Milica Vasiljevic

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Verified

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• PhD
• Professor at Durham University

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...

Background: Increased availability of low/er strength alcohol products has the potential to reduce alcohol consumption if they are marketed as substitutes for higher strength products rather than as additional products. The current study compares the main marketing messages conveyed by retailers and producers for low/er and regular strength wine an...

Meat consumption has an adverse impact on both human and planetary health. To date, very few studies have examined the effectiveness of interventions tackling the overconsumption of meat in field settings. The present research addresses this gap by examining the impact of gain-framed labelling interventions communicating the adverse environmental c...

Rationale: Meta-reviews synthesising research on social class and mental health and wellbeing are currently limited and focused on specific facets of social class (e.g., social capital) or mental health and wellbeing (e.g., mental health disorders), and none sought to identify mechanisms in this relationship. Objectives: The present meta-review...

Meat consumption has been linked to adverse health consequences, worsening climate change, and the risk of pandemics. Meat is however a popular food product and dissuading people from consuming meat has proven difficult. Outside the realm of meat consumption, previous research has shown that pictorial warning labels are effective at curbing tobacco...

Objective Healthcare professionals often use opportunistic weight management conversations, aligned with the Making Every Contact Count (MECC) approach, to provide motivational support to service users. While research supports this practice from the professionals' perspective, the views of service users on these interactions remain understudied. Th...

Socio-economic status (SES) correlates with patterns of food consumption, yet the underlying physiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study examines how SES modulates the relationship between vagal tone, a physiological marker of self-regulation, and chocolate consumption. Different hypotheses about how SES may be linked to vagal regulation of...

Background Making Every Contact Count (MECC) is a public health strategy which strives to enable brief interventions to be implemented through opportunistic healthy lifestyle conversations. In a mental health inpatient setting a bespoke MECC training package has been developed to encourage cascade training through a train the trainer model and to i...

Inter-household water transfer is a common practice in water-scarce regions where households may rely on their neighbors or broader community to access water. However, the literature on inter-household water transfers is dominated by the notion of “borrowing,” while the factors influencing this socially conditioned form of water access are not well...

Approximately 50% of the global population currently experiences severe water scarcity, a situation likely to intensify due to climate change. At the same time, the poorest population segments bear the greatest burden of water insecurity. This intersection of geophysical, geochemical, and socioeconomic dimensions of water (in) security challenges r...

An important area for tackling climate change and health improvement is reducing population meat consumption. Traffic light labelling has successfully been implemented to reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. The present research extends this work to meat selection. We tested 1,300 adult UK meat consumers (with quotas for age...

Universities are seeing growing numbers of students with poor mental health and wellbeing. Given that lower socioeconomic status (SES) students typically have poorer mental health and wellbeing than their peers, this may be, in part, caused by an increase in the number of students attending university from lower SES backgrounds. However, less is kn...

Background Commercial advertising and sponsorship drive the consumption of harmful commodities. Local authorities (LAs) have considerable powers to reduce such exposures. This study aimed to characterize local commercial policies across all English LAs. Methods We conducted a census of all English LAs (n = 333) to identify local commercial policie...

Background There is limited evidence on what shapes the acceptability of population level dietary and active-travel policies in England. This information would be useful in the decision-making process about which policies should be implemented and how to increase their effectiveness and sustainability. To fill this gap, we explored public and polic...

Background ‘Making Every Contact Count’ (MECC) is a public health strategy supporting public-facing workers to use opportunities during routine contacts to enable health behaviour change. A mental health hospital in the North East of England is currently implementing a programme to embed MECC across the hospital supporting weight management (‘A Wei...

Introduction Industries that produce and market potentially harmful commodities or services (eg, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, less healthy foods and beverages) are a major influence on the drivers of behavioural risk factors for non-communicable diseases. The nature and impact of interactions between public bodies and ‘harmful commodity industries’...

Staff in Higher Education (HE) experience some of the lowest levels of mental health and wellbeing of any professional group, with the poorest wellbeing found among those with low socioeconomic status (SES). Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic further impacted the working environments of HE staff during an already strained sociopolitical context. Drawi...

Two studies (total n = 1,245) explored the influence of (a) receiving public versus private performance feedback, (b) competing on a team versus solo, and (c) individual differences in team competition participation on cheating behavior. Participants were given opportunities to cheat in an online trivia competition and self-reported their cheating...

A large body of research points to differences in the communal orientation of people from a lower and higher socio-economic status (SES) background. However, direct evidence for differences in communal attitudes remains scant. In this pre-registered report, we test the hypothesis that SES impacts the incentive value of cues associated with bonding...

