Daniel Frings

Daniel Frings
London South Bank University | LSBU · Department of Psychology

PhD in Social Psychology

About

103
Publications
37,217
Reads
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1,800
Citations
Additional affiliations
April 2019 - present
London South Bank University
Position
  • Professor
October 2015 - April 2019
London South Bank University
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
September 2008 - October 2015
London South Bank University
Position
  • Professor (Associate)

Publications

Publications (103)
Article
Full-text available
Despite a growing interest in how group membership can positively impact health, little research has addressed directly the role social identity processes can have on recovery from addiction. Drawing on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, the present study investigated how recovery group membership can introduce a new social iden...
Article
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This study explored the relationship between personality, motivational (challenge and threat) states, and sport-related coping. Thirty-one currently competing athletes completed questionnaire measures of personality and coping, and were asked to imagine and talk about an upcoming competition (sport-specific speech) and the events that had transpire...
Article
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The study of in-group deviance has typically measured cognitive or behavioral variables rather than motivational variables. The present research addressed this gap in the literature by using the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat, while testing predictions stemming from the subjective group dynamics (SGD) model. Group members parti...
Article
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Gamblers often gamble while experiencing fatigue due to sleep deprivation or cumulative sleep debt. Such fatigue has been shown to make decision makers behave more riskily. The present study aimed to test the role of two cognitive processes, risk perception and risk attraction, in this effect. Two hundred and two participants played twelve hands of...
Article
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Fatigue resulting from sleep deficit can lead to decreased performance in a variety of cognitive domains and can result in potentially serious accidents. The present study aimed to test whether fatigue leads to increased Einstellung (low levels of cognitive flexibility) in a series of mathematical problem-solving tasks. Many situations involving fa...
Article
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Author summary ADHD is often underdiagnosed in adults, and treatment options typically can include medication and psychological interventions aimed at self-management of symptoms. Digital health technologies such as wearables may provide a valuable tool for symptom management by helping to reduce anxiety. In this study we tested one such wearable,...
Article
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Academic staff experience high levels of work-related stress and poor mental health. As a result, many institutions face high staff turnover. These outcomes may be driven by complex and, at times, apparently oppositional objectives academics need to meet around research and teaching. These factors may present both practical and social identity-base...
Article
Objective Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are an efficacious support for some but not all people wishing to stop using tobacco. While advice and practical support have been identified as increasing quit success, little research has explored the role of changes in smoking and EC‐related social identities. Methods A prospective study following 573 peopl...
Article
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Aims, design and setting: The aim of this study was to determine which combination(s) of five e-cigarette-orientated intervention components, delivered on-line, affect smoking cessation. An on-line (UK) balanced five-factor (2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32 intervention combinations) randomized factorial design guided by the multi-phase optimization strateg...
Article
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Objectives: This paper evaluates a collaborative intervention between public health professionals and local social media administrators, in which the social media site Facebook was used with a view to strengthening engagement with and, dissemination of, core messages and building trust and resilience within local communities during the COVID-19 pa...
Article
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The growing popularity of social media and its ubiquitous presence in our lives brings associated risks such as the spread of mis- and disinformation, particularly when these may be unregulated in times of global crises. Online communities are able to provide support by enabling connection with others and also provide great potential for dynamic in...
Preprint
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UNSTRUCTURED Text messages are effective smoking cessation interventions. However, there is little research on text message interventions for people who smoke and wish to quit by switching to vaping. Over three phases, we co-developed and co-produced a mobile phone text message programme. The co-production paradigm allowed us to collaborate with re...
Article
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BackgroundSMS text messages are affordable, scalable, and effective smoking cessation interventions. However, there is little research on SMS text message interventions specifically designed to support people who smoke to quit by switching to vaping. Objective Over 3 phases, with vapers and smokers, we codeveloped and coproduced a mobile phone SMS...
Article
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Background: Understanding psychosocial factors which impact responses to emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) is vital in managing epidemics and pandemics. Two under-researched areas in this field are the interactive roles of optimistic bias (underestimation of the likelihood of negative events occurring to the self, relative to others) and group me...
