butler, Stephen (Co-investigator) McGroarty, Allan (Co-investigator)

This project investigates how autistic and allistic adults judge whether academic texts have been written by a human or generated by ChatGPT. Rather than focusing only on accuracy, the study examines the cues participants use when making these judgements, including clarity, coherence, formulaic structure, naturalness, and authorial voice. Participants classify a set of human-written and AI-generated academic text extracts, rate their confidence, and evaluate each text on these cue dimensions. The project aims to understand whether different cue-use patterns help explain individual differences in AI-text detection, and whether autistic and allistic participants rely on these cues in different ways.

01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2027

Findlay, Kelly (Principal Investigator) Hamilton, David (Co-investigator) McGroarty, Allan (Co-investigator) March, Joshua (Co-investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator) Butler, Stephen (Co-investigator)

This research examines how higher education students make decisions about using generative artificial intelligence for different academic tasks. Using a scenario-based survey, the study explores whether Big Five personality traits are associated with students’ likelihood of using GenAI, and with their perceptions of usefulness, risk, trust, confidence, clarity of guidance, and acceptability. The research aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of student GenAI use by focusing on task-specific judgements rather than general use alone.

01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2027

Findlay, Kelly (Principal Investigator) Keown, Sophie (Co-investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator) McGroarty, Allan (Co-investigator) Butler, Stephen (Co-investigator) March, Joshua (Co-investigator) Hamilton, David (Co-investigator) Thomson, Elizabeth (Co-investigator)

This project evaluates student-facing guidance designed to support responsible use of generative AI in higher education. Using a pre-post design, it examines whether a quick guide and reflective checklist improve students’ understanding of appropriate GenAI use, academic integrity expectations, confidence, intentions, and self-reported practices. The study also assesses how acceptable and useful students find the resources, drawing on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.

01-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2027

Harrington, Deirdre (Principal Investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator)

07-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2025

Cogan, Nicola (Principal Investigator) Hunter, Simon C. (Principal Investigator) Cogan, Nicola (Co-investigator) Elliott, Mark (Co-investigator)

06-Jan-2020 - 28-Jan-2022