About
Dr. Gavin Lawrence is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University, and a member of the Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance. His research focuses on performance psychology, talent development, and skill acquisition in sports contexts.
- Education: PhD in Psycho-motor Control (Bangor University, 2012), BSc in Sports Science (1st Class, Bangor University, 2005)
- Key Research Areas: Talent Identification, Motor Control, Virtual Reality Applications, Stress-Performance Dynamics, Attentional Focus, Practice Structuring
Research Interests center on understanding how practice structures and psychological interventions accelerate expertise development. Specific areas include anxiety-induced 'choking' prevention, virtual reality transfer to real-world performance, and optimizing training environments for stress resilience. His work often applies multidisciplinary approaches to talent pathways in elite sports.
Recent Article Trends reveal consistent exploration of sequential movement planning, anxiety's impact on motor control, and holistic profiling of athletes. Keywords span Motor Control, Expertise Modeling, and Performance Psychology, with sub-fields like Sequential Aiming, Talent Pathway Analysis, and Neural Feedback Processing.
- Scientific Awards: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Teaching includes modules on Scientific Enquiry, Talent Identification, and Accelerating Expertise at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has secured significant external funding from bodies like UK Sport, ESRC, and the England and Wales Cricket Board for projects including Pathway2Podium and Olympic weightlifting studies.
