Dr Danny Powell

Tutor in Psychology

My profile

Biography

I have a background in cognitive neuroscience, sport psychology, and skill acquisition. My research interests involve the areas of attention, memory, performance, and key motor learning principles, such as focus of attention, contextual interference, and implicit learning. Additional interests include, but are not restricted to, forensic psychology, evolutionary psychology, personality, and the concept of consciousness.

I have extensive experience working as a performance psychologist in a range of sports, including swimming, cycling, tennis, and rugby union. Alongside my role at MMU, I work as a skill acquisition specialist with British Swimming and British Para Swimming, where my responsibilities include the identification and implementation of techniques which might enhance athlete learning and performance, as well as coach development.

PRIZES AND AWARDS

British Psychological Society undergraduate award.

Get in touch

Brooks Building

Teaching

Unit Lead:

Psychological Research Methods (level 5)

Transitions into Psychology (level 4)

Teaching:

Quantitative Research Methods in Psychology (level 5)

Sport Psychology (level 6)

Supervision

I currently supervise projects at MSc level in Forensic Psychology.

I supervise a PhD Project on basketball shooting performance in elite academy players in the NBA, and I am an external examiner for Edge Hill University.

Research outputs

Pinder, R.A., Powell, D., Hadlow, S., Askew, G. and Oudejans, R.R., 2022. The role of skill acquisition in coach and athlete development in Paralympic Sport. Talent Development in Paralympic Sport: Researcher and practitioner perspectives, pp.102-116.

Powell, D., Wood, G., Kearney, P.E. and Payton, C., 2021. Skill acquisition practices of coaches on the British Para swimming World Class Programme. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(5), pp.1097-1110.

Parker, A., Powell, D. and Dagnall, N., 2018. Effects of saccade induced retrieval enhancement on conceptual and perceptual tests of explicit & implicit memory. Brain and Cognition, 121, pp.1-10.

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS

Powell, D., 2023. Skill acquisition in elite level swimming: A multiple case study approach to bridging the gap between scientific research and applied coaching practice. Inaugural BASES Skill Acquisition Interest Group (SAIG) Newsletter.