Article
Previous work identified the operation of an attentional bias (AB) towards healthy food related stimuli among those with increasing tendencies towards orthorexia nervosa (ON) using a modified Stroop task. The current work aimed to replicate and extend our understanding of this effect by incorporating alternative measures of AB (i.e., the dot probe...
Article
Whilst research has demonstrated the influence of individual and social identities on drinking‐related beliefs and behaviours, none evaluates how identities' incompatibilities are associated with mental health, current drinking status nor intentions, and motivations to change drinking behaviour. The current study explored how variability in incompa...
Article
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Memory conformity may occur when a person’s belief in another’s memory report outweighs their belief in their own. Witnesses might be less likely to believe and therefore take on false information from intoxicated co-witnesses, due to the common belief that alcohol impairs memory performance. This paper presents an online study in which participant...
Article
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Rationale Witnesses who discuss a crime together may report details that they did not see themselves but heard about from their co-witness. Co-witness information may have beneficial and harmful effects on memory accuracy depending on whether the information was correct or incorrect. Objectives Given the prevalence of intoxicated witnesses, it is...
Article
Objective: Previous research suggests that exposure to alcohol primes (i.e., stimuli associated with alcohol) affects drinkers' perceptions and behaviors. The present study investigated the effects of an environmental alcohol prime (being in a simulated bar setting) and a safe sex message prime (a public health safe sex message) on sexually active...
Article
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Background This study investigates university students’ digital health literacy and web-based information-seeking behaviours during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. It compares undergraduate and postgraduate students in non-health related subjects with health care students, many of whom were preparing for, or working in, frontl...
Article
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Background Health messages on e-cigarette packs emphasise nicotine addiction or harms using similar wording to warnings on cigarette packs. These may not be appropriate for e-cigarettes which constitute a reduced risk alternative for smokers. This research aimed to (1) develop and test a selection of relative risk messages for e-cigarette products;...
Article
The containment of infectious diseases is most successful when at-risk populations have a high level of relevant health literacy (HL). To achieve this both literacy needs and patterns of knowledge sharing must be understood within the context of the disease being studied. It is also important to understand these processes from both offline (HL) and...
Article
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Rationale Co-witness discussion is common and often witnesses are under the influence of alcohol. As such, it is important to understand how such factors may influence eyewitness testimony. Objectives We combined a co-witness memory paradigm with an alcohol administration paradigm to examine the influence of alcohol and dyadic discussion on rememb...
Article
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Social identities associated with recovery are protective of relapse from addiction. How such identities develop and differentially link to outcomes at different points of the recovery journey and across multiple recovery attempts is relatively unknown. The current study utilised a pre-existing cross-sectional dataset (n=237 Alcoholics Anonymous (A...
Article
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Background and aim A previous research study concluded that wine and beer labelled as lower in strength increase consumption compared with the same drinks labelled as regular strength. The label included both a verbal and numerical descriptor of strength. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of each of these label components. Design Adap...
Article
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E-cigarettes are now the most popular quit aid chosen by smokers in England. Mobile phone text messages have been shown to be a useful tool in facilitating smoking cessation attempts by providing behaviour change support. To date, no published examples of text messages exist specifically aimed at smokers attempting to quit with e-cigarettes (vaping...
Article
Full-text available
Whilst limited previous work has detailed the influence of personal and social identities on the development and maintenance of a number of addictive behaviours, fewer still have determined whether specific aspects of group identification are more or less predictive of ongoing (problematic) behaviour. Using Leach et al. (2008) hierarchical model of...
Chapter
Alcohol consumption is an almost ubiquitous, yet terrifically complicated phenomena. In this chapter, we review briefly the history of alcohol use and societies’ responses to it, noting important landmarks such as the temperance movements, the reconceptualization of alcohol misuse as a disease and the (re)recognition of psychosocial influences. We...
