Dr Donna Jessop

Biography

Sussex University: Psychology Home Page

Education:
MA Human Sciences (University of Oxford) 1994
MSc Social and Applied Psychology (University of Kent at Canterbury) 1995
DPhil Psychology (University of Kent at Canterbury) 1999

Posts held:
Lecturer in Health Psychology, Middlesex University, 2000-2001
Lecturer in Health Psychology, University of Sussex, 2001-present

Academic roles:
Programme Convenor Msc in Health Psychology (2003- )
Currently convenor of the following courses: Health Psychology Applications; Communication and Health Promotion

My main areas of research interest are as follows:

1) Factors that moderate the effectiveness of health promotion campaigns. In particular, I am interested in exploring whether self-affirmation processes have the potential to reduce defensive processing and increase message acceptance in the face of personally relevant health-risk information. I am also involved in research exploring whether terror management theory has the potential to further our understanding of individuals' responses to mortality-related health-risk information.

2) Emotional responses to illness, specifically looking at how these can be assessed and what their influence is on health-related perceptions and behaviours.

3) Socio-economic inequalities in health, especially investigating the role that student debt and financial concern have on academic performance and mental and physical health.

Course convenor, lecturer and seminar leader for the MSc Health Psychology courses Communication and Health Promotion and Health Psychology Applications; lecturer and seminar leader for the MSc Health Psychology course Illness and Coping.

Student Consultation

My office hour for the Spring Term term 2013 is 11-12 on Thursdays

van Prooijen, Anne-Marie, Sparks, Paul and Jessop, Donna C (2012) Promoting or jeopardizing lighter carbon footprints? Self-affirmation can polarize environmental orientations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4 (2). pp. 238-243. ISSN 1948-5506

Brown, Rupert, deVisser, Richard, Dittmar, Helga, Drury, John, Farsides, Tom, Jessop, Donna and Sparks, Paul (2012) Social psychology and policy-making: past neglect, future promise. Public Policy Research, 18 (4). pp. 227-234. ISSN 1744-5396

Churchill, Sue and Jessop, Donna C (2011) Reflective and non-reflective antecedents of health-related behaviour: exploring the relative contributions of impulsivity and implicit self-control to the prediction of dietary behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology, 16 (2). pp. 257-272. ISSN 1359107X

Churchill, Sue and Jessop, Donna Catherine (2011) Too impulsive for implementation intentions? Evidence that impulsivity moderates the effectiveness of an implementation intention intervention. Psychology and Health, 26 (5). pp. 517-530. ISSN 0887-0446

Sparks, Paul, Jessop, Donna C, Chapman, James and Holmes, Katherine (2010) Pro-environmental actions, climate change, and defensiveness: do self-affirmations make a difference to people's motives and beliefs about making a difference? British Journal of Social Psychology, 49 (3). pp. 553-568. ISSN 0144-6665

Churchill, Sue and Jessop, Donna (2010) Spontaneous implementation intentions and impulsivity: can impulsivity moderate the effectiveness of planning strategies? British Journal of Health Psychology, 15 (3). pp. 529-541. ISSN 1359-107X

Jessop, Donna, Simmonds, L V and Sparks, P (2009) Motivational and behavioral consequences of self-affirmation interventions: A study of sunscreen use among women. Psychology and Health, 24 (5). pp. 529-544. ISSN 0887-0446

Churchill, Sue, Jessop, Donna and Sparks, Paul (2008) Impulsive and/or planned behaviour: can impulsivity contribute to the predictive utility of the theory of planned behaviour? British Journal of Social Psychology, 47 (4). pp. 631-646. ISSN 0144-6665

Jessop, Donna C and Wade, Jennifer (2008) Fear appeals and binge drinking: a terror management theory perspective. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13 (4). pp. 773-788. ISSN 1359-107X

Jessop, Donna, Albery, Ian P, Rutter, Jean and Garrod, Heather (2008) Understanding the impact of mortality-related health-risk information: A terror management theory perspective. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (7). pp. 951-964. ISSN 0146-1672

Woodfield, Ruth, Jessop, Donna and McMillan, Lesley (2006) Gender differences in undergraduate attendance rates. Studies in Higher Education, 31 (1). pp. 1-22. ISSN 0307-5079

Jessop, Donna C, Herberts, Carolina and Solomon, Lucy (2005) The impact of financial circumstances on student health. British Journal of Health Psychology, 10 (3). pp. 421-439. ISSN 1359-107X

Earl-Novell, Sarah L and Jessop, Donna C (2005) The relationship between perceptions of pre-menstrual syndrome and degree performance. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 30 (4). pp. 343-352. ISSN 0260-2938

Jessop, Donna C, Rutter, D R, Sharma, Dinkar and Albery, Ian P (2004) Emotion and adherence to treatment in people with asthma: an application of the emotional Stroop paradigm. British Journal of Psychology, 95 (2). pp. 127-147. ISSN 0007-1269

Jessop, Donna C and Rutter, D R (2003) Adherence to asthma medication: the role of illness representations. Psychology and Health, 18 (5). pp. 595-612. ISSN 0887-0446