Ben Whalley

University of Plymouth | UoP · School of Psychology

In a pre-registered survey linked to this paper (Exploring the relationships between psychological variables and loot box engagement, part 1: pre-registered hypotheses), we confirmed bivariate associations between engagement with loot boxes (purchasable randomized rewards in video games) and measures of problem gambling, problem video gaming, impul...

Loot boxes are purchasable randomized rewards in video games that share structural and psychological similarities with gambling. Systematic review evidence has established reproducible associations between loot box purchasing and both problem gambling and problem video gaming, perhaps driven by a range of overlapping psychological processes (e.g. i...

During the first UK national COVID-19 lockdown, there were fears that increased online gaming and gambling could negatively impact wellbeing. Using a cross-sectional retrospective change survey of 631 UK adult gamers and/or gamblers during the week the UK lockdown was partially lifted (June 2020), we investigated participation in gaming/gambling an...

ObjectivesA number of studies indicate that meditation training affects performance on the attentional blink (AB). This is taken as evidence that meditation has an influence on attentional processes. One such experiment found the AB to be reduced after adult, non-meditators completed a brief, single session of open monitoring meditation (OM). This...

Strategic monitoring of recognition memory by children and adults was examined using a semantic DRM procedure. Children (7- and 10-year-olds) and adults (overall N = 393) studied lists of semantically related words either incidentally or intentionally and were tested with old items, new items and critical lures to judge as old or new. Participants...

Introduction: Brief psychological interventions, including guided imagery, relaxation, and distraction-based techniques, can be effective adjunctive techniques to manage acute surgical ain, but are not widely adopted in clinical practice. Furthermore, mixed adherence to conventional pain treatments sometimes limits the effectiveness of pain managem...

We interviewed relatives and carers following their participation in a novel Family Connection (FC) programme, designed for supporters of individuals with a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. A mixed methods approach was utilised to quantitatively measure depression, ‘burden’, grief and mastery, pre and post-group, whilst qualitative ana...

Introduction: Scuba diving is physically and cognitively demanding. Medical guidance regarding physical and mental health (MH) issues and related prescribed medication is often based on limited evidence. There is a paucity of data concerning diving with MH issues. This survey aimed to investigate the prevalence of MH issues and use of prescription...

Background: Chronic primary musculoskeletal pain (CPMP) is one subcategory of the new classification of chronic primary pain for the upcoming ICD-11, defined as chronic pain in the muscles, bones, joints, or tendons that persists or recurs for more than 3 months and is associated with significant emotional distress or functional disability. An arr...

Background Refractory depression is a major contributor to the economic burden of depression. Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy (RO DBT) is an unevaluated new treatment targeting overcontrolled personality, common in refractory depression, but it is not yet known whether the additional expense of RO DBT is good value for money. Aims To...

Background: Individuals with depression often do not respond to medication or psychotherapy. Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy (RO DBT) is a new treatment targeting overcontrolled personality, common in refractory depression. Aims: To compare RO DBT plus treatment as usual (TAU) for refractory depression with TAU alone (trial registra...

Objective: Functional Imagery Training (FIT) is a new brief motivational intervention based on the Elaborated Intrusion theory of desire. FIT trains the habitual use of personalised, affective, goal-directed mental imagery to plan behaviours, anticipate obstacles, and mentally try out solutions from previous successes. It is delivered in the clien...

Background About one-third of patients who are depressed do not respond to antidepressant medication (ADM) and traditional psychotherapy shows limited benefits. However, most randomised trials have excluded the most sick patients, especially with comorbid personality disorder. Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy (RO DBT) is a new treatment...

It feels intuitive that our actions are intentional, but there is considerable debate about whether (and how) humans control their motor behavior. Recent ideomotor theories of action argue that action intentions are fundamentally perceptual, that actions are not only controlled by anticipating—imagining—their intended perceptual consequences, but a...

Background Although psychological interventions are recommended for the management of coronary heart disease (CHD), there remains considerable uncertainty regarding their effectiveness. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions for CHD. Methods The Cochrane Central Register of...

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death globally, although mortality rates are falling. Psychological symptoms are prevalent for people with CHD, and many psychological treatments are offered following cardiac events or procedures with the aim of improving health and outcomes. This is an update of a Cochrane syst...

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death globally, although mortality rates are falling. Psychological symptoms are prevalent for people with CHD, and many psychological treatments are offered following cardiac events or procedures with the aim of improving health and outcomes. This is an update of a Cochrane syste...

Background A review of the effectiveness of relaxation techniques for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients has shown inconsistent results, but studies have varied in terms of technique and outcome measures. Aim To determine patient preference for different relaxation techniques. Methods Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients wer...

Importance: Relapse prevention in recurrent depression is a significant public health problem, and antidepressants are the current first-line treatment approach. Identifying an equally efficacious nonpharmacological intervention would be an important development. Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis on individual patient data to examine the eff...