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories about the virus spread rapidly, and whilst governments across the globe put in place different restrictions and guidelines to contain the pandemic, these were not universally adhered to. This research examined the association between pandemic related risk perceptions, belief in conspiracy theori...

Background and Aims Screening and brief interventions (SBI) in primary health care practices (PHCPs) are effective in reducing reported alcohol consumption, but have not been routinely implemented. Most programs seeking to improve implementation rates have lacked a theoretical rationale. This study aimed to test whether a theory-based intervention...

Placing limitations on advertising of food and non-alcoholic drinks to children is an effective strategy in addressing childhood obesity. The industry maintains that further restrictions are unnecessary. A total of 117 case studies (1980-2016) published by the advertising industry which evaluate the effects of advertising campaigns were reviewed. T...

Within Higher Education (HE), staff and students from lower social class backgrounds often experience poorer wellbeing than their higher social class counterparts. Previous research conducted outside educational contexts has linked social class differences in wellbeing with differences in the extent to which low and high social class individuals fe...

This report documents the mental health and wellbeing of university staff during the coronavirus pandemic, using survey data collected online in March 2021 from 1,182 staff employed across 92 UK universities. Overall, the survey data suggest that university staff are grappling with high levels of poor mental health and wellbeing:• One in two univer...

Within Higher Education (HE), lower social class staff and students often experience poorer wellbeing than their higher social class counterparts. Previous research conducted outside educational contexts has linked social class differences in wellbeing with differences in the extent to which low and high social class individuals feel respected (i.e...

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...

PUBLISHED FULL TEXT AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360555195_Being_Bad_to_Look_Good_Competence_Reputational_Stakes_Can_Increase_Unethical_Behavior

Public support for many policies that tackle obesity by changing environments is low. This may reflect commonly held causal beliefs about obesity, namely that it is due to failures of self-control rather than environmental influences. Several studies have sought to increase public support by changing these and similar causal beliefs, with mixed res...

Public support for many policies that tackle obesity by changing environments is low. This may reflect commonly held causal beliefs about obesity, namely that it is due to failures of self-control rather than environmental influences. Several studies have sought to increase public support by changing these and similar causal beliefs, with mixed res...

Public support for numerous obesity policies is low, which is one barrier to their implementation. One reason for this low support is the tendency to ascribe obesity to failings of willpower as opposed to the environment. Correlational evidence supports this position. However, the experimental evidence is mixed. In two experimental studies, partici...

Background: Public support for numerous obesity policies is low which is one barrier to their implementation. One reason for this low support is the tendency to ascribe obesity to failings of willpower as opposed to the environment. Correlational evidence supports this position: beliefs about the causes of obesity are associated with support for po...

Public support for many policies that tackle obesity by changing environments is low. This may reflect commonly held causal beliefs about obesity, namely that it is due to failures of self-control rather than environmental influences. Several studies have sought to increase public support by changing these and similar causal beliefs, with mixed res...

Objectives Alcohol consumption is the fifth leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The development and promotion of lower strength alcohol products may help reduce alcohol consumption and associated harms. This study assessed what a sample of UK weekly drinkers perceived to be the target groups and occasions for drinking wines and beers...

Background: Calorie labelling may help to reduce energy consumption, but few well-controlled experimental studies have been conducted in real world settings. In a previous randomised controlled pilot trial we did not observe an effect of calorie labelling on energy purchased in worksite cafeterias. In the present study we sought to enhance the eff...

Increasing the proportion of healthier foods available could encourage healthier consumption, but evidence to date is limited in scope and quality. The current study aimed to: (a) examine the feasibility and acceptability of intervening to change product availability in worksite cafeterias; and (b) estimate the impact on energy purchased of increas...

Appendix A - Pilot study; Appendix B - Main study: Tables S5 and S6.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are one of the largest added sugar sources to diets in the UK and USA, particularly among young people. Warning labels, including calorie information labels, could reduce SSB consumption but uncertainty surrounds the labels that are most effective. This study assessed the impact of labels containing (a) each of two...

Lower strength alcohol products may help reduce alcohol consumption and associated harms. This study assessed the impact of labelling wine and beer with different verbal descriptors denoting lower strength, with and without %ABV, on product appeal and understanding of strength. 3,390 adult survey-panel members were randomised to one of 18 groups wi...

Background: Reducing the portion sizes of foods available in restaurants and cafeterias is one promising approach to reducing energy intake, but there is little evidence of its impact from randomised studies in field settings. This study aims to i. examine the feasibility and acceptability, and ii. estimate the impact on energy purchased, of reduc...

