Dissertation Award

This award recognizes outstanding student research that has the greatest potential for making a significant contribution to the theoretical and applied knowledge base in exercise and sport psychology. Abstracts will be judged by a panel of professionals in exercise and sport psychology who are members of Division 47. The awardee(s) will be notified of their selection by March, so they can make plans to attend the APA Convention to present their research and receive the award, which includes a plaque, conference registration fee waiver and monetary gift.

Annual Deadline: December 31

Eligibility

The student applicant must be a member of Division 47 at the time of application. Division membership dues are $20 per year. Graduate students may become student affiliates of Division 47 whether they are APA student members or not. The student must also have successfully defended her or his dissertation and received her or his degree during the year for which the award is given; that is, by December 31 of that year.

How To Apply

Application requirements are as follows:

  • The name and contact information of the applicant's advisor/dissertation Chair
  • A 1500-word abstract that includes:
    a. Introduction
    b. Review of literature
    c. Methodology, including statistics
    d. Discussion
    e. Contribution to science and practice
    f. References should also be included, but will not be counted toward the 1500-word limit
  • Proof of confirmation of the completion of the dissertation and the degree by December 31 of the year before the award would be conferred.
  • Applications that are incomplete will not be reviewed. Complete applications must be sent electronically as a single PDF file to:

    Amanda J. Visek, PhD, CC-AASP, NCC, Chair, Science Committee, APA Division 47

Past Recipients

2012Edson Filho, PhDCohesion, team mental models, and collective efficacy: Towards an integrated nomological network of team sports
2011Sarah S. Kohlstedt, PhDPsychosocial Development in College Students: A Cross-Sectional Comparison Between Athletes and Non-athletes
2010NoneN/A
2009Carly RaabA Test of an Etiological Model: The Development of Disordered Eating in Division-I University Female Gymnasts and Swimmers/Divers
2008Mercedes CaswellPredictors of Retirement Distress Among Male Former Intercollegiate Athletes
2007Kimberlee BonuraThe Impact of Yoga on Psychological Health in Older Adults
2005Jennifer Woodgate, PhDSelf-efficacy Theory and the Self-Regulation of Exercise Behavior
2004Amy Latimer, PhDBridging the Gap: Promoting Physical Activity Among Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury Within the Context of the Theory of Planned Behavior
2003Tracie Rogers, PhDThe Mediating Effects of Peripheral Vision in the Life Stress-Athletic Injury Relationship
2002Shawn Arent, PhDDose-Response and Mechanistic Issues in the Strength Training and Affect Relationship
2001Roland Carlstedt, PhDLine Bisecting Test Reveals Relative Left Brain Hemispheric Predominance in Highly Skilled Athletes: Relationships Among Cerebral Laterality, Personality and Sport Performance
2000S. Nicole Culos-Reed, PhDUse of Social-Cognitive Theories in the Study of Physical Activity and Fibromyalgia: Self-Efficacy Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior
2000Renee Newcomer, EdDCognitive-Affective, Behavioral, and Physiological Response to Injury among Competitive Athletes
1999Claudio Nigg, PhDPredicting, Explaining, and Understanding Adolescent Exercise Behavior Using Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Approaches
1998Gregory NormanA Cluster Analytic Test of the Transtheoretical Model Applied to Exercise and Behavior
1997Alan SmithPeer Relationships and Physical Activity Participation in Early Adolescence
1996Kathleen MartinSelf-handicapping in Sport and Physical Activity: Conceptualizing and Measuring an Elusive Concept
1995Gabrielle ReedMeasuring Stage of Change for Exercise (Behavior Change, Urica E2)
1994Patricia SmithIntegration of the Theories of Reasoned Action, Planned Behavior, and Self-Efficacy in the Prediction of Exercise Behavior
1993Riichard AlbrechtThe Effects of Positive and Negative Cognitive Social Priming on Self-Schemata, Self-Efficacy, Mood States and Motor Performance
1992Anthony PiparoChronic Effects of Fitness on the Golf Putt
1991Cathy LirggEffects of Same-Sex and Coeducational Physical Education on Perceptions of Self-Confidence and Class Environment
1990

Karla Kubitz

Changes in the Stress Response Following Aerobic Training: An Examination of Underlying Mechanisms
1989Debbie Crews & Diane WeiseThe Influence of Attentive States on Golf Putting as Indicated by Cardiac and Electrocortical Activity
1988John RaglinStress Responses and Performance in Competitive Swimmers