Dr Rebecca K Webster

Dr Rebecca Webster is a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sheffield. She completed her PhD at King’s College London in 2018, where her research focused on nocebo effects - the less-discussed counterpart to placebo effects, and their ethical implications for clinical practice.

Rebecca’s work sits at the intersection of health psychology and behavioural medicine. Her research explores how psychological and social processes influence health outcomes, with a particular focus on placebo and nocebo effects, risk communication, and health-related decision making. She is especially interested in how expectations and beliefs shape treatment outcomes, and how health information can be delivered in a way that improves adherence without causing unnecessary harm.

She has a growing portfolio of research on health behaviour change, including studies on vaccine uptake, screening participation, adherence to quarantine, and presenteeism in the context of public health emergencies. Her work has informed policy and public health messaging, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Sheffield, she teaches on the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in psychology and supervises postgraduate research across topics in behavioural medicine and health communication.