Dr Dave Smith

My profile

Biography

Editorial Board membership

Associate Editor, The Sport Psychologist

Membership of professional associations

Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society

Registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the Health Care and Professions Council

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Interests and expertise

I am Research Degrees Co-ordinator for the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, and Deputy Leader of the MSc  pathways In Sport and Exercise Sciences. I teach on the MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology and am an active researcher and member of the Musculoskeletal Science and Sports Medicine research centre. I have also worked as a sport psychologist with performers in a variety of sports, from beginners to elite level. 

Projects

Research interests include the psychology of bodybuilding and strength and conditioning, imagery and sports performance,  resistance training and low back pain, and decision-making.

Recent and current projects include:

-decision-making in sport psychology practitioners

- resistance training behaviours during the Covid pandemic

- the impact of supervision on resistance training,

- resistance training and quality of life in individuals with muscular dystrophy 

- PETTLEP imagery and sports performance

Teaching

Why study…

Sport and exercise psychology is a very rewarding subject to study for anyone, like me, who loves sport and exercise and is also fascinated by what makes people ‘tick’! Studying this topic will help students understand how and why people think and behave the way they do, both in sport and exercise contexts and others. 

Postgraduate teaching

MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology (BPS accredited)

Subject areas

Sport and exercise psychology

Supervision

I have supervised 7 PhDs, 1MPhil and 1 Masters by Research to completion, and am currently supervising 1 PhD.

Research outputs