Social Psychology in Sport

Louise Davis, PhD, is an associate professor in sport and exercise psychology in the department of psychology at Umeå University in Sweden. Davis gained her PhD in the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University and earned her MSc and BSc degrees from Bangor University in the United Kingdom. Her research revolves around psychosocial, developmental, and environmental factors of elite performance and coaching, with a focus on interpersonal relationships in sport. Davis works closely with the Swedish Sport Federation (Riksidrottsförbundet) and has received extensive funding from the Swedish Research Council for Sport Science (Centrum för idrottsforskning). Davis has published in peer-reviewed international journals and authored chapters in edited books. She frequently presents her work at national and international conferences as well as in workshops for coaches, coach educators, and national sport organizations in Sweden. Davis is also an active reviewer for many scientific journals, including Psychology of Sport and Exercise, International Sport Coaching Journal, Journal of Sports Science, and Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. Richard Keegan, PhD, is an associate professor in sport and exercise psychology at the University of Canberra in Australia. He completed MSc and PhD degrees at Loughborough University before beginning his career at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. Keegan’s research focuses on motivational processes in sport and exercise, physical literacy, applied sport psychology practice, and readiness monitoring. He is an associate editor for both Psychology of Sport and Exercise and Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Keegan is a psychologist registered in the United Kingdom (HCPC), in Australia (AHPRA), and through the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP), where he is a member of the management council. As a practitioner he has worked with athletes across a wide range of levels, from beginners to world champions, and in a range of sports. He has also done officiating as well as supervising and assessing trainee practitioners. Sophia Jowett, PhD, is a professor of psychology at Loughborough University. Her research interests revolve around interpersonal relationships in sport and sport coaching. Her research—funded by Economic and Social Research Council, British Academy, Nuffield Foundation, and HSBC—has been published in a range of scientific journals, been presented at conferences, and informed coach development across the world. Examples of practical impact include her work with UK Coaching and UK Sport (Coach Development/Women Coaches Leadership Development Project) and national sport organizations. Jowett is on the editorial board of peer-reviewed scientific journals, including International Sport Coaching Journal and Sports Coaching Review. She co-edited a special issue of Psychology of Sport and Exercise on interpersonal relationships as well as a monograph on the psychology of sports coaching. In 2015, she launched a web-based app known as TANDEM—Working Together for Performance Excellence. In 2019 she launched an online educational program known as CARE (Coach–Athlete Relationship Empowerment). Jowett was a psychologist for the Greek team at the 2004 Olympic Games, and she is an associate fellow and chartered psychologist of the British Psychological Society.