Rob Lowe

 

Department of Psychology,

Swansea University,

Singleton Park,

Swansea,  SA2 8PP,  UK.

Tel: +44 (0)1792-295120

Fax: +44 (0)1792-295679

mailto:R.P.Lowe@Swansea.ac.uk

 

 

 

Potted History

 

I graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London in 1990.  I then worked in the NHS for some years before deciding to go back into academia.  I gained my PhD from Swansea University in 1998.  I went on to do postdoctoral research at the University of Birmingham’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, before moving on as a lecturer to the University of Bristol.  I returned to Swansea in 2001.

 

 

 

Current Research Interests

 

Over the past few years, I have been involved in research projects encompassing a range of issues relevant to both health and social psychology.  

 

Work on stress and coping has formed a significant part of my research activity.  This has focused on two issues: firstly, the association between ways of coping and adjustment to illness, and secondly, how emotion-related appraisals are linked to choice of coping strategies. 

 

I also have an interest in process models and how these might be applied to understanding behaviour motivation.  There are two strands to this work.  The first is whether and how cognitive and evaluative processes might be related to health behaviour.  As such, recent and on-going work has focused on associations between behaviour and attitudes (both conscious and automatic), visual attention, and memory.  The second strand examines underlying mechanisms involved in the processing of socially-relevant information, and uses neural networks for modelling attitudes and allied constructs.

 

Additionally, I have recently begun looking at perceptions of the self, leading to an on-going project examining computer gamers' on-line profiles.

 

 

 


Publications

 

Lowe, R.  (In submission).  Situation and person-based influences on memory for health-behaviour information.

 

Lowe, R., Porter, A., Snooks, H., Button L. & Evans, A. (In submission).  Illness representations and use of unscheduled health-care services.

 

Calitri, R., Lowe, R., Eves, F. F. & Bennett, P. (2009).  Associations between visual attention, implicit and explicit attitude and behaviour for physical activity.  Psychology & Health, 24, 1105 — 1123.

Author Posting. (c) Taylor & Francis, 2009.  This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Taylor & Francis for personal use, not for redistribution.  The definitive version was published in Psychology & Health, Volume 24 Issue 9, November 2009. 

doi:10.1080/08870440802245306 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08870440802245306)

 

Porter, A., Button, L., Duff, K., Edwards, A., Evans, A., Lowe, R., Snooks, H. & Watkins, A. (2008).  Understanding How the Public Chooses to Use Unscheduled Care Services.  Report for the Wales Office for Research and Development for Health and Social Care (WORD) on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government's Directorate of Performance and Operations.

 

Hewlett,S., Cockshott, Z., Almeida, C., Richards, P., Lowe, R., Greenwood, R., Kirwan, J., & the RASE Study Group. (2008).  Sensitivity to change of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Self-Efficacy scale (RASE) and predictors of change in self-efficacy.  Musculoskeletal Care, 6, 49-67.

 

Bennett, P. & Lowe, R. (2008).  Emotions and their cognitive precursors: Responses to spontaneously identified stressful events among hospital nurses.  Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 537-546.

 

Lowe, R., Cockshott, Z., Greenwood, R., Kirwan, J. R., Almeida, C., Richards, P. & Hewlett, S. (2008).  Self-Efficacy as an appraisal that moderates the coping-emotion relationship: Associations among people with rheumatoid arthritis.  Psychology and Health, 23, 155-174.

Author Posting. (c) Taylor & Francis, 2008.  This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Taylor & Francis for personal use, not for redistribution.  The definitive version was published in Psychology & Health, Volume 23 Issue 2, February 2008. 

doi:10.1080/14768320601139160 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14768320601139160)

 

Bennett, P., Williams, D., Chestnutt, I, G., Hood, K. & Lowe, R. (2008).  A reaction-time study of social, health, and personal attributions in relation to fluorosed teeth.  Psychology, Health & Medicine, 13, 75-86.

 

Williams, D. M., Chestnutt, I. G., Bennett, P. D., Hood, K. and Lowe, R.  (2006) Characteristics attributed to persons with dental fluorosis.  Community Dental Health, 23, 209-216.

 

Williams, D. .M., Chestnutt, I. G., Bennett, P. D., Hood, K., Lowe, R. & Heard P.  (2006).  Attitudes to fluorosis and dental caries by a response latency method.  Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 34, 153-159

 

Lowe, R., Bennett, P., Walker, I., Milne, S. & Bozionelos, G.  (2003).  A connectionist implementation of the Theory of Planned Behaviour: Association of beliefs with exercise intention.  Health Psychology, 22, 464–470.

 

Lowe, R., Vedhara, K., Bennett, P. et al.  (2003).  Emotion-related primary and secondary appraisals, adjustment and coping: Associations in women awaiting breast disease diagnosis.  British Journal of Health Psychology, 8, 377-391.

 

Lowe, R. & Bennett, P.  (2003).  Exploring coping reactions to work-stress: Application of an appraisal theory.  Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 76, 393-400.

 

Bennett, P. Lowe, R. & Honey, K.  (2003).  Appraisals, core relational themes, and emotions: A test of consistency of reporting and their associations.  Cognition and Emotion, 17, 511-520.

 

Lowe, R., Eves, F. & Carroll, D.  (2002).  The influence of affective and instrumental beliefs on exercise intentions and behaviour: A longitudinal analysis.  Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1241-1252.

 

Bennett, P., Lowe, R., Matthews, V., Dourali, M. & Tattersall, A.  (2001).  Stress in nurses: Coping, managerial support and work demand.  Stress and Health, 17, 55-63.

 

Lowe, R., Norman, P. & Bennett, P.  (2000). Coping, emotion and perceived health following myocardial infarction: Concurrent and predictive associations.  British Journal of Health Psychology, 5, 337-350.

 

Kennedy, P., Marsh N., Lowe, R., Grey., N., Short E., and Rogers B. (2000).  A longitudinal analysis of psychological impact and coping strategies following spinal cord injury.  British Journal of Health Psychology, 5, 157-172.

 

Bennett, P., Lowe, R., Mayfield, T. & Morgan, M.  (1999).  Coping, mood and behaviour following myocardial infarction: Results of a pilot study.  Coronary Healthcare: An International Journal, 3, 192-198.

 

Bennett, P., Mayfield, T., Norman, P., Lowe, R. & Morgan, M.  (1999).  Affective and social-cognitive predictors of behavioural change following first myocardial infarction.  British Journal of Health Psychology, 4, 247-256.

 

Kennedy, P., Lowe, R., Grey, N. & Short. E. (1995).  Traumatic spinal cord injury and psychological impact: A cross-sectional analysis of coping strategies.  British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 627-639.

 

 

 

 

Funding

 

Associations between physical activity, implicit attitude, and visual attention.  R. Lowe, P. Bennett, & F. Eves.  £44,213 over 1 year.  Awarded by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) 22nd April 2005.

 

Patient education in rheumatoid arthritis: Measuring self-efficacy and predicting change. S. Hewlett, Z. Cockshott, R. Lowe & J. Kirwan.  £54,708 over 3 years (Ref: H0632).  Awarded by the Arthritis Research Campaign 3rd July 2001.