Dr Katy Tapper • City, University of London

Contact details

Address

Dr Katy Tapper D437, Rhind Building
City, University of London
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

Personal links

About
Research
Publications

About

Overview

Dr Tapper is interested in how we change health behaviours, particularly those relating to diet, physical activity and smoking. She has a background in psychology but has worked in multidisciplinary teams, developing and evaluating a wide range of health interventions for both adults and children. These applied projects are informed by her programme of experimental research aimed at identifying and understanding variables that influence health-related behaviours.

Some of her recent research relates to mindful eating, craving management, and calorie labelling in coffee shops and restaurants. She has also been involved in projects aimed at combating COVID-related misinformation, increasing uptake of COVID vaccinations, and promoting more effective science communication.

Current funded projects

She has recently been awarded £186k of funding from UKRI for a 2-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Oviva UK Ltd. The project will use novel behaviour change techniques and tailoring to transform the effectiveness and efficiency of Oviva’s digitally enhanced weight management and diabetes prevention programmes.

Textbook

Her textbook Health Psychology and Behaviour Change was published by Bloomsbury in 2021. It is one of the first books to provide comprehensive, authoritative coverage of this increasingly important field, and is intended as a primary resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers in related fields such as behavioural economics, public health and healthcare. The companion website also includes a wide range of lecture, seminar and assessment resources for instructors.

Recent media engagement

Her research on mindful eating has been featured on the BBC’s Trust Me I’m a Doctor with Michael Mosely. She has also written about mindful eating for The Conversation.

Research

Current Research Funding

Tapper, K. & Bogosian, A. Behaviour change for weight management - improving the effectiveness and efficiency of digitally-enabled programmes. Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Oviva UK Ltd. Innovate UK. £186k. September 2022 - August 2024.

Previous Research Funding

Simpson, S.A., Shaw, C., Duncan, D., Cohen, D., Tapper, K., Hill, A., Hood, K., Owen-Jones, E., Blake, C., Rollnick, S., Elwyn, G. & Williams, S. Weight Loss Maintenance in Adults. NIHR. £981k, September 2010 – March 2014.

Tapper, K., Maio, G., Haddock, G., Lewis, M. Lifestyle Change: Values and Volition. ESRC. £424k. September 2009 – August 2013.

Tapper, K. Mindfulness, attentional control and healthy eating. National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, Doctoral Studentship. £60k. January 2011-December 2013.

Moore, L., Murphy, S., Lyons, R., Tapper, K. & Benton, D. Free School Breakfast Initiative Data Augmentation and Analysis. MRC (NPRI). May 2009 – April 2011, £281k.

Tapper, K. & Pothos, E.M. Thinking about food: Effects on food-related attentional bias. Nuffield Foundation. £7k. March 2009 – August 2010.

Pothos, E.M. & Tapper, K. Does pre-occupation with body shape / food lead to overeating? Welsh Office of Research and Development. February 2006 – January 2008, £67k.

Moore, L., Tapper, K. & Murphy, S. Evaluation of Free School Breakfasts Initiative. National Assembly for Wales. September 2004 – August 2007, £496k.

Tapper, K., Shaw, C. & Moore, L. Development and piloting of an acceptance-based intervention for overweight and obese women. Welsh Office of Research and Development. March 2006 – August 2007, £73k.

Tapper, K., Lawrence, A. & Pothos, E.M. Development and comparison of measures of food-related attentional bias. Welsh Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. April 2007 – June 2007, £3k.

Tapper, K. & Pothos, E.M. Effects of two ideation strategies on children’s ability to delay gratification. Nuffield Foundation. January 2006 – September 2006, £7k.

Lowe, C.F., Horne, P.J. & Tapper, K. Trials of the Food Dude Healthy Eating Programme in Ireland. Bord Glas. June 2002 – January 2004, £147k.

