Rebecca began her research career working with Professor James Reason at the University of Manchester where she investigated the role of human error, specifically procedural violations, in the context of railway accidents. Post-doctoral research posts included investigation of the predictors of road traffic accidents and risk perception in the context of the NHS. Rebecca has received funding from the ESRC, DfT, DH, Bupa Foundation, NIHR and SHA to investigate human behaviour from a social cognitive and systems perspective.

Her work has involved close collaboration with surgeons, anaesthetists, midwives, nurses and GPs, as well as patient groups. Rebecca has acted as a consultant on a wide variety of projects in this field, including the design of error management systems for British Airways, Singapore Airlines and consultancy work as an accident investigator for Railtrack. She teaches about psychological perspectives on patient safety at postgraduate level and supervises postgraduate students in this area. Rebecca has published widely in the area of risk and safety as well as in the field of lifestyle behaviour change, where she has a specific interest in the influence of emotion on behaviour. Within the School of Psychology, Rebecca is lead for Impact, a role that involves working with colleagues to maximise the 'good' that research can do within society.