Emeritus Professor John Reidy BSc, PhD, FHEA
Lecturer in Psychology
- Sheffield Institute of Social Sciences
- Centre for Behavioural Science and Applied Psychology
- Social and Economic Research Institute
Summary
I have worked in the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics at Sheffield Hallam since 1999. I have held a number of roles in my time here at Sheffield Hallam, including, Head of Department, University Academic Work Planning course leadership and module leadership. I am passionate about teaching, particularly research methods and statistics and am an active researcher with a particular interest in cognition and emotion, health psychology interventions and psychometric testing.
About
I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at the Polytechnic of East London in 1990. I was then gained an MRC Studentship for my doctoral research at Birkbeck College, University of London. I was awarded my doctorate in 1994. After leaving Birkbeck, I undertook a one year research associate position at Goldmiths College, University of London before moving on to a lectureship at the University of East London (UEL) in 1995.
At UEL I developed a particular interest in teaching research methods and statistics and I was invited by Christine Dancey to co-author a statistics textbook, Statistics Without Maths for Psychology. The 'fish book', as it has become affectionately known to students, has turned out to be very successful and is now in its eighth edition.
I moved to Sheffield Hallam University in 1999 where I joined the then School of Social Sciences and Law. I have had a number of roles, including Course Leader for the BSC Psychology, the Programme leader for the Applied Social Sciences. After this I became the Academic Work Planner for Psychology and a Psychology Group Leader. I then became the Head of Academic Operations within the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics before becoming the Head of Department. I was also the Academic Work Planning Lead for the University from 2016 until 2020. I retired from my role as Head of Department in December 2022 before taking up a part-time lectureship in psychology in March 2023.
I am an active researcher with interests in cognitive and emotion, in particular cognitive biases associated with anxiety and depression; the use of interventions to promote healthy behaviours, e.g. mental simulations. I have also developed a wide-ranging expertise in research methodologies, including in the use of eye-tracking methods and psychometrics.
Teaching
Sheffield Institute of Social Sciences
College of Social Sciences and Arts
Subject Area
Psychology
Courses
BSc Psychology
MSc Psychology
MSc Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience
MSc Health Psychology
Modules
Academic Development and Personal Tuition
Psychology Practicals and Statistics
Psychology Research Project
Advanced Statistics and Design
Research Methods and Measurement Issues in Health Psychology
Research
I'm currently interested in cognition and emotion and whether we can modify the memory bias associated with anxiety. I am also interested in self-regulation and have recently worked with a number of colleagues investigating the measurement of driving self-regulation. I have recently completed some work on the psychometric evaluation of the Life Essentials Assessment Framework developed by Age UK.
Publications
Journal articles
Robson, A., Ypsilanti, A., Lazuras, L., Powell, P.A., Overton, P.G., & Reidy, J. (2025). Is self-disgust an implicit or explicit emotional schema? Journal of Affective Disorders, 369, 1256-1266. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.047
Greene, L., Reidy, J., Morton, N., Atherton, A., & Barker, L. (2023). Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Social Inference Ability in Traumatic Brain Injury: An Eye-Tracking Comparison Study. Behavioral Sciences, 13 (10). http://doi.org/10.3390/bs13100816
Lazuras, L., Rowe, R., Ypsilanti, A., Smythe, I., Poulter, D., & Reidy, J. (2022). Driving self-regulation and risky driving outcomes. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 91, 461-471. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.10.027
Greene, L., Barker, L., Reidy, J., Morton, N., & Atherton, A. (2022). Emotion recognition and eye tracking of static and dynamic facial affect: acomparison of individuals with and without traumatic brain injury. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. http://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2022.2128066
Acaster, S., Taroyan, N., Soranzo, A., & Reidy, J. (2021). Behavioural and Electrophysiological Correlates of Lightness Contrast and Assimilation. Experimental Brain Research, 239 (11), 3205-3220. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-021-06197-3
Soranzo, A., Acaster, S., Taroyan, N., & Reidy, J. (2020). Depth plane separation affects both Lightness Contrast and Assimilation. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2114. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02114