Chapter
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One area that is receiving growing interest among those exploring psychosocial aspects of addictive behaviors, and alcohol (mis)use in particular, and how such processes may be important for facilitating change, concerns conceptions of the self which are based on how similar one believes one is relative to “like minded” others in their group (in-gr...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Health messages on e-cigarette packs emphasise nicotine addiction or harms using similar wording to warnings on cigarette packs. These may not be appropriate for e-cigarettes which constitute a reduced risk alternative for smokers. This research aimed to i) develop and test a selection of relative risk messages for e-cigarette products;...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Health messages on e-cigarette packs emphasise nicotine addiction or harms using similar wording to warnings on cigarette packs. These may not be appropriate for e-cigarettes which constitute a reduced risk alternative for smokers. This research aimed to i) develop and test a selection of relative risk messages for e-cigarette products;...
Article
Full-text available
BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes (EC) are an effective smoking cessation aid when combined with behavioural support. There is further evidence for digital tailored interventions as cost effective approaches that can increase smoking cessation rates. Experimental work also suggests the addition of a ‘nicotine fact sheet’ ca...
Article
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Background Past research has correlated social media use with a variety of mental health outcomes – both positive and negative. The current study aims to explore two possible moderators of the link between social media use and mental health outcomes; specifically, the effects of having an anxious and/or avoidant attachment style. Method A cross-se...
Article
Full-text available
Background: There is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes (EC) are an effective smoking cessation aid when combined with behavioural support. There is further evidence for digital tailored interventions as cost effective approaches that can increase smoking cessation rates. Experimental work also suggests the addition of a ‘nicotine fact sheet’ ca...
Article
Full-text available
Background: There is increasing evidence that e-cigarettes (EC) are an effective smoking cessation aid when combined with behavioural support. There is further evidence for digital tailored interventions as cost effective approaches that can increase smoking cessation rates. Experimental work also suggests the addition of a ‘nicotine fact sheet’ ca...
Article
Full-text available
A successful journey through higher education is, for many, a once in a lifetime opportunity for social mobility. Unfortunately, one notable feature of higher education systems is that students from some backgrounds do not achieve the same academic attainments as do others. The current study tests the role of one particular set of processes: social...
Article
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Background and aims: A combination of behavioural and pharmacological support is judged to be the optimal approach for assisting smoking cessation. Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) is a single-session pharmacotherapy-free programme that has been in operation internationally for 38 years. We compared the effectiveness of ACE with specialist behavioural a...
Article
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While the efficacy of peer‐led support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are well established for people recovering from addiction, the “active ingredients” which underpin their efficacy are less understood. Drawing on social identity perspectives, in particular the Social Identity Model of Cessation Maintenance, the current study aimed to e...
Article
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Introduction: This study investigated the effects of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive [EU-TPD] Article 20 E-cigarette (EC) health warnings ("This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance. [It is not recommended for non-smokers.]") and a comparative harm message ("Use of this product is much less harmful than smo...
Article
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We sought to explore the motivations for pre-partying amongst UK student drinkers who reported pre-partying at least once per month. Two distinct educational settings were included: colleges, where the majority of students are below the legal age for drinking, and university, where all students would be legally allowed to drink. A cross-sectional c...
Article
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Purpose: Food craving has been shown to induce states of psychological challenge, indexed by increases in adrenaline but not cortisol production. The study aimed to test the relationship between challenge and (1) desire thinking (the active processing of the pleasant consequences of achieving a desired target and planning how to do so) and (2) cra...
Article
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Objectives This study explored the potential for e-cigarette advertisements to (1) enhance attitudes towards cigarettes and/or (2) reduce barriers to e-cigarettes uptake. The study tested whether exposure to an online electronic cigarette advertisement changed attitudes towards cigarettes and e-cigarettes in smokers, non-smokers, e-cigarette users...
Article
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Social identities can facilitate positive recovery outcomes for people overcoming addiction. However, the mechanism through which such protective effects emerge are unclear. The social identity model of cessation maintenance posits that one such process may be contextualisation (the creation of meaning around relevant future events and actions whic...