Lowe, C.F., Horne, P.J. & Tapper, K. A pilot study of the Food Dude Healthy Eating Programme in Ireland. Fyffes. May 2002 – August 2003, £23k.

Publications

Featured publications

Tapper, K. (2021). Health Psychology and Behaviour Change From Science to Practice. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-137-57948-5.
Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Schmid, P., Holford, D.L., Finn, A., Leask, J. … Vraga, E.K. (2021). The Covid-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook.
Tapper, K. (2022). Mindful eating: what we know so far. Nutrition Bulletin, 47(2), pp. 168–185. doi:10.1111/nbu.12559.
Tapper, K., Yarrow, K., Farrar, S.T. and Mandeville, K.L. (2022). Effects of calorie labelling and contextual factors on hypothetical coffee shop menu choices. Appetite, 172. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2022.105963.
Seguias, L. and Tapper, K. (2022). A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining the Effects of Mindful Eating and Eating without Distractions on Food Intake over a Three-Day Period. Nutrients, 14(5). doi:10.3390/nu14051043.
Wilson, E., Senior, V. and Tapper, K. (2021). The effect of visualisation and mindfulness-based decentering on chocolate craving. Appetite, 164, pp. 105278–105278. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105278.
Tapper, K. and Seguias, L. (2020). The effects of mindful eating on food consumption over a half-day period. Appetite, 145, pp. 104495–104495. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2019.104495.
Tapper, K. and Ahmed, Z. (2018). A Mindfulness-Based Decentering Technique Increases the Cognitive Accessibility of Health and Weight Loss Related Goals. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00587.
Tapper, K. (2017). Mindfulness and craving: effects and mechanisms. Clinical Psychology Review, 59, pp. 101–117. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.11.003.
Tapper, K. (2017). Can mindfulness influence weight management related eating behaviors? If so, how? CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW, 53, pp. 122–134. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.03.003.

Publications by category

Chapter

Jiga-Boy, G.M., Maio, G.R., Haddock, G. and Tapper, K. (2016). Values and behavior. Handbook of Value Perspectives from Economics, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-871660-0.

Conference papers and proceedings (2)

Tapper, K., Jiga-Boy, G.M., Maio, G.R. and Haddock, G. (2013). Development and assessment of the HealthValues Healthy Eating Programme: an exploratory study.
Brunstrom, J., Rogers, P., Pothos, E., Tapper, K. and Caltri, R. (2008). Estimating Everyday Portion Size Using a 'Method of Constant Stimuli'.

Internet publication

Holford, D., Fasce, A., Tapper, K., Demko, M., Lewandowsky, S., Hahn, U. … et al., (2022). A Manifesto for Science Communication as Collective Intelligence.

Journal articles (52)

