Profiles
Professor Mark Tarrant
Professor of Psychology
School of Psychology (Faculty of Health)
Biography
Biography
I joined the School of Psychology at University of Plymouth in September 2023. My research focuses on the development and evaluation of group-based behaviour change interventions for improving health. Informed by the Social Identity Approach to Health, my work has translational relevance to the range of health conditions for which groups are often employed in the delivery of care.
Qualifications
PhD in Psychology, University of Leicester (2000)
BA Applied Social Science, Coventry University (1996)
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
PSYC515/705
PSYC603
PSYC707
Research
Research
Research interests
Behavioural science has contributed hugely to understanding the processes and techniques that can empower people in changing their health-related behaviour, yet while the use of social groups to deliver behaviour change programmes has grown exponentially in recent years, this shift in focus has generally not been informed by research relevant to the psychological processes that inevitably come into play when (patient) groups are assembled. My research seeks to address this evidence gap by drawing on the Social Identity Approach to Health and contributes understanding of how group processes fundamentally shape the social connections and social identity which group members establish. Social identity can transform a group from a collection of individuals into a powerful collective resource underpinning behavioural change.
Building on these observations, my research focuses on the development and evaluation of group-based behaviour change interventions for improving health across a range of health conditions, including stroke and obesity. With Prof. Jon Pinkney (University of Plymouth), I currently co-lead a £2.5m NIHR programme grant (the PROGROUP study) which involves a definitive trial of a new group-based intervention for managing severe obesity (https://theprogroupstudy.co.uk/; https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/primarycare/obesity/progroup).
Grants & contracts
Principal awards:
£2,475,032 NIHR Programme Grant for Applied Research (60 months, 2021-2026). How are treatment outcomes for people with severe obesity imPROved by GROUP-based behavioural intervention? The PROGROUP study’ (NIHR201038). Joint-Principal Investigator (with J. Pinkney).
£69,940 Stroke Association (24 months 2019-2021). Evaluating the Stroke Association’s peer support programme. Principal Investigator.
£249,972 NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (24 months 2018-2020). Healthy parent carers programme: Feasibility study of a peer-led group-based intervention to improve the health and wellbeing of parent carers of disabled children (PB-PG-0317-20044). Co-investigator (PI: Chris Morris).
£187,442 MRC Public Health Intervention Development scheme (18 months 2018-2020). The development of a nature-on-prescription group intervention for people with common mental health conditions (MR/S002286/1). Co-investigator (PI: Ruth Garside).
£184,146 Stroke Association (21 months 2017-2019). Singing for people with aphasia (SPA): A pilot randomised controlled trial of a group singing intervention to improve wellbeing (TSA2016/14). Principal Investigator.
£158,360 MRC/NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme call on “Mechanisms of action of health interventions” (20 months 2016-2017). Identifying and understanding mechanisms of action in group-based health behaviour change interventions (14/202/03). Co-Investigator (PI: J Smith).
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
(2024) 'Social connections and social identity as a basis for learning and support: Experiences of medical students with minoritised and non-minoritised ethnic identities' Med Educ , DOI
(2023) 'Time for a new agenda for behavioural treatment of overweight and obesity' Clinical Obesity , DOI Open access
(2023) 'A Qualitative Exploration of Patient and Staff Experiences of the Receipt and Delivery of Specialist Weight Management Services in the UK' The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research , DOI Open access
(2023) 'Healthy Parent Carers: Acceptability and practicability of online delivery and learning through implementation by delivery partner organisations' Health Expectations 26, (5) 2050-2063 , DOI
(2022) 'A group-based behavioural intervention for weight management (PROGROUP) versus usual care in adults with severe obesity: a feasibility randomised controlled trial protocol' Pilot and Feasibility Studies 8, (1) , DOI Open access
(2022) 'How do electronic risk assessment tools affect the communication and understanding of diagnostic uncertainty in the primary care consultation? A systematic review and thematic synthesis' BMJ Open 12, (6) e060101-e060101 , DOI
