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Dr Micheal De Barra
Senior Lecturer in Psychology

Summary

My research is concerned with health and behaviour, and it often takes an evolutionary approach. I have examined how infectious disease shaped cognitive evolution, how behaviour alters infection risk, and how maladaptive ideas about health and healing spread and persist. I have a particular interest in the social and cognitive processes that drive overtreatment (the use of ineffective medical therapies).  

Newest selected publications

Andersson, PA., Vartanova, I., Västfjäll, D., Tinghög, G., Strimling, P., Wu, J., et al. (2024) 'Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies'. Scientific Reports, 14 (1). pp. 1 - 12. ISSN: 2045-2322 Open Access Link

Journal article

Andrighetto, G., Szekely, A., Guido, A., Gelfand, M., Abernathy, J., Arikan, G., et al. (2024) 'Changes in social norms during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic across 43 countries'. Nature Communications, 15 (1). pp. 1 - 11. ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Link

Journal article

de Barra, M., Hakimy, K. and de Bruin, M. (2023) 'Signalling need for care: A neglected functional role of medical treatment'. Evolution Medicine and Public Health, 11 (1). pp. 363 - 378. ISSN: 2050-6201 Open Access Link

Journal article

Brown, RCH. and de Barra, M. (2023) 'A Taxonomy of Non-honesty in Public Health Communication'. Public Health Ethics, 15 (1). pp. 86 - 101. ISSN: 1754-9973 Open Access Link

Journal article

de Barra, M. and Brown, R. (2023) 'Public health communication should be more transparent'. Nature Human Behaviour, 7 (5). pp. 662 - 664. ISSN: 2397-3374 Open Access Link

Journal article
More publications(21)

Brunel University London
Kingston Lane
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 3PH

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