Bogosian, A., Hurt, C.S., Hindle, J.V., McCracken, L.M., Vasconcelos e Sa, D.A., Axell, S. … Cubi-Molla, P. (2022). Acceptability and Feasibility of a Mindfulness Intervention Delivered via Videoconferencing for People With Parkinson’s. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 35(1), pp. 155–167. doi:10.1177/0891988720988901.
Farrar, S.T., Plagnol, A.C. and Tapper, K. (2022). The effect of priming on food choice: A field and laboratory study. Appetite, 168, pp. 105749–105749. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105749.
Pothos, E.M., Lewandowsky, S., Basieva, I., Barque-Duran, A., Tapper, K. and Khrennikov, A. (2021). Information overload for (bounded) rational agents. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1944), pp. 20202957–20202957. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.2957.
Farrar, S.T., Yarrow, K. and Tapper, K. (2020). The Effect of Mindfulness on Cognitive Reflection and Reasoning. Mindfulness, 11(9), pp. 2150–2160. doi:10.1007/s12671-020-01429-z.
George, M.K., Bogosian, A. and Tapper, K. (2019). The effect of implementation intentions on use of dental chewing gum. Health Psychology Open, 6(1), pp. 205510291985717–205510291985717. doi:10.1177/2055102919857176.
Tapper, K. and Turner, A. (2018). The effect of a mindfulness-based decentering strategy on chocolate craving. Appetite, 130, pp. 157–162. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2018.08.011.
Seguias, L. and Tapper, K. (2017). The Effect of Mindful Eating on Subsequent Intake of a High Calorie Snack. Appetite, 121, pp. 93–100. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2017.10.041.
Hunt, X., Nespola, A., Tapper, K. and Kagee, A. (2017). Sensitivity to reward and punishment: Associations with fat and sugar intake among South African students. South African Journal of Psychology, 47(2), pp. 222–232. doi:10.1177/0081246316667329.
Tapper, K. (2017). Children respond to food restriction by increasing food consumption. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40(e129). doi:10.1017/S0140525X16001540.
Jenkins, K.T., Benton, D., Tapper, K., Murphy, S. and Moore, L. (2015). A cross-sectional observational study of the nutritional intake of UK primary school children from deprived and non-deprived backgrounds: implications for school breakfast schemes. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1). doi:10.1186/s12966-015-0238-9.
Simpson, S.A., McNamara, R., Shaw, C., Kelson, M., Moriarty, Y., Randell, E. … Hood, K. (2015). A feasibility randomised controlled trial of a motivational interviewing-based intervention for weight loss maintenance in adults. Health Technology Assessment, 19(50), pp. 1–378. doi:10.3310/hta19500.
Tapper, K., Baker, L., Jiga-Boy, G., Haddock, G. and Maio, G.R. (2015). Sensitivity to reward and punishment: Associations with diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Personality and Individual Differences, 72, pp. 79–84. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.08.025.
Tapper, K., Jiga-Boy, G., Maio, G.R., Haddock, G. and Lewis, M. (2014). Development and preliminary evaluation of an internet-based healthy eating program: randomized controlled trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 16(10). doi:10.2196/jmir.3534.
Jenkins, K.T. and Tapper, K. (2014). Resisting chocolate temptation using a brief mindfulness strategy. Br J Health Psychol, 19(3), pp. 509–522. doi:10.1111/bjhp.12050.
Cleobury, L. and Tapper, K. (2014). Reasons for eating 'unhealthy' snacks in overweight and obese males and females. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 27(4), pp. 333–341. doi:10.1111/jhn.12169.
Murphy, S., Moore, G., Tapper, K., Lynch, R., Clarke, R., Raisanen, L. … Moore, L. (2011). Free healthy breakfasts in primary schools: A cluster randomised controlled trial of a policy intervention in Wales, UK. Public Health Nutrition, 14(2), pp. 219–226. doi:10.1017/S1368980010001886.
Tapper, K., Pothos, E.M. and Lawrence, A.D. (2010). Feast Your Eyes: Hunger and Trait Reward Drive Predict Attentional Bias for Food Cues. Emotion, 10(6), pp. 949–954. doi:10.1037/a0020305.
Calitri, R., Pothos, E.M., Tapper, K., Brunstrom, J.M. and Rogers, P.J. (2010). Cognitive biases to healthy and unhealthy food words predict change in BMI. Obesity, 18(12), pp. 2282–2287. doi:10.1038/oby.2010.78.