(2022) 'Shared social identity and perceived social support among stroke groups during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Relationship with psychosocial health' Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 15, (1) 172-192 , DOI
(2021) 'Healthy Parent Carers programme: mixed methods process evaluation and refinement of a health promotion intervention' BMJ Open 11, (8) e045570-e045570 , DOI
(2021) 'Healthy Parent Carers: feasibility randomised controlled trial of a peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children' Pilot and Feasibility Studies 7, (1) , DOI
(2021) 'Measurement of Shared Social Identity in Singing Groups for People With Aphasia' Frontiers in Psychology 12, , DOI
(2021) 'Challenges of Recruiting Patients Into Group-Based Stroke Rehabilitation Research: Reflections on Clinician Equipoise Within the Singing for People With Aphasia (SPA) Pilot Trial' Frontiers in Psychology 12, , DOI
(2021) 'The effectiveness and usability of online, group-based interventions for people with severe obesity: Systematic review protocol' JMIR Research Protocols , DOI Open access
(2021) 'Singing for people with aphasia (SPA): results of a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial of a group singing intervention investigating acceptability and feasibility' BMJ Open 11, (1) e040544-e040544 , DOI
(2020) 'Mindfulness and social identity: Predicting well‐being in a high‐stress environment' Journal of Applied Social Psychology 50, (12) 720-732 , DOI
(2020) 'Making connections: Social identification with new treatment groups for lifestyle management of severe obesity' Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy 27, (5) 686-696 , DOI
(2019) 'Healthy Parent Carers peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children: protocol for a feasibility study using a parallel group randomised controlled trial design' Pilot and Feasibility Studies 5, (1) , DOI
(2019) 'Social identification-building interventions to improve health: a systematic review and meta-analysis' Health Psychology Review 15, (1) 85-112 , DOI
(2019) 'Alcohol consumption among university students in the night-time economy in the UK: A three-wave longitudinal study' Drug and Alcohol Dependence 204, 107522-107522 , DOI
(2019) '‘We're all in the same boat’: A qualitative study on how groups work in a diabetes prevention and management programme' British Journal of Health Psychology 24, (4) 787-805 , DOI
(2019) 'Eating well in care homes: Testing the feasibility of a staff training programme aimed at improving social interaction and choice at mealtimes' International Journal of Older People Nursing 14, (3) , DOI
(2019) 'Identifying change processes in group-based health behaviour-change interventions: development of the mechanisms of action in group-based interventions (MAGI) framework' Health Psychology Review 13, (3) 227-247 , DOI
(2019) 'How Group-Based Interventions Can Improve Services for People with Severe Obesity' Current Obesity Reports 8, (3) 333-339 , DOI Open access
(2019) 'Developing and applying a framework to understand mechanisms of action in group-based, behaviour change interventions: the MAGI mixed-methods study'
(2019) 'An Agenda for Best Practice Research on Group Singing, Health, and Well-Being' Music & Science 2, 205920431986171-205920431986171 , DOI
(2018) 'Singing for people with aphasia (SPA): a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial of a group singing intervention to improve well-being' BMJ Open 8, (9) e025167-e025167 , DOI
(2018) 'Group‐Based Diet and Physical Activity Weight‐Loss Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials' Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being 10, (1) 62-86 , DOI
(2017) 'Exploring residents’ experiences of mealtimes in care homes: A qualitative interview study' BMC Geriatrics 17, (1) , DOI
(2017) 'Relationship between perceptions of ageing and frailty in English older adults' Psychology, Health & Medicine 23, (4) 465-474 , DOI
(2017) 'Can Raising Awareness about the Psychological Causes of Obesity Reduce Obesity Stigma?' Health Communication 33, (5) 585-592 , DOI
(2017) 'Attitudes, perceptions and experiences of mealtimes among residents and staff in care homes for older adults: A systematic review of the qualitative literature' Geriatric Nursing 38, (4) 325-333 , DOI
(2016) 'Patient experiences of a bariatric group programme for managing obesity: A qualitative interview study' British Journal of Health Psychology 22, (1) 77-93 , DOI
(2016) 'Interventions utilising contact with people with disabilities to improve children's attitudes towards disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis' Disability and Health Journal 10, (1) 11-22 , DOI
