He attended Sutton Grammar School for Boys until the age of 16, when he found work as a librarian.
He obtained a PhD in psychology from King's College, Cambridge, under the direction of Derek Russell Davis.
[3] During his doctoral studies, Hooper began working as a counsellor for the National Marriage Guidance Council.
He was named the chair of social work at the University of Hull in 1980, a post he held until retirement seven years later.
Four years later, he was elected vice president of Relate, which had changed its name from the National Marriage Guidance Council in 1988.