Pothos, E.M. and Tapper, K. (2010). Inducing a Stroop Effect. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 24(7), pp. 1021–1033. doi:10.1002/acp.1603.
Moore, S.N., Murphy, S., Tapper, K. and Moore, L. (2010). The social, physical and temporal characteristics of primary school dining halls and their implications for children's eating behaviours. Health Education, 110(5), pp. 399–411. doi:10.1108/09654281011068540.
Moore, S., Murphy, S., Tapper, K. and Moore, L. (2010). From policy to plate: Barriers to implementing healthy eating policies in primary schools in Wales. , 94(3), pp. 239–245.
Moore, S.N., Tapper, K. and Murphy, S. (2010). Feeding strategies used by primary school meal staff and their impact on children's eating. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 23(1), pp. 78–84. doi:10.1111/j.1365-277X.2009.01009.x.
Moore, S.N., Tapper, K. and Murphy, S. (2010). Feeding goals sought by mothers of 3-5-year-old children. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15(1), pp. 185–196. doi:10.1348/135910709X447668.
Moore, S.N., Tapper, K. and Murphy, S. (2010). Feeding goals sought by mothers of 3-5-year-old children. Br J Health Psychol, 15(Pt 1), pp. 185–196. doi:10.1348/135910709X447668.
Kosnes, L., Pothos, E.M. and Tapper, K. (2010). Increased affective influence: Situational complexity or deliberation time? American Journal of Psychology, 123(1), pp. 29–38. doi:10.5406/amerjpsyc.123.1.0029.
Tapper, K. and Pothos, E.M. (2010). Development and validation of a Food Preoccupation Questionnaire. Eating Behaviors, 11(1), pp. 45–53. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2009.09.003.
Pothos, E.M., Calitri, R., Tapper, K., Brunstrom, J.M. and Rogers, P.J. (2009). Comparing measures of cognitive bias relating to eating behaviour. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(7), pp. 936–952. doi:10.1002/acp.1506.
Pothos, E.M., Tapper, K. and Calitri, R. (2009). Cognitive and behavioral correlates of BMI among male and female undergraduate students. Appetite, 52(3), pp. 797–800. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.03.002.
Tapper, K., Shaw, C., Ilsley, J., Hill, A.J., Bond, F.W. and Moore, L. (2009). Exploratory randomised controlled trial of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women. Appetite, 52(2), pp. 396–404. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2008.11.012.
Horne, P.J., Hardman, C.A., Lowe, C.F., Tapper, K., Le Noury, J., Madden, P. … Doody, M. (2009). Increasing parental provision and children's consumption of lunchbox fruit and vegetables in Ireland: The Food Dudes intervention. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63(5), pp. 613–618. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2008.34.
Moore, G.F., Tapper, K., Moore, L. and Murphy, S. (2008). Cognitive, behavioral, and social factors are associated with bias in dietary questionnaire self-reports by schoolchildren aged 9 to 11 years. J Am Diet Assoc, 108(11), pp. 1865–1873. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2008.08.012.
Moore, L. and Tapper, K. (2008). The impact of school fruit tuck shops and school food policies on children's fruit consumption: A cluster randomised trial of schools in deprived areas. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62(10), pp. 926–931. doi:10.1136/jech.2007.070953.
Tapper, K. (2008). Book Review: Deirdre Barrett Waistland. The (R)evolutionary Science Behind Our Weight and Fitness Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007, 320 pp. $24.95 (hbk.); ISBN: 978-0-393-06216-8. Journal of Health Psychology, 13(7), pp. 968–969. doi:10.1177/13591053080130071505.
Tapper, K., Pothos, E.M., Fadardi, J.S. and Ziori, E. (2008). Restraint, disinhibition and food-related processing bias. Appetite, 51(2), pp. 335–338. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2008.03.006.
Brunstrom, J.M., Rogers, P.J., Pothos, E.M., Calitri, R. and Tapper, K. (2008). Estimating everyday portion size using a 'method of constant stimuli': In a student sample, portion size is predicted by gender, dietary behaviour, and hunger, but not BMI. Appetite, 51(2), pp. 296–301. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2008.03.005.