Article
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Online service delivery is an alternative to face-to-face interventions for harmful alcohol use. However, little evidence evaluates its relative efficacy or the demographic characteristics of clients accessing these services. Archival demographic and treatment outcome data collected from 82 clients who undertook online or face-to-face extended brie...
Article
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Mutual aid fellowships are the most accessible and widely used treatments for different addictive behaviors including problem gambling, yet how and why such treatments may be effective remains underexplored. The present research investigated the relationships between recovery group identification, social support received and provided to the recover...
Article
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Aim To pilot the acceptability to practising nurses of the concept of being healthy role models as regards obesity and weight. Background Nursing standards expect nurses to act as role models of professionalism, including maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Many healthcare employers wish to instigate values and social norms about professional behavio...
Article
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Background Article 20 of the EU Tobacco Products Directive [TPD] stipulates that e-cigarette packets and refill products must carry a nicotine addiction health warning. Although previous studies conducted in North America have found that perceived harm, addictiveness and intention to use declined following exposure to e-cigarette health warnings, p...
Article
Low self-esteem is a feature of several mental health disorders that has been directly treated with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The aim of our study was to determine the efficacy of interventions for improving low self-esteem in adults by utilizing the model outlined in Fennell (1997; 1998; 1999). A literature search identified 8 studies th...
Article
The aim of the current study was to test the direct and indirect influence of parents' drinking motives and problem drinking on their children's drinking motives, alcohol use and substance misuse. Cross-sectional analysis of parent and child drinking patterns and motives, derived from the nationally representative Drinkaware Monitor panel survey. T...
Article
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Introduction Many countries have now mandated warning labels on e-cigarette products. One example, the EU TPD health warning states, “This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance. [It is not recommended for use by non-smokers]”. The impact of the EU TPD warning message on intentions to use, has not been explored within an EU...
Article
Deviant group members who break group norms often challenge social validity and group locomotion, invoking varying types of social control responses. The current study (N = 95) investigated changes over time in the use of four social control responses of varying severity (persuasion, embarrassment, temporary exclusion and permanent exclusion) emplo...
Article
Objective: Alcohol use has consistently been shown to be related to sexual risk-taking behaviours. To assess what factors may contribute to the sexual risk decision-making process, this study examined the relationships among alcohol use (frequency, quantity, and binge drinking), cognitive appraisals of sexual risk taking, sex-related alcohol expec...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: Labels indicating low/light versions of tobacco and foods are perceived as less harmful, which may encourage people to consume more. There is an absence of evidence concerning the impact on consumption of labeling alcohol products as lower in strength. The current study tests the hypothesis that labeling wine and beer as lower in alcoho...
Article
Objective: Labels indicating low/light versions of tobacco and foods are perceived as less harmful which may encourage people to consume more. There is an absence of evidence concerning the impact on consumption of labelling alcohol products as lower in strength. The current study tests the hypothesis that labelling wine and beer as lower in alcoho...
Article
Full-text available
Attachment styles have been shown to be an important predictor of relationship quality and well-being. They have also been linked with ability to function well in groups. Insecure attachment styles are thought to be an underlying cause of addiction and represent a target for change in one-to-one therapy. How attachment styles themselves affect grou...
Article
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Introduction: Smoking is a major cause of ill health and is associated with several diseases including cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke. Many psychological and pharmacological smoking cessation treatments are available and although they are undoubtedly the most cost-effective health interventions available, many people still fail to maint...
Article
Aims: Responsible drinking messages (RDMs) are used as a key tool to reduce alcohol-related harms. A common form of RDM is in a poster format displayed in places such as bars, bus stops and toilet cubicles. However, evidence for the effectiveness of RDMs remains limited. Moreover, it is not known how environmental contexts (e.g. the number of alco...
Article
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new psychological intervention, the iNEAR, which is a resilience and wellbeing programme consisting of a classroom based set of activities designed to facilitate the formation of positive identities through the acquisition of skills for growth and personal flourishing. Three hundred and f...
