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Research

Professor Stewart Cotterill’s research focuses on the psychological factors that underpin performance across sport and other high-performance domains.

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Key areas include:

  • Performance under pressure

  • Decision-making and cognition

  • Leadership and team dynamics

  • Confidence, resilience, and mental skills

  • Applied performance psychology

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Research themes

1. Performance Under Pressure

Research examines:

  • Cognitive and emotional responses to pressure

  • Decision-making in high-stakes situations

  • Strategies to improve performance consistency

 

These themes are central to understanding why individuals succeed or fail when “it matters most.” 

 

2. Leadership and Team Psychology

Focus on:

  • Team cohesion and communication

  • Leadership behaviours and effectiveness

  • Collective performance and group dynamics

 

This work highlights that teams are more than collections of individuals and require carefully managed environments to perform effectively.

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3. Applied Performance Psychology

A key focus is translating theory into practice:

  • Development of practical psychological strategies

  • Integration of research within applied settings

  • Bridging academic knowledge with practitioner needs

Recent research publications

Recent research publications include:

Cotterill, S. T. & Cheetham, R. (2026). Leadership experiences amongst elite female rugby players: A different approach to team leadership. Behavioural Sciences (Online)

Breen, S., & Cotterill, S. T. (2025). An exploration of the psychological traits deemed crucial for success in UK special forces operators. Behavioral Sciences, 15. doi

Cotterill, S. T. (2023). Editorial: The impact of shared leadership on group functioning and performance. Frontiers in Psychology, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1125076

Cotterill, S. T. (2022) Sport Psychology Practitioner’s perceptions and use of social media. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 156-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsep.2022.06.001

Butalia, R., Rupp, K-S, Tuand, K., Boen, F., Steffens, N. K., Loughead, T. M., Cotterill, S, & Fransen, K. (2022). Athlete Leadership Development in Sport: A Systematic Scoping Review [Web of Science Core Collection]. searchRxiv 2022. https://doi.org/10.1079/searchrxiv.2022.00013

Cotterill, S. T., Loughead, T., & Fransen, K. (2022). Athlete leadership development within teams: Current understanding and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology.

Cocker, I., Cotterill, S. T., & Griffin, J. (2021). Player perceptions of athlete leadership and leadership development in an English Premier League football academy. Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Smith, S. M., Brown, H., & Cotterill. S. T. (2021). Implementing and Evaluating the Practice Environment Model Using Action Research. International Sport Coaching Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2020-0117.

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A full list of publications is available here: Academic publications

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