(2016) 'Rasch analysis of the Chedoke–McMaster Attitudes towards Children with Handicaps scale' Disability and Rehabilitation 39, (3) 281-290 , DOI
(2016) 'Creating psychological connections between intervention recipients: development and focus group evaluation of a group singing session for people with aphasia' BMJ Open 6, (2) e009652-e009652 , DOI
(2015) 'Older adults’ perceptions of ageing and their health and functioning: a systematic review of observational studies' Psychology, Health & Medicine 21, (5) 531-550 , DOI
(2015) 'A checklist to improve reporting of group-based behaviour-change interventions' BMC Public Health 15, (1) , DOI
(2015) 'Children’s contact with people with disabilities and their attitudes towards disability: a cross-sectional study' Disability and Rehabilitation 38, (9) 879-888 , DOI
(2015) '‘Thinking you're old and frail’: a qualitative study of frailty in older adults' Ageing and Society 36, (7) 1483-1500 , DOI
(2014) 'Effects of norm referent salience on young people's dietary orientation' Appetite 85, 160-164 , DOI
(2013) 'The association between children's contact with people with disabilities and their attitudes towards disability: a systematic review' Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 56, (6) 529-546 , DOI
(2013) 'The effect of metastereotyping on judgements of higher-status outgroups when reciprocity and social image improvement motives collide' Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement 45, (1) 12-23 , DOI
(2012) 'Social Identification Structures the Effects of Perspective Taking' Psychological Science 23, (9) 973-978 , DOI
(2012) 'Social identity and perceptions of torture: It's moral when we do it' Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 48, (2) 513-518 , DOI
(2011) 'Effects of self‐categorization on orientation towards health' British Journal of Social Psychology 50, (1) 121-139 , DOI
(2010) 'Empathic Experience and Attitudes Toward Stigmatized Groups: Evidence for Attitude Generalization' Journal of Applied Social Psychology 40, (7) 1635-1656 , DOI
(2009) 'Weight-based discrimination, body dissatisfaction and emotional eating: The role of perceived social consensus' Psychology & Health 24, (9) 1021-1034 , DOI
(2008) 'Social categorization and empathy for outgroup members' British Journal of Social Psychology 48, (3) 427-446 , DOI
(2007) 'Responses to within‐group criticism: does past adherence to group norms matter?' European Journal of Social Psychology 37, (6) 1187-1202 , DOI
(2007) 'Cross‐cultural validity and measurement invariance of the social physique anxiety scale in five European nations' Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 17, (6) 703-719 , DOI
(2006) 'Can music bring people together? Effects of shared musical preference on intergroup bias in adolescence' Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 47, (2) 129-136 , DOI
(2005) 'Friendship group identification, multidimensional self‐concept, and experience of developmental tasks in adolescence' Journal of Adolescence 29, (4) 627-640 , DOI
(2004) 'Adolescents' Intergroup Attributions: A Comparison of Two Social Identities' Journal of Youth and Adolescence 33, (3) 177-185 , DOI
(2004) 'Explanations for positive and negative behavior: the intergroup attribution bias in achieved groups' Current Psychology 23, (2) 161-172 , DOI
(2003) 'Young people's music in and out of school' British Journal of Music Education 20, (3) 229-241 , DOI
(2001) 'Social Categorization, Self-Esteem, and the Estimated Musical Preferences of Male Adolescents' The Journal of Social Psychology 141, (5) 565-581 , DOI
(2000) 'English and American Adolescents' Reasons for Listening to Music' Psychology of Music 28, (2) 166-173 , DOI
Books
(2023) Health Psychology Revisiting the Classic Studies. SAGE Publications Limited
Chapters
(2020) 'Social Identity Interventions' The Handbook of Behavior Change Cambridge University Press 649-660 , DOI
(2017) 'University Students’ Social Identity and Health Behaviours' Self and Social Identity in Educational Contexts Routledge 159-175 , DOI
(2015) 'How and why do musical preferences change in childhood and adolescence?' The Child as Musician Oxford University Press 303-322 , DOI
(2015) 'Designing interventions to change health-related behaviour' Complex Interventions in Health: An Overview of Research Methods 103-110
(2012) 'Promoting positive orientation towards health through social identity' The Social Cure: Identity, Health and Well-Being 39-54
(2007) 'Social Identity and Social Convention in Responses to Criticisms of Groups' Stereotype Dynamics: Language-Based Approaches to the Formation, Maintenance, and Transformation of Stereotypes 339-365 , DOI
(2006) 'Musical Preference and Taste in Childhood and Adolescence' The Child as Musician Oxford University Press 135-154 , DOI