Article
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Introduction Since the advent of e-cigarettes, e-cigarette advertising has escalated and companies are able to use marketing strategies that are not permissible for tobacco products. Research into the effect of e-cigarette advertising on attitudes towards tobacco and e-cigarettes is in its infancy. To date, no research has compared indirect (implic...
Article
The field of addiction psychology attempts to addresses a major social problem. Yet, discourse within the discipline suggests a biological focus, driven by disease-model of addiction, has caused our understanding to be too narrow. In contrast, psychosocial approaches conceptualize the phenomena from various perspectives. We here bring together pape...
Article
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Background/aims: If sexual compulsivity and other addictive behaviours share common aetiology, contemporary proposals about the role of attentional processes in understanding addictive behaviours are relevant. Methods: To examine attentional biases for sex-related words among sexually active individuals and the relationship between sexual compul...
Data
Appendix S1. Sample size determination for indirect effects.
Data
Appendix S2. Description of behavioural tasks.
Article
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\textbf{OBJECTIVES}$: There is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol-advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking young adults, and to examine underlying proces...
Article
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Previous research has found a discrepancy between the number of individuals who self-report as being vulnerable and official prevalence estimations. Both this discrepancy and victims’ views about their vulnerability need addressing in order to identify further training needs for criminal justice system agencies and to that ensure victims receive th...
Article
Previous research exploring cognitive biases in bulimia nervosa suggests that attentional biases occur for both food-related and body-related cues. Individuals with bulimia were compared to non-bulimic controls on an emotional-Stroop task which contained both food-related and body-related cues. Results indicated that bulimics (but not controls) dem...
Article
Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the world providing the opportunity to maintain and/or establish relationships, to share media contents and experiences with friends, and to easily communicate with them. Despite the resources and the innovative social features offered by Facebook research has emerged indicating that its use ma...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: There is sparse evidence regarding the effect of alcohol-advertising exposure on alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. This study aimed to assess the immediate effects of alcohol-promoting and alcohol-warning video advertising on objective alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking young adults, and to examine underlying processes. Des...
Article
An experiment tested the effects of dyad membership and the prospect of completing a motor-skills task on alcohol placebo consumption and task confidence. Participants (n = 115) completed a taste preference task while alone or in dyads. Half the individuals and half the dyads expected to subsequently complete a motor-skills task and rated task conf...
Article
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Introduction: Having an identity as a ‘drinker’ has been linked to increased alcohol-related harm, self-reported consumption and self-reported intention to engage in risky drinking behavior. These effects have been observed when identities have been measured using explicit measures (e.g. via questionnaires) and implicitly (e.g. using Implicit Assoc...
Article
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Engagement with self-help groups is a predictor of positive outcomes for those attempting to control their addictive behaviours. In common with other groups, self-help groups have to manage non-normative (‘deviant’) behaviour to ensure the social values of the group remain preserved, and the group can fulfil its aims. These processes may protect gr...
Article
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There exists a predominant identity loss and “redemption” narrative in the addiction literature describing how individuals move from a “substance user” identity to a “recovery” identity. However, other identity related pathways influencing onset, treatment seeking and recovery may exist, and the process through which social identities unrelated to...
Article
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Key points 1) Stoma operations are a common elective surgery used to treat / reduce risk of cancer. 2) Maintaining group memberships and multiple memberships has been shown to improve outcomes in various health domains. 3) Thirty one patients undergoing stoma surgery completed measures of perceptions of multiple group membership and continuity pr...
Article
The first year of study in Higher Education is a time of major transition for students. While the importance of induction has been widely demonstrated, there is evidence to suggest that not all students benefit equally from participation in induction. There is also a lack of research examining the impact of induction on first year attainment. This...
Article
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Aims: To examine whether a group of social drinkers showed longer response latencies to alcohol-related stimuli than neutral stimuli and to test whether exposure to 1) an alcohol-related environment and 2) consumption related cues influenced the interference from alcohol-related stimuli. Methods: A 2 × 2 × 2 × 5 factorial design with Exposure Group...