Objectives Children exposed to electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) adverts may perceive occasional tobacco smoking as less harmful than children not exposed to e-cigarette adverts. Given the potential cross-cueing effects of e-cigarette adverts on tobacco smoking, there is an urgent need to establish whether the effect found in prior research is rob...

Background: Alcohol is one of the most important risk factors contributing to the global burden of disease. Screening and brief interventions in primary care settings are effective in reducing alcohol consumption. However, implementation of such interventions in routine practice has been proven difficult. Most programmes in practice and research h...

Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is little empirical evidence that elevated power, by default, fuels conflict and aggression. Instead, previous studies have shown that extraneous factors that decrease powerholders’ perceived worth, making powerholders feel inferior or disrespected, seem to be necessary to ‘unleash’ power’s dark side and trigg...

Background: For working adults, about one-third of energy is consumed in the workplace making this an important context in which to reduce energy intake to tackle obesity. The aims of the current study were first, to identify barriers to the feasibility and acceptability of implementing calorie labelling in preparation for a larger trial, and secon...

Background: For working adults, about one-third of energy is consumed in the workplace making this an important context in which to reduce energy intake to tackle obesity. The aims of the current study were first, to identify barriers to the feasibility and acceptability of implementing calorie labelling in preparation for a larger trial, and secon...

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...

Background: Increased availability of low/er strength alcohol products has the potential to reduce alcohol consumption if they are marketed as substitutes for higher strength products rather than as additional products. The current study compares the main marketing messages conveyed by retailers and producers for low/er and regular strength wine an...

Figure S1. Perceived strength of low verbal descriptors for the wine and beer samples relative to the Regular verbal descriptor. Figure S2. Perceived strength of high verbal descriptors for the wine and beer samples relative to the Regular verbal descriptor. Figure S3. Liking of low verbal descriptors for the wine and beer samples relative to the...

Objectives: Low alcohol labels are a set of labels that carry descriptors such as 'low' or 'lighter' to denote alcohol content in beverages. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers in lower strength alcohol products. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of strength. The p...

Objectives Low alcohol labels are a set of labels that carry descriptors such as ‘low’ or ‘lighter’ to denote alcohol content in beverages. There is growing interest from policymakers and producers in lower strength alcohol products. However, there is a lack of evidence on how the general population perceives verbal descriptors of strength. The pre...

Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...

Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...

Background: An estimated one third of energy is consumed in the workplace. The workplace is therefore an important context in which to reduce energy consumption to tackle the high rates of overweight and obesity in the general population. Altering environmental cues for food selection and consumption-physical micro-environment or 'choice architect...

Background An estimated one third of energy is consumed in the workplace. The workplace is therefore an important context in which to reduce energy consumption to tackle the high rates of overweight and obesity in the general population. Altering environmental cues for food selection and consumption—physical micro-environment or ‘choice architectur...

Allport (1954) proposed a series of preconditions that have subsequently been shown to facilitate effects of intergroup contact on attitudes toward outgroups (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). The present study examines whether objective threat, in the form of the 2005 London 7/7 terror attack, can inhibit the positive effects of contact. We tested hypothe...

We contend that an ecological account of violence and aggression requires consideration of societal and cultural settings. Focusing on hierarchical relations, we argue countries with higher (vs. lower) power distance are, on average, located closer to the equator, have more challenging climates (e.g., higher temperature; lower temperature variation...

Two cross-sectional nationally representative surveys designed by Abrams and Houston (2006) were conducted approximately 6 weeks before and 1 month after the July 7 attacks in London. TNS United Kingdom (U.K.) was commissioned by the U.K. government’s Women and Equality Unit (now called the Government Equalities Office) to collect the data through...

Objective Exposure to e-cigarette adverts increases children's positive attitudes towards using them. Given the similarity in appearance between e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, we examined whether exposure to e-cigarette adverts has a cross-product impact on perceptions and attitudes towards smoking tobacco cigarettes. Methods Children aged 1...

\textbf{Objective}$ Exposure to e-cigarette adverts increases children's positive attitudes towards using them. Given the similarity in appearance between e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes, we examined whether exposure to e-cigarette adverts has a cross-product impact on perceptions and attitudes towards smoking tobacco cigarettes. $\textbf{Metho...

Healthy individuals display a tendency to allocate attention unequally across space, and this bias has implications for how individuals interact with their environments. However, the origins of this phenomenon remain relatively poorly understood. The present research examined the joint and independent contributions of two fundamental motivational s...