Tapper, K., Murphy, S., Lynch, R., Clark, R., Moore, G.F. and Moore, L. (2008). Development of a scale to measure 9-11-year-olds' attitudes towards breakfast. Eur J Clin Nutr, 62(4), pp. 511–518. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602735.
Moore, L., Moore, G.F., Tapper, K., Lynch, R., Desousa, C., Hale, J. … Murphy, S. (2007). Free breakfasts in schools: Design and conduct of a cluster randomised controlled trial of the Primary School Free Breakfast Initiative in Wales [ISRCTN18336527]. BMC Public Health, 7. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-258.
Moore, S.N., Tapper, K. and Murphy, S. (2007). Feeding strategies used by mothers of 3-5-year-old children. Appetite, 49(3), pp. 704–707. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2007.07.009.
Moore, G.F., Tapper, K., Murphy, S., Lynch, R., Raisanen, L., Pimm, C. … Moore, L. (2007). Associations between deprivation, attitudes towards eating breakfast and breakfast eating behaviours in 9-11-year-olds. Public Health Nutr, 10(6), pp. 582–589. doi:10.1017/S1368980007699558.
Tapper, K., Murphy, S., Moore, L., Lynch, R. and Clark, R. (2007). Evaluating the free school breakfast initiative in Wales: Methodological issues. British Food Journal, 109(3), pp. 206–215. doi:10.1108/00070700710732538.
Moore, G.F., Tapper, K., Murphy, S., Clark, R., Lynch, R. and Moore, L. (2007). Validation of a self-completion measure of breakfast foods, snacks and fruits and vegetables consumed by 9- to 11-year-old schoolchildren. Eur J Clin Nutr, 61(3), pp. 420–430. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602531.
Lowe, C.F., Horne, P.J., Hardman, C.A. and Tapper, K. (2006). A peer-modeling and rewards-based intervention is effective in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption in children. Preventive Medicine, 43(4), p. 351. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2006.04.013.
Tapper, K. (2006). Predation versus competition and the importance of manipulable causes. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29(3), pp. 243–244. doi:10.1017/S0140525X06439054.
Tapper, K. (2005). Motivating operations in appetite research. Appetite, 45(2), pp. 95–107. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2005.05.002.
Moore, L., Tapper, K., Dennehy, A. and Cooper, A. (2005). Development and testing of a computerised 24-h recall questionnaire measuring fruit and snack consumption among 9-11 year olds. Eur J Clin Nutr, 59(7), pp. 809–816. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602146.
Tapper, K. and Boulton, M.J. (2005). Victim and peer group responses to different forms of aggression among primary school children. Aggressive Behavior, 31(3), pp. 238–253. doi:10.1002/ab.20080.
Horne, P.J., Tapper, K., Lowe, C.F., Hardman, C.A., Jackson, M.C. and Woolner, J. (2004). Increasing children's fruit and vegetable consumption: A peer-modelling and rewards-based intervention. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 58(12), pp. 1649–1660. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602024.
Tapper, K. and Boulton, M.J. (2004). Sex differences in levels of physical, verbal, and indirect aggression amongst primary school children and their associations with beliefs about aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 30(2), pp. 123–145. doi:10.1002/ab.20010.
Lowe, C.F., Horne, P.J., Tapper, K., Bowdery, M. and Egerton, C. (2004). Effects of a peer modelling and rewards-based intervention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in children. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 58(3), pp. 510–522. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601838.
Tapper, K., Horne, P.J. and Lowe, C.F. (2003). The food dudes to the rescue! Psychologist, 16(1), pp. 18–21.
Tapper, K. and Boulton, M.J. (2002). Studying Aggression in School Children: The Use of a Wireless Microphone and Micro-Video Camera. Aggressive Behavior, 28(5), pp. 356–365. doi:10.1002/ab.80009.
Tapper, K. and Boulton, M. (2000). Social representations of physical, verbal, and indirect aggression in children: Sex and age differences. Aggressive Behavior, 26(6), pp. 442–454. doi:10.1002/1098-2337(200011)26:63.0.CO;2-C.

Media

Armaos, K., Tapper, K., Ecker, U., Juanchich, M., Bruns, H., Gavaruzzi, T. … Lewandowsky, S. (2021). How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories and misinformation.