Marcel Yoder

Marcel Yoder serves as a Professor in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Springfield, teaching in the Exercise Science program. He is the campus faculty athletics representative and a certified mental performance consultant by the Association of Applied Sports Psychology.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Social Psychology) from the University of Louisville, 1999
• Master's degree from Ball State University, 1995
• Bachelor's degree from Goshen College, 1992

Research focuses on sports psychology applications with emphasis on:

• Therapy dogs' impact on children's cognitive and motor performance
• Sleep-athletic performance relationships
• Self-enhancement bias mechanisms
• High-impact teaching strategies in higher education
• Mental health interventions in sports contexts
• Sports superstitions analysis

His scientific recognition includes:

• Dave Pariser Faculty Mentor award from the NCAA (2017)

Professor Yoder actively supervises student research projects in exercise science while maintaining dual expertise in academic pedagogy and athletic performance psychology through conference presentations and publications.