Dr Paul McCarthy

Lecturer

ROOM: M450
T: +44 141 331 8081
E: paul.mccarthy@gcu.ac.uk

Research
My research spans social, cognitive and biological psychology. In particular, I am interested in three lines of research. First, understanding how emotions (especially positive emotions) influence motivation and attention in sport performers. This research also examines the development of expertise from a social (e.g., developmental activities) and cognitive perspective (e.g., expert-novice differences in learning using eye-tracking). Second, my colleagues and I examine challenge and threat motivation in sport performers from a social and biological psychology perspective. Finally, I explore interventions to examine how teams could perform more effectively through personal disclosure and mutual sharing.
The following research questions are under investigation:

• How does personality related to swing speed among golfers?
• Do expert/novice differences emerge in green reading among golfers?
• Could writing about putting performance help golfers putt better?
• Does age affect putting performance in professional golf?
• Does induced positive emotion enhance attention on mental and physical tasks?

Teaching
I currently teach on the following courses:

Module Leader:

• Advanced Research Methods in Psychology (BSc)
• Analytical Methods (MSc)

Deputy Module Leader:

• Psychology: An Introduction
• Sport and Exercise Psychology
• Introductory Psychology for Health and Social Care Practitioners

I also contribute to Evolution and Biopsychology (Trimester 1), Health Psychology (Trimester 1), Person in a social context (Trimester 2) and the Empirical Dissertation.

Recent Publications

2010

• McCarthy, P. J., Jones, M. V., Harwood, C. G., & Davenport, L. (2010). Using goal setting to enhance positive affect among junior multi-event athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 53-68.
• McCarthy, P. J., Jones, M. V., Harwood, C. G., & Olivier, S. (2010). What do young athletes implicitly understand about psychological skills? Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 4, 158-172.
• McPherson, K. E., McCarthy, P., McCreary, D. R., & McMillan, S. (2010). Psychometric evaluation of the Drive for Muscularity Scale in a community-based sample of Scottish men participating in an organized sporting event. Body Image, 7, 368-371.

2011

• McCarthy, P. J. (2011). Enhancing positive emotions in sport. In D. Lavallee, J. Thatcher, & M. V. Jones, Coping and Emotion in Sport. London Routledge.
• Windsor, P., Barker, J. B., & McCarthy, P. J. (2011). Doing sport psychology: Personal-disclosure mutual-sharing in professional soccer. The Sport Psychologist, 25, 94-114.
• McCarthy, P. J. (2011). Positive emotion in sport performance: Current status and future directions. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 4, 50-69.
• Barker, J. B., McCarthy, P. J., & Jones, M. V., & Moran, A. P. (2011) Single-case research in sport and exercise psychology. Routledge.
• Barker, J. B., McCarthy, P. J., & Harwood, C. G. (2011). Reflections on consulting in elite youth male English cricket and soccer. Sport and Exercise Psychology Review, 7, 58-74

Memberships and Peer Review

• Peer reviewer for the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Journal of Sports Sciences, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Psychology of Sport and Exercise and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education
• Editorial board member of the BPS Sport and Exercise Psychology Review
• Member of the BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology; British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
• Graduate member of the British Psychological Society
• Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist (BPS)
• Accredited Sport and Exercise Psychologist (BASES)