Dr Michael Smith

Associate Professor

School: Psychology

Dr Michael Smith is an Associate Professor in Psychology and a Chartered Psychologist (British Psychological Society) with expertise in behavioural science. Michael completed his PhD at the University of Western Australia in 2009, followed by postdoctoral research at Curtin University and The Kids Research Institute Australia, before joining Northumbria in 2010.

His research applies psychological theory to two pressing societal challenges: health and wellbeing, and the transition to low-carbon energy. Across both, he investigates what enables or prevents people from adopting behaviours that benefit themselves and society, and uses this evidence to design interventions and engagement strategies that work in practice.

Michael’s research in health psychology examines the psycho(bio)logical causes and consequences of stress, and the development and evaluation of accessible, low-intensity techniques for reducing stress and promoting wellbeing, including expressive writing and nature-based activities. He also applies behavioural science to understand what helps people engage with these interventions. He is committed to open and rigorous research practices.

Michael also applies his expertise in behavioural science to sustainable energy transitions. He has worked with partners including Gateshead Council to understand residents’ barriers and enablers to low-carbon energy transitions and to support community engagement with low-carbon heat.

Email Michael

Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Stress

Wellbeing

Behaviour Change

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
"It is not our job to educate you": Exploring Perceptions of AI-Integrated Menstrual Tracking Apps Through Speculative Reflection, Doughty, F., Sillence, E., Harrison, D., Smith, M. 13 Apr 2026, CHI EA '26: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, New York, US, ACM
The role of demand characteristics and life satisfaction on the subjective wellbeing effects of gratitude letter writing, Smith, M., Colborn, Y., Hoult, L., Allen, S., Wetherell, M. 28 Jan 2026, In: Cogent Psychology
Wellbeing During Blue Space Visits: The Role of Activity and Environment Type in a National Population Sample of 95,790 English Adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 1 Oct 2026, In: Lifestyle Medicine
Wellbeing during blue space visits: The role of activity and environment type in a national population sample of 95,790 English adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 25 Mar 2026
Wellbeing during blue space visits: The role of activity and environment type in a national population sample of 95,790 English adults, Smith, M., Wilkie, S., Wetherell, M. 1 Oct 2026, In: Lifestyle Medicine
Facilitators and barriers to engaging in expressive writing among health and social care professionals, Smith, M., Hoult, L., Rippon, D., O’Brien, N., Branley-Bell, D., Byrne-Davis, L., Collins, C., Gallagher, S., Kinman, G., Mark, A., O’Connor, D., Vedhara, K., Williams, G., Wetherell, M. 25 Aug 2025, In: PLoS One
Positive expressive writing interventions, subjective health and wellbeing in non-clinical populations: A systematic review, Hoult, L., Wetherell, M., Edginton, T., Smith, M. 21 May 2025, In: PLoS One
Using the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model to investigate end-user barriers and facilitators to low-rise district heating retrofit in the United Kingdom, Smith, M., Doughty, F. 1 Dec 2025, In: Energy Research and Social Science
Facilitators and barriers to engaging in expressive writing among health and social care professionals, Smith, M., Hoult, L., Rippon, D., O'Brien, N., Branley-Bell, D., Byrne-Davis, L., Collins, C., Gallagher, S., Kinman, G., Mark, A., O'Connor, D., Vedhara, K., Wetherell, M. 28 Oct 2024
Friendships, loneliness and psychological wellbeing in older adults: a limit to the benefit of the number of friends, Thompson, A., Smith, M., McNeill, A., Pollet, T. 1 May 2024, In: Ageing & Society

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine Annual Conference 2026 2026

PGR Supervision

Sarah Chalhoub Assessing the impact of psychological risk to women experiencing sexual changes during menopause Start Date: 21/12/2021 End Date: 28/02/2025

Qualifications