Background There are concerns that the marketing of e-cigarettes may increase the appeal of tobacco smoking in children. We examined this concern by assessing the impact on appeal of tobacco smoking after exposure to advertisements for e-cigarettes with and without candy-like flavours, such as, bubble gum and milk chocolate. Methods We assigned 598...

Major terrorist events, such as the recent attacks in Ankara, Sinai, and Paris, can have profound effects on a nation's values, attitudes, and prejudices. Yet psychological evidence testing the impact of such events via data collected immediately before and after an attack is understandably rare. In the present research, we tested the independent a...

Restorative justice (RJ) aims to ‘restore harm by including affected parties in a (direct or indirect) encounter and a process of understanding through voluntary and honest dialogue’ (Gavrielides, 2007, p. 139). Many different RJ practices exist; however, typically they involve a meeting between the victim and the perpetrator, and perhaps also comm...

Healthy individuals display a tendency to allocate attention unequally across space, and this bias has implications for how individuals interact with their environments. However, the origins of this phenomenon remain relatively poorly understood. The present research examined the joint and independent contributions of two fundamental motivational s...

Objectives Unhealthy behaviour is more common amongst the deprived, thereby contributing to health inequalities. The evidence that the gap between intention and behaviour is greater amongst the more deprived is limited and inconsistent. We tested this hypothesis using objective and self-report measures of three behaviours, both individual- and area...

Recent studies report that using green labels to denote healthier foods, and red to denote less healthy foods increases consumption of green- and decreases consumption of red-labelled foods. Other symbols (e.g. emoticons conveying normative approval and disapproval) could also be used to signal the healthiness and/or acceptability of consuming such...

In its efforts to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets, international policy has focused almost exclusively on the energy sector. Yet, as the global population and per capita demand for food both increase, emissions from agricultural sources risk jeopardising the achievement of those climate targets, as they already account for over a quarter of a...

One way to promote equality is to encourage people to generate counter-stereotypic role-models. In two experiments, we demonstrate that such interventions have much broader benefits than previously thought – reducing a reliance on heuristic thinking and decreasing tendencies to dehumanize outgroups. In Experiment 1, participants who thought about a...

In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted wit...

In Western culture, there appears to be widespread endorsement of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which stresses equality and freedom). But do people really apply their equality values equally, or are their principles and application systematically discrepant, resulting in equality hypocrisy? The present study, conducted wit...

Economic strategies are largely driven by political and economic considerations. However, we contend that social psychological processes, particularly involving social identity, play an important role and should also be a focus for policy strategies. We review evidence on how changes in the macroeconomy can impact social identities, and vice versa....

In this article, Mario Weick, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Kent and Milica Vasiljevic, Research Associate at the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, discuss insights gained from social, cognitive, and behavioural science on responses to risks. Following their annual Forum presentation, they highl...

Size is an important visuo-spatial characteristic of the physical world. In language processing, previous research has demonstrated a processing advantage for words denoting semantically "big" (e.g., jungle) versus "small" (e.g., needle) concrete objects. We investigated whether semantic size plays a role in the recognition of words expressing abst...

We took an individual differences approach to explain revenge tendencies in powerholders. Across four experimental studies, chronically powerless individuals sought more revenge than chronically powerful individuals following a high power episode (Studies 1 and 2), when striking a powerful pose (Study 3), and when making a powerful hand gesture (St...

Honor concerns are considered an important part of one’s self-image, and strongly associated to cultural values. However, there is a lack of research studies that explore these concerns in more than two cultural communities. Across eight countries (Brazil, Israel, Japan, Macedonia, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States), participant...

Prejudices towards different groups are interrelated, but research has yet to find a way to promote tolerance towards multiple outgroups. We devise, develop and implement a new cognitive intervention for achieving generalized tolerance based on scientific studies of social categorization. In five laboratory experiments and one field study the inter...

Cognitive task. (DOC)

The present report outlines behavioural biases studied in the literature in relation to the way people reason about and respond to catastrophe risks. The project is led by the Lighthill Risk Network, in collaboration with a team of social and behavioural researchers from the University of Kent. The aim of this report is to increase awareness of sel...

Despite downsides, it must, on balance, be good to reduce prejudice. Despite upsides, collective action can also have destructive outcomes. Improving intergroup relations requires multiple levels of analysis involving a broader approach to prejudice reduction, awareness of potential conflict escalation, development of intergroup understanding, and...

Are verbal reports of disgust in moral situations specific indicators of the concept of disgust, or are they used metaphorically to refer to anger? In this experiment, participants read scenarios describing a violation of a norm either about the use of the body (bodily moral) or about harm and rights (socio-moral). They then expressed disgust and a...