Speaker: Prof. Aleksandra Luszczynska; SWPS University, Wroclaw, Poland, and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA and her team

Time: 1pm-3:30pm, 1 November, 2019

Venue: 1113，Wangkezhen Building， Peking University

Abstract: The vast majority of research investigating health behavior change attempts to explain changes in behavioral indicators (e.g. an increase of fruit and vegetable consumption). Yet, the observed effects are often small in size and short-lived. To explain limited effects of intervention, researchers may need to shift towards more thorough investigation of underlying psychological mechanisms, outcomes other than behavioral, and implementation processes, involving the perspectives of stakeholders (e.g. policy makers or those who deliver the intervention), resulting in establishing best practices for implementation. I will argue that the theoretical developments currently shift from the focus on within-individual cognitive factors towards models accounting for physical and social environment as well as impulsive processes. Next, the choice of the key outcome should shift from the sole focus on short-term behavior change, to more complex outcomes models, accounting e.g., for interventions’ acceptability, costs or sustainability. Finally, I will argue for the use of implementation frameworks, accounting for implementation processes and determinants, that may help to better explain ‘if’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ behavior change interventions work.

Bio: Aleksandra Luszczynska, PhD, is professor of psychology at SWPS University, Wroclaw Poland, and research associate professor adjoint at Trauma, Health, & Hazards Center at University of Colorado (USA). Prof. Luszczynska is specializing in health behavior change intervention development, implementation, and evaluation. She leads CARE-BEH Center (http://www.care-beh.eu/) at SWPS University. Her research was funded by national and international bodies (including European Union’s Horizon 2020 and Joint Programming Initiative). Before joining SWPS University, Prof. Luszczynska held positions at Freie Universität Berlin (Germany) and University of Sussex (England). She has published over 140 papers (cited over 4200, h-index 35; Web of Science) and has been internationally awarded for her research work with Fellowships and Scientific Awards (e.g., by European Health Psychology and International Association of Applied Psychology). She was President of Division of Health Psychology, International Association of Applied Psychology. Currently, she is editorial board member of 7 impacted journals and Editor-in-Chief of Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing. More information available at https://cutt.ly/Rw712E6.

Host: Prof. Yiqun Gan

2019-10-29