Gheorghes, T., Richardson, P., & Reidy, J. (2020). Local biases drive, but do not determine, the perception of illusory trajectories. Scientific Reports. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64837-0
Morgan, J., Reidy, J., & Probst, T. (2019). Age group differences in household accident risk perceptions and intentions to reduce hazards. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16 (12), e2237. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122237
Soranzo, A., Petrelli, D., Ciolfi, L., & Reidy, J. (2018). On the perceptual aesthetics of interactive objects. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 71 (12), 2586-2602. http://doi.org/10.1177/1747021817749228
Akram, U., Milkins, B., Ypsilanti, A., Reidy, J., Lazuras, L., Stevenson, J., ... Barclay, N.L. (2018). The therapeutic potential of attentionalbias modification training for insomnia: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 19. http://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-018-2937-4
Akram, U., Beattie, L., Ypsilanti, A., Reidy, J., Robson, A., Chapman, A.J., & Barclay, N.L. (2018). Sleep-related attentional bias for tired faces in insomnia: Evidence from a dot-probe paradigm. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 103, 18-23. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.01.007
Mayor, H., & Reidy, J. (2016). The role of pain, perseverative cognition and goal adjustment in vasculitis associated fatigue. Journal of Health Psychology, 23 (10), 1299-1308. http://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316652466
Moore, D., Reidy, J., & Heavey, L. (2016). Attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder individuals : searching for a Face-in-the-Crowd. Autism, 20 (2), 163-171. http://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315573637
Benn, Y., Webb, T.L., Chang, B.P.I., & Reidy, J. (2015). What information do consumers consider, and how do they look for it, when shopping for groceries online? Appetite, 89, 265-273. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2015.01.025
Brown, K.G., Reidy, J., Weighall, A.R., & Arden, M. (2013). Graphic imagery is not sufficient for increased attention to cigarette warnings: the role of text captions. Addiction, 108 (4), 820-825. http://doi.org/10.1111/add.12008
Armitage, C.J., & Reidy, J.G. (2012). Evidence that process simulations reduce anxiety in patients receiving dental treatment: randomized exploratory trial. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 25 (2), 155-165. http://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2011.604727
Moore, D.J., Heavey, L., & Reidy, J. (2012). Attentional processing of faces in ASD: a dot-probe study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 (10), 2038-2045. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1449-4
Webb, T.L., Ononaiye, M.S.P., Sheeran, P., Reidy, J.G., & Lavda, A. (2010). Using implementation intentions to overcome the effects of social anxiety on attention and appraisals of performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36 (5), 612-627. http://doi.org/10.1177/0146167210367785
Armitage, C.J., & Reidy, J.G. (2008). Use of mental simulations to change theory of planned behaviour variables. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13 (3), 513-524. http://doi.org/10.1348/135910707X227088
Ononaiye, M.S.P., Turpin, G., & Reidy, J. (2007). Attentional bias in social anxiety: manipulation of stimulus duration and social-evaluative anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 31 (6), 727-740. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9096-8
Reidy, J. (2004). Trait anxiety, trait depression, worry, and memory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42 (8), 937-948. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2003.07.005
Keogh, E., & Reidy, J. (2000). Exploring the factor structure of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ). Journal of Personality Assessment, 74 (1), 106-125. http://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA740108
Keogh, E., French, C.C., & Reidy, J. (1998). Predictors of worry. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 11 (1), 67-80. http://doi.org/10.1080/10615809808249314
Reidy, J., & Richards, A. (1997). A memory bias for threat in high-trait anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences, 23 (4), 653-663. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00071-8
Reidy, J., & Keogh, E. (1997). Testing the discriminant and convergent validity of the mood and anxiety symptoms questionnaire using a British sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 23 (2), 337-344. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00048-2
Reidy, J., & Richards, A. (1997). Anxiety and memory: A recall bias for threatening words in high anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35 (6), 531-542. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(97)00001-6
Conference papers
Dunn, H.D. (2021). Exploring the meaning of care in nursing care homes for older people. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00449
