Risky businesses: The science of Booze and Belief

Most people will be familiar with the lay term willpower – it’s what people use to resist temptation, ignore distractions, and change how they feel. My research focuses on how and why people (mostly athletes) lose their willpower and perform worse than those who do not.

I am particularly fascinated by the idea that willpower is like a muscle. So not only does willpower get weaker after being used, it also gets stronger with regular exercise – sounds simple, right? Just practice exercising your willpower. Well, my research suggests that it is probably not as straightforward as this…

Alcohol is something that most adults use in their social life and can turn the quietest person into a party animal. Often drinking is a low risk pastime but for some it can be problematic. However, alcohol and risk management is experienced differently by young people. Today’s interactive talk introduces you to RISKIT-CJS, a research project evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention that aims to equip young people involved with the criminal justice system with the skills to manage their substance use and to reduce risky behaviours. Using our tools, you will decide how risky is risky?