Peter A. Hall

Joint appointment with the Department of Kinesiology

R​ecent Courses Taught

KIN/HSG 330: Research Design

KIN 654: Neuroscience Methods

KIN 471: Social Neuroscience and Health

KIN 354: Psychological Aspects of Physical Activity

Research areas

Health psychology, social neuroscience, health promotion, ecological factors

Research interests

My research examines health-related behaviors (and population health trends more broadly) from the perspectives of social neuroscience and behavioral ecology. Our studies have found that brain-behavior relationships interact with ecological context to produce behavioral patterns that are observable on the level of the entire population; my research endeavours to: 1) build the knowledge base about the nature of these links on an empirical level and, 2) use this knowledge to develop more sophisticated approaches to enhancing health and longevity of individuals, special groups (i.e., those who suffer from Type 2 diabetes, obesity) and whole populations.  My studies employ a variety of research methodologies including neuroimaging, population surveys, and laboratory experimentation.

Major funding sources

• Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)

Selected publications 

• Hall, P.A. (2012, forthcoming). Social neuroscience and public health: Foundations of an emerging discipline. Springer:  New York, NY.
• Hall, P.A., Zehr, C.E., Ng, M., & Zanna, M.P. (2011). Implementation intentions for physical activity in supportive and unsupportive environmental conditions: An experimental examination of intention–behavior consistency.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.004.

• Hall, P.A., Crossley, M., & D’Arcy, C. (2010). Executive function and survival in the context of chronic illness. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 119-127.
• Hall, P.A., Dubin, J., Crossley, M., Holmqvist, M. & D’Arcy, C. (2009). Does executive function explain the IQ-mortality association? Evidence from the Canadian Study on Health and Aging. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71, 196-204.
• Hall, P.A., Coons, M.J., & Vallis, T.M. (2008). Does anxious temperament facilitate disease detection? The case of Type 2 diabetes. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70, 837-843.
• Hall, P.A., & Fong, G.T. (2007). Temporal self-regulation theory: A model for individual health behavior. Health Psychology Review, 1, 6-52. (.pdf)
• Hall, P.A., Elias, L.J., & Crossley, M. (2006). Neurocognitive influences on health behaviour in a community sample. Health Psychology, 25, 778-782.

Selected professional activities and networks

Clinical Practise Guidelines Section of the Canadian Diabetes Association