Dr Simon Payne

BA(Hons.) Sports Studies (2004), MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology (2005), PhD Sport Psychology (2011), British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist (2014-)

Dr Simon Payne

Lecturer in Psychology

Department of Psychology

Contact Details

** I haven't updated my profile for a few years, but my applied research focus in that time - aside from coordinating the successful MSc in Behaviour Change here at AU - has been on the human behaviours involved in controlling (or not) zoonotic diseases, specifically bovine tuberculosis. Alongside my colleague, Dr Kate Parsons, I am delivering behaviour change interventions for vets and farmers in high profile, Welsh Government-funded projects in Pembrokeshire and North Wales. Watch this space for associated publications! I have been busy presenting at conferences (AberTB, BVD Cymru, Vets Cymru), too. Another exciting project is our three-year contract to train and QA vets to carry out their side of the 'Animal Health Improvement Cycles' within the Sustainable Farming Scheme Universal Action 12 (https://www.gov.wales/sustainable-farming-scheme-2026-scheme-description-html#ua12-animal-health-welfare); I try to inspire them to add behavioural nuance (theoretically-derived, evidence-based) to their client interactions. Exciting times! **

Simon is a performance psychologist (British Psychological Society Chartered), and a behaviour change and implementation scientist, working as a lecturer in psychology and behaviour change in the Department of Psychology at Aberystwyth University. He co-designed and coordinates the exciting MSc Behaviour Change (https://courses.aber.ac.uk/postgraduate/behaviour-change/; first cohort welcomed in September 2022), and sits on two University working groups (mental health development for staff and students, and assessment and feedback). Simon is passionate about intervention-based research that helps people lead healthy and productive lives. In his early career he has received funding from AU's University Research Fund, the local health board (Hywel Dda), Tenovus Cancer Care, Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (http://kess2.ac.uk/), UKRI’s ‘Global Challenges Research Fund,’ Economic and Social Research Council, the Margaret Wooloff scholarship scheme, and more. In October 2020 a consortium he is part of kicked-off a four-year €7million Horizon2020 project ("Multi-actor and transdisciplinary development of efficient and resilient MIXED farming and agroforestry systems"); Simon is jointly responsible for the project methodology – its participatory knowledge co-creation and dissemination work package - which will be underpinned by psychological insight (cf. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00062/full).

Simon is a keen off-road mountain cyclist and recently competed in the national Celtic longboat sea rowing league. Simon has worked for large health organisations including the NHS; he has volunteered for, amongst others, Disability Sport Wales and MENCAP. Simon teaches university students but he is a STEM Ambassador who has engaged primary, secondary and college students too, in nationwide initiatives such as 'I'm a scientist, get me out of here' (https://imascientist.org.uk/). Follow him @YEU_Aber.

** needs updating…

If you have mutual interest in the areas and applications mentioned above/below, you are encouraged to contact Simon.

Funding

2020: ~£60,000: Margaret Wooloff PhD scholarship 2020, won via competition by Katherine Parsons (kap34@aber.ac.uk): "A transformational physical activity intervention to improve health outcomes and quality of life for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Wales (“ASDactive”)."

2020: €6,999,509: "Multi-actor and transdisciplinary development of efficient and resilient MIXED farming and agroforestry-systems (MIXED)" with colleagues from countries across Europe: Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Action (H2020-SFS-2019-2): LC-SFS-19-2018-2019 Climate-smart and resilient farming.

2019: £9,069: ‘Future-proofing “field-to-lab and lab-to-field” knowledge exchange and on-farm technical support in Nigeria.’ Seed Grant awarded by the Centre for International Development Research at Aberystwyth (CIDRA; funded by UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund).

2019: £800: SCORE funding secured to travel to Frankfurt to meet with MIXED project partners from across Europe (Jul. 1st-3rd 2019) to finish writing the stage two H2020 application.

2018: ~£65,000: Knowledge Exchange Skills Scholarship-II (KESSII; Welsh Government and EU European Social Fund) PhD studentship, sponsored by Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDUHB) and partnered by Tenovus the Cancer Charity – “Testing a nurse-led intervention protocol which is designed to reduce psychological distress in lung cancer patients” (PhD student: Kimberley Walker kiw16@aber.ac.uk).

2017: ~£4,000: ESRC (via the Transformative Social Science Network): (1) Grant Development Award – “Using social science to promote agricultural & economic resilience in Nigeria” (£3,200; mid-2017); (2) Smart Citizenship and Behaviour Change funding stream – “Smart labels for GMO foods” (£820; early 2017).

2016: ~£20,000: KESSII MPhil studentship, sponsored by Tenovus and partnered by HDUHB – “Exploring Nurse Perceptions of the Relationship between Their Support Self-Efficacy, Quality of Communication, and Outcomes for Cancer Patients” (student: Patrick Cronin).

2016 and 2017: AU’s (1) University Research Fund with additional IBERS and Comp Sci contributions (UK-Nigeria multi-stakeholder collaboration: Food Security Network; FoodSecNet; https://www.facebook.com/foodsecnet/ ; £7,000; 2016), (2) Learning & Teaching Enhancement Fund (Self-regulation skills intervention for students; £9,811; 2017), and (3) AberDoc PhD funding (~£50,000; my own PhD was funded by the equivalent of this at the time).

2016: ~£60,000: North Ceredigion GP Cluster (HDUHB, NHS) and IBERS match-funded PhD studentship: physical activity and dietary behaviours among people at risk of developing diabetes (student: Nicholas Gregory).

2015: ~£70,000: Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund; Nigerian Government): PhD studentship awarded to Mr Olaniyi Ogundiya – “Mental health knowledge, stress and coping among university students in Nigeria."

A systematic review of behaviour change techniques employed in interventions aimed to change physical activity behaviour in autistic individuals. / Parsons, Katherine; Payne, Simon; Sudhish Bhaskar, Lakshmi et al.
In: Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Vol. 79, 102867, 31.07.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

A qualitative study of physical activity drivers in autistic individuals using COM-B: Autistic and non-autistic perspectives. / Parsons, Katherine; Payne, Simon; Holt, Nigel et al.
In: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vol. 111, 102331, 31.03.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

A reflection on the co-design approach to the development of the Medway Can campaign: A whole systems approach to obesity prevention using COM-B. / Parsons, Katherine; Payne, Simon; Codling, Saoirce et al.
In: Health Marketing Quarterly, Vol. 41, No. 1, 02.01.2024, p. 33-49.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Increasing creative self-efficacy: Developing the confidence of biochemistry undergraduates to innovate. / Payne, Simon; Whitworth, David.
In: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, Vol. 50, No. 3, 16.05.2022, p. 296-306.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Harnessing Implementation Science and Self-Determination Theory in Participatory Research to Advance Global Legume Productivity. / Payne, Simon; Nicholas-Davies, Pip; Home, Robert.
In: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Vol. 3, 62, 16.08.2019, p. 1-15.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

More publications on the Research Portal