As the cause of fibromyalgia is controversial, communicating with patients can be challenging, particularly if the patient adopts the narrative ‘I am damaged and so I need a more powerful pain killer’. Research shows that providing patients with alternative narratives can be helpful, but it remains unclear what particular narratives are most accept...

Objectives: To determine the importance of fear and anxiety at the time of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To assess the influence of carers and health professionals on this fear and anxiety. Design: A qualitative study to elicit the views of patients and their carers during a hospital admission for exacerbations of chr...

Most research on cognitive processes in craving has been carried out in the laboratory and focuses on food craving. This study extends laboratory findings to real world settings and cravings for drugs or activities as well as food. Previous laboratory research has found that playing Tetris reduces craving strength. The present study used an ecologi...

Introduction: Only 30-40% of depressed patients treated with medication achieve full remission. Studies that change medication or augment it by psychotherapy achieve only limited benefits, in part because current treatments are not designed for chronic and complex patients. Previous trials have excluded high-risk patients and those with comorbid p...

Background: People with severe asthma experience significant respiratory symptoms and suffer adverse effects of oral corticosteroids (OCS), including disturbed mood and physical symptoms. OCS impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been quantified. Asthma HRQoL scales are valid as outcome measures for patients requiring OCS only...

The objective of Integrated Care Pathways for Airway Diseases (AIRWAYS-ICPs) is to launch a collaboration to develop multi-sectoral care pathways for chronic respiratory diseases in European countries and regions. AIRWAYS-ICPs has strategic relevance to the European Union Health Strategy and will add value to existing public health knowledge by: 1)...

The objective of Integrated Care Pathways for Airway Diseases (AIRWAYS-ICPs) is to launch a collaboration to develop multi-sectoral care pathways for chronic respiratory diseases in European countries and regions. AIRWAYS-ICPs has strategic relevance to the European Union Health Strategy and will add value to existing public health knowledge by: 1)...

Aims Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and Severe asthma with fungal sensitivity (SAFS) are well recognised in the severe asthma population. Sensitisation to other moulds has also been described. Defined radiological, immunological, and physiological features are associated with these conditions. We describe these features within a sev...

Background Depression and anxiety are common in cardiac patients, and psychological interventions may also be used as part of general cardiac rehabilitation programs. Purpose This study aims to estimate effects of psychological interventions on mortality and psychological symptoms in this group, updating an existing Cochrane Review. Method Systemat...

The use of physical punishment for children is associated with poor psychological and behavioral outcomes, but the causal pathway is controversial, and the effects on later physical health unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of asthma, cancer, and cardiac patients (150 in each category, 75 male) recruited from outpatient clinics and 250...

Background: Being able to identify patients at risk of exacerbations is useful as it enables resources to be targeted at these patients. Aims: To test the theoretically-derived prediction that the frequency of non-asthma related visits to the general practitioner (GP) predicts exacerbations. Methods: Clinical and demographic data and both self...

A placebo by proxy effect occurs when a patient's response to therapy, assessed either objectively or subjectively, is affected by the behavior of other people who know that the patient is undergoing therapy. We recruited 58 children aged 2-5 years who reported frequent tantrums and examined the effect of a pharmacologically inert substance (flower...

Psychological symptoms are strongly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), and many psychological treatments are offered following cardiac events or procedures. Update the existing Cochrane review to (1) determine the independent effects of psychological interventions in patients with CHD (principal outcome measures included total or cardiac...

A common sense view in psychotherapy holds that there are individual differences in response to different treatments. However, despite considerable effort, no clear rationale exists to guide the selection of therapy for individual patients. Rather than focusing on specific components of therapy as a basis to predict interactions between patients an...

We tested the contribution of two mechanisms, response expectancy and motivational concordance, to reported psychological benefit from a popular, biologically inactive, self-help, complementary therapy (a placebo). Flower essences were taken by 251 people for self-selected symptoms and were randomized to receive three different kinds of information...

The existence of reliable personality predictors of the placebo effect is controversial. For prediction to be possible, the response to placebo must be reliable. We tested the consistency of the placebo effect by assessing the response to four trials of placebo analgesic treatment. Two identical experimental pain stimuli were administered simultane...

Chronically elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines are associated with inflammatory diseases and psychological symptoms of depression and tiredness. To test the prediction that, in a healthy population without medically diagnosed diseases, psychological symptoms (depression and tiredness) associated with proinflammatory cytokines correlate wi...

The aim of this study was to test a motivational interpretation of placebo responding using two different types of placebo therapy, one using flower essences and the other a nonspecific psychological therapy. The motivational concordance interpretation is that therapeutic rituals that are consistent with self-defining or self-actualizing goals have...