Purdue University : Sport and Exercise Psychology

Faculty Members:

	Meghan H. McDonough, Ph.D. (The University of British Columbia) is an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Co-Director of the Sport and Exercise Psychology Laboratory. Dr. McDonough’s research focuses on social relationships in sport and physical activity. Specifically, her work explores how social relationships contribute to motivational and emotional processes in sport and exercise, and how experiences in physical activity settings may facilitate social relationships and psychological outcomes. She has conducted research with a variety of populations including adolescent sport participants, physically active adults, breast cancer survivors, Special Olympics participants, and low-income youth. More information on Dr. McDonough's interests is available on the Department of Health and Kinesiology faculty page. Dr. McDonough can be contacted at mcdonough@purdue.edu.

	Alan L. Smith, Ph.D. (University of Oregon) is a Professor of Kinesiology and Co-Director of the Sport and Exercise Psychology Laboratory. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychological Sciences and is a Visiting Fellow, Loughborough University School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Dr. Smith’s research focuses upon youth social and psychological development in physical activity contexts, youth physical activity behavior, and the link of physical activity with cognitive, motor, and social/behavioral functioning in young children. He is particularly interested in adolescents' peer relationships and motivational processes in the physical domain as well as physical activity as a means of addressing childhood attentional and behavioral problems. More information on Dr. Smith's interests is available on the Department of Health and Kinesiology faculty page. You may contact Dr. Smith at alsmith7@purdue.edu.

Affiliated Faculty Members:

	Cheryl Cooky, Ph.D. (University of Southern California, Sociology) is an assistant professor with a joint appointment in Kinesiology and Women’s Studies. Dr. Cooky’s research focuses on the sociological factors related to sport participation including gender, race and class disparities in sport. Specifically, her research examines girls’ recreational programs in urban communities with a focus on the structure and implementation of urban sport programs, and the experiences of girl participants. Dr. Cooky also studies gendered representations of female athletes and the quality and distribution of coverage of men’s and women’s sport in mainstream media outlets including newspapers and television. Future research projects include: (1) a study to explore the influence of families and communities on creating and shaping urban girls’ sporting opportunities, (2) a new line of research on young women breast cancer survivors. More information on Dr. Cooky’s interests is available on the Department of Health and Kinesiology faculty page. Dr. Cooky can be reached at ccooky@purdue.edu.

Doctoral Students:

Jordan Blazo, M.S. (Georgia Southern University) is a doctoral student interested in sibling dynamics within sport, specifically the impact that sport achievement has on the relationship between siblings. Jordan is funded by a Purdue University Ross Fellowship and is a research assistant on our NIMH-funded project examining before-school intervention effects on cognitive, motor, and social/behavioral functioning of young children. You may contact Jordan at jblazo@purdue.edu.


	J.D. DeFreese, B.A. (Indiana University) is a doctoral student interested in athlete burnout and engagement, including their measurement and relationships with other psychosocial variables. He is funded as a research assistant on our project with the Lafayette School Corporation and as the Special Program Director for the Purdue Athletes’ Life Success (PALS) Program and Operation Purple. J.D. is also president of the Health and Kinesiology Graduate Student Organization. You may contact J.D. at jdefrees@purdue.edu.

	Travis Dorsch, M.S. (Purdue University) is a doctoral student interested in child-parent relationships in organized youth sport. Specifically, Travis investigates how parents are socialized by the sport participation of their children. Travis is a former Purdue University Ross Fellow and is a research assistant on our NIMH-funded project examining before-school intervention effects on cognitive, motor, and social/behavioral functioning of young children. You may contact Travis at dorsch@purdue.edu.

Master's Degree Students:

Caitlin Alerding (nee McGonigal), B.A. (DePauw University) is a second-year M.S. student interested in the relationship between sport/physical activity and social/emotional development, particularly in early adolescents. She has served as corps member of Teach For America and is a former Purdue University Knox Fellow. Caitlin is a research assistant on our NIMH-funded project examining before-school intervention effects on cognitive, motor, and social/behavioral functioning of young children. You may contact Caitlin at cmcgonig@purdue.edu.


	Beth Byrer, B.A. (Purdue University) is an M.S. student interested in social relationships in physical activities, particularly among breast cancer survivors. Beth is funded as a teaching assistant within the Department of Health and Kinesiology. You may contact Beth at bbyrer@purdue.edu.


	A.J. Kraemer, B.A. (Purdue University) is an M.S. student interested in how youth relationships with their teammates and coaches influence their physical activity motivation. A.J. is funded as a teaching assistant within the Department of Health and Kinesiology. You may contact A.J. at akraemer@purdue.edu.

Former Lab Members:


	Anne E. Cox, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology at Illinois State University. Dr. Cox’s research focuses on motivational processes in physical education and the link between students’ experiences in physical education and their leisure-time physical activity. She has focused specifically on how relationships with teachers and peers shape the type of motivation that students experience in class. In addition, Dr. Cox teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in sport and exercise psychology and consults with teams at Illinois State University on the use of mental skills for performance enhancement. Dr. Cox can be contacted at acox@ilstu.edu.

	Stacey Gaines, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health & Kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Her research focuses on moral development and social relationships in sport. Dr. Gaines teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in sport psychology, sport sociology, motor learning, and motor development. She currently serves as a Physical Activity Consultant for the Head Start Body Start National Center for Physical Development and Outdoor Play (HSBS). She also consults with a variety of teams and individuals in the athletics department at TAMUK, as well as in fitness and youth sport settings in the south Texas area, on the use of mental skills for performance enhancement. Dr. Gaines can be contacted at stacey.gaines@tamuk.edu.

	Kimberly Hurley, Ph.D. is currently an assistant professor in the School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science at Ball State University. Dr. Hurley’s research areas are self-perceptions and activity patterns in older adults, goal restructuring in recreational adult athletes, and psychological outcomes of disability and activity. Specifically, she has examined physical self-perceptions, physical comparison processes and well-being among older adults and how parents/guardians of children with disability view physical competencies and physical activity opportunities for their children. Dr. Hurley currently serves as the graduate coordinator for the Teacher Education program and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the professional education preparation program (i.e., psychological and social issues for physical educators, secondary and middle school curriculum and methods, measurement and evaluation in PE, and methods and assessment in adapted physical activity). Dr. Hurley can be contacted at kshurley@bsu.edu.

	Sarah Ullrich-French, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology at Washington State University. Her research explores social relationships and youth physical activity motivation with an interest in fostering physical and psychological health. Her current research projects include collaboration with faculty in kinesiology, nursing, human development, and psychology. Dr. Ullrich-French currently serves on the leadership/scholarship team for a USDA supported project called Teens Eating and Activity Mentoring in Schools (TEAMS), the WSU Extension Health Promotion and Obesity Prevention Team, and the Student Well-Being Collaborative at WSU. Dr. Ullrich-French can be contacted at sullrich@wsu.edu.