Alister Mccormick

University of St Mark & St John | MAJRON · Department of Sport & Health Sciences

We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies investigating the experiences of parents in relation to their uptake and maintenance of exercise, focusing on aerobic endurance-type exercise (e.g., running, cycling, swimming). The review aimed to synthesize qualitative findings relating to the motives, barriers, facilitators, emotions, and s...

There is potential in delivering brief, educational interventions online, particularly for recreational athletes. This initial investigation examined how two online interventions were perceived by endurance participants and how they affected outcomes of interest. After measuring self-efficacy, 142 people were randomized to one of three groups (self...

This study identified helpful and unhelpful encouragement at mass participation running events and explored the meaning that runners found in encouragement. First, 10 k and half-marathon postevent surveys differentiated instructional and motivational components of helpful and unhelpful support. Second, an inductive, reflexive thematic analysis of 1...

Purpose Despite their widespread use in exercise physiology, time-to-exhaustion (TTE) tests present an often-overlooked challenge to researchers, which is how to computationally deal with between- and within-subject differences in exercise duration. We aimed to verify the best analysis method to overcome this problem. Methods Eleven cyclists perfo...

Taking into account the psychosocial and psychophysiological demands and the interventions discussed in section i and ii, this chapter summarises the methodological issues in the research and provides suggestions on how to design studies to test the potential benefits of interventions. For example, we will discuss the placebo effect on endurance pe...

This chapter outlines theoretical and research literature on self-talk in the context of endurance sports. Three clusters of self-talk research on endurance sports are overviewed: descriptive research, research on self-talk antecedents, and research on the effects of self-talk. In particular, we show that learning to use self-talk can benefit endur...

Research shows body language can affect opponent perception, but presents inconsistencies for clothing. The consequences of clothing perception have received little attention. This study examined if clothing can affect perception in a sporting context and examined the effects of this change. Fencers (N = 63) completed a questionnaire displaying two...

This study examined how people who participate in endurance events currently get guidance on psychological aspects of their events and their preferred ways for receiving guidance from researchers and practitioners, so that psychologists can use these ways to disseminate research-derived knowledge. People in the United Kingdom (N = 574) who particip...

There is considerable research interest in psychological aspects of endurance performance. Until recently, research typically lacked a theoretical underpinning, and contemporary research is particularly informed by the psychobiological model of endurance performance. In this critical review, we propose that psychological theories relating to self-r...

In the UK, there is a wealth of applied sport and exercise psychology expertise that other practitioners could learn from. In this article, 17 qualified (13 BPS chartered, 10 BASES accredited, 13 HCPC registered) and experienced (M=11.6 years practising, SD=6.1) sport and exercise psychology practitioners share a piece of their good practice with t...

Introduction: Currently there are no data examining the impact of exercise on the perception of time which is surprising as optimal competitive performance is dependent on accurate pacing using knowledge of time elapsed. Methods: With institutional ethics approval, 12 recreationally active adult participants (f=7, m=5) undertook both 30s Wingate...

This study examined the effects of strategic, motivational self-talk for runners completing a 60-mile, overnight ultramarathon using a randomised, controlled experiment. Data were collected before, during, and after an annual ultramarathon. Twenty-nine ultramarathon runners were randomly allocated to a motivational self-talk group or an alternative...

Objectives: People frown during strenuous exercise. Research on the facial feedback hypothesis raises the intriguing possibility that frowning may modulate (i.e., amplify or soften) perception of effort during endurance performance and therefore play a causal role in endurance performance. This study examined whether intentionally frowning througho...

This study aimed to identify psychological demands that are commonly experienced by endurance athletes so that these demands could inform the design of performance-enhancing psychological interventions for endurance athletes. Focus group interviews were conducted with 30 recreational endurance athletes of various sports (running, cycling, and triat...

The main focus of this thesis was to determine psychologically-informed methods of enhancing endurance performance, particularly in endurance sport events. There were three main research aims. First, this thesis aimed to synthesise research conducted to date on the psychological determinants of endurance performance. A systematic literature review...

No literature reviews have systematically identified and evaluated research on the psychological determinants of endurance performance, and sport psychology performance enhancement guidelines for endurance sports are not founded on a systematic appraisal of endurance-specific research. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify practi...

Through experience, sport psychologists will learn countless valuable lessons. Some lessons, however, are likely to stand out vividly to a psychologist because they made a valuable difference to how they practise. The present project focuses on these outstanding lessons. In essence, sport psychologists who had been practising for between 11 and 28...

This case study describes the application of a solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) theoretical framework by a Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist working with an amateur football team. The case study describes SFBT and how the practitioner was guided by SFBT principles during each stage of service provision. It is not intended to describe a ‘...