Taroyan, N., Acaster, S., Soranzo, A., & Reidy, J. (2019). Behavioural and event-related potential responses to lightness contrast and assimilation. Abstract only. Perception, 48 (S1), 90. http://doi.org/10.1177/0301006618824879
Acaster, S., Soranzo, A., Taroyan, N., & Reidy, J. (2018). ERP responses to stimuli which elicit lightness contrast and assimilation. In 41st European Conference on Visual Perception, Trieste, Italy, 26 August 2018 - 30 August 2018. https://www.ecvp2018.org/
Greene, L., Barker, L., Reidy, J., Morton, N., & Atherton, A. (2018). Exploring fixation patterns and social cognition after traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience, 9, 71. http://doi.org/10.21767/2171-6625-C1-009
Greene, L., Barker, L., Reidy, J., & Morton, N. (2018). Investigating visual strategies during the recognition of static and dynamic facial affect in TBI and control cohorts. Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience, 9, 60-61. http://doi.org/10.21767/2171-6625-C1-008
Petrelli, D., Soranzo, A., Ciolfi, L., & Reidy, J. (2016). Exploring the aesthetics of tangible interaction : experiments on the perception of hybrid objects. In ACM International conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI), Eindhoven University of Technology, 14 January 2016 - 2 January 2016. ACM: http://doi.org/10.1145/2839462.2839478
Gheorghes, T., Soranzo, A., & Reidy, J. (2015). The effect of inter-stimulus interval on the partially occluded slalom illusion. In ECVP 2015 ; European Conference on Visual Perception, Liverpool (UK), 23 August 2015 - 27 August 2015. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0301006615598674
Acaster, S., Soranzo, A., Taroyan, N., & Reidy, J. (2015). The effects of depth separation on lightness contrast and lightness assimilation. In ECVP 2015 ; European Conference on Visual Perception, Liverpool (UK), 23 August 2015 - 27 August 2015. http://ecvp.org/2015/
Gheorgheos, T., Reidy, J., & Soranzo, A. (2014). The slalom illusion in the context of illusory lines. In 37th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP 2014), Belgrade, Sebia, 24 August 2014 - 28 August 2014. http://ecvp2014.org/default.asp
Soranzo, A., Gheorgheos, T., & Reidy, J. (2014). The slalom illusion in the context of partially invisible trajectory. In 37th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP 2014), Belgrade, Sebia, 24 August 2014 - 28 August 2014. http://ecvp2014.org/default.asp
Books
Dancey, C., Reidy, J., & Rowe, R. (2012). Statistics for the Health Sciences A Non-Mathematical Introduction. SAGE.
Dancey, C.P., & Reidy, J. (2007). Statistics Without Maths for Psychology. Pearson Education.
Dancey, C., & Reidy, J. (2004). Statistics Without Maths for Psychology with Psychology Dictionary. Prentice Hall.
Dancey, C.P. (1999). Statistics Without Maths.
Reports
Boylan, M., Demack, S., Wolstenholme, C., Reidy, J., & Reaney, S. (2018). ScratchMaths: evaluation report and executive summary. Education Endownment Foundation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Projects/Evaluation_Reports/ScratchMaths.pdf
Maxwell, B., Burnett, C., Reidy, J., Willis, B., & Demack, S. (2015). Oracy curriculum, culture and assessment toolkit. London: Education Endowment Foundation. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects/school21-and-cambridge-university/
Theses / Dissertations
Robson, A.C. (2022). The disgusting self: developing and validating an implicit measure of self-disgust. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Ypsilanti, A., Lazuras, L., Reidy, J., Overton, P., & Powell, P. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00507
Gheorghes, T. (2018). An investigation into perceived motion paths by means of the Slalom Illusion. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Reidy, J. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00085
Cutts, K. (2009). Online written emotional disclosure: Effects on psychological well-being in individuals with infertility. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Arden, M., Hurst, K., & Reidy, J.
Posters
Soranzo, A., Petrelli, D., Ciolfi, L., & Reidy, J. (2017). The importance of behaviour as an aesthetic feature. Presented at: ECVP 2017, Berlin, 2017
Gheorgheos, T., Reidy, J., & Soranzo, A. (2014). The slalom illusion in the context of illusory lines. Presented at: 37th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP 2014), Belgrade, Sebia, 2014
Other activities
I have been an external examiner for the BSc Psychology & Graduate Diploma in Psychology courses at the University of Westminster and also for the Advanced Statistics and Research Methods (D841) course at the Open University. I have also been an external advisor to ICS Training on the development of their online Cognitive Psychology course and I am a member of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the Higher Educational Academy.
Postgraduate supervision
I am currently supervising one PhD student.
Media
Psychology