BIOGRAPHY

Jemma re-joined the Department of Psychology as a lecturer in January 2013. She originally joined the Department as an undergraduate in 2000 and successfully obtained Economic and Social Research Council funding in order to remain and pursue her postgraduate studies. She completed her MSc in Psychological Research Methods in 2004 and her PhD (Titled “Psychological need satisfaction and the prediction of behaviour”) in 2007. She subsequently worked as a lecturer within the Department from 2008 until 2010 and then spent some time gaining experience within a stroke and brain injury rehabilitation service and a hospital based clinical health psychology service before lecturing at the University of East Anglia.

RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Jemma is interested in factors that impact upon our motivation and well-being. Her main research interests investigate the way that our lives are shaped and influenced by deep-rooted psychological needs, specifically examining influences within areas such as:

-          Social cognitive models of decision-making

-          Sociocultural models of bulimic symptomatology

-          Dieting behaviour

-          Physical activity behaviour

-          Compulsive buying behaviour-     

 

Jemma has also collaborated with clinicians and researchers across a range of projects including examining potential moderators of cognitive bias modification interventions, investigating the predictors of the length of rehabilitation time following traumatic brain injury or stroke, and mapping out the nursing competencies required for quality care within stroke services.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Peer Reviewed:

Harris, J., & Hagger, M. (2007). Do basic psychological needs moderate relationships within the theory of planned behaviour? Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 12, 43-64.

 

Hagger, M., Chatzisarantis. N., & Harris, J. (2006). The process by which relative autonomous motivation affects intentional behaviour: Comparing effects across dieting and exercise behaviours. Motivation and Emotion, 30, 307-321.

 

Hagger, M., Chatzisarantis. N., & Harris, J. (2006). From Psychological Need Satisfaction to Intentional Behavior: Testing a Motivational Sequence in Two Behavioral Contexts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 131-148.

 

Other: 

Harris, J. (2005). Researching basic psychological needs: The need to be interactive as a research student. Sport and Exercise Psychology Review, 2, 48-50.

 

Harris, J. (2004). From global needs to specific behaviours: the influence of needs, motives and goals in the theory of planned behaviour in an exercise context. Health Psychology Update, 13, 1, 28-32.

 

Conference Presentations:

Harris, J., & Hagger, M. Do basic psychological needs affect relationships within the theory of planned behaviour? British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Cardiff, March 2006.

 

Harris, J., & Hagger. M. From global needs to specific behaviours: the influence of needs, motives and goals in the theory of planned behaviour in an exercise context. British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology Conference, Staffordshire, September 2003.