Browser does not support script.

Staff Profile

Dr Robert Vaughan

Senior Lecturer; Programme Lead - Psychology BScs

Robert Vaughan
 

I commenced my position as lecturer of Psychology at York St John University in 2014 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Psychology in 2018. Prior to this I worked at the University of Ulster and Newman University of Birmingham in both lecturing and research roles. I have also acted as a visiting lecture during my postgraduate studies at institutions such as the University of Limerick. I completed my BSc. in Psychology (2008), my MSc. in Sport and Exercise Psychology (2014), and PhD. examining 'The Role of Intelligence in Sports' at the University of Ulster (2016). I am currently the Course Lead for our BSc Hons Psychology and Psychology offerings. My research is broadly interested in the areas of Sport and Exercise Psychology and Personality and Individual Differences. I am an active member of the  Motivation, Performance, and Wellbeing (MPaW) research group.

Qualifications

PhD, Sport and Exercise Psychology University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
MSc, Sport and Exercise Psychology University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
BSc, Psychology University of Ulster, Northern Ireland

 
 

Teaching

 

I supervise student projects at undergraduate and postgraduate level in areas aligning to my research expertise. I teach at both undergraduate and postgraduate level across a range of modules in the area Sport and Exercise Psychology, Personality and Individual Differences, and statistics and research methods modules:

  • 1PY406 - Personality and Individual Differences
  • 2PY403 - Assessment of Individual Differences
  • 3PY400 - Psychology Dissertation
  • 3PY411 - Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology
  • 3PY422 - Health Psychology
  • MPY100 - Psychological Research Methods
 
 

Research

 

My research focuses on three areas, namely, executive function, personality, and psychometrics. All three intersect across athletic expertise and the individual differences associated with elite athletes. I am interested in collaboration in any of these areas utilising a range of methodologies. For further information please contact me at r.vaughan@yorksj.ac.uk.

Professional Activities

 

I am a member of the British Psychological Society and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science. I also hold Fellowship to the Higher Education Academy and mentor and assess colleagues working towards their own associate or fellowship membership.

Outside of York St John I have been an invited talker to the English FA and external examine at Bath Spa University.

I also review for several world leading in journals in my field such as Personality and Individual Differences, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport.

Publications

Publications (available on RaY)

Books/Book Chapters

Vaughan, R. (2015). Measurement of Leadership in Sport. In D. Murray, I. O’Boyle, & P. Cummins, (Ed.), Leadership in Sport (pp. 136-151). UK: Taylor & Francis.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Kelly, C., Vaughan, R., MacIntyre, T., Moran, A. P., & Campbell, M. (2012). Meta-Imagery Scale for Sport: Development of a comprehensive measure of athletes’ meta-imagery abilities. Journal of Mental Imagery, 36(4), 68-79. 

Vaughan, R., Carter, G. L., Cockroft, D., & Maggiorini, L. (2018).Harder, better, faster, stronger? Mental toughness, the dark triad and physical activity.Personality and Individual Differences, 131, 206-211.

Vaughan, R., Hanna, D., & Breslin, G. (2018).Psychometric properties of the mental toughness questionnaire 48 (MTQ48) in elite, amateur and nonathletes.Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 7(2), 128-140.

Vaughan, R., & Laborde, S. (2018).Psychometrics of the emotional intelligence scale in elite, amateur and nonathletes. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 22(2), 177-189.

Vaughan, R., Laborde, S., & McConville, C. (2019).The effect of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence on decision-making.European Journal of Sport Sciences, 19(2), 225-233.

Vaughan, R., Madigan, D. J., Carter, G. L., & Nichols, A. (2019).The Dark Triad in male and female athletes and non-athletes: Group differences and psychometric properties of the Short Dark Triad (SD3).Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 64-72.

Laborde, S., Gerlach, S., & Vaughan, R. S. (2020). Hitchhiking: Associations with Big Five and emotional competences.Psychological Reports. Advanced Online Publication.

Vaughan, R. S., & Edwards, E. J. (2020). Executive function and personality: The moderating role of athletic expertise. Personality and Individual Differences. 161, 109973. 

Vaughan, R. S., Edwards, E. J., & MacIntyre, T. E. (2020). Mental health measurement in a post Covid-19 world: Psychometric properties and invariance of the DASS-21 in athletes and non-athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 11: 590559 

Vaughan, R. S., Hagyard, J. D., Brimmell, J., & Edwards, E. J. (2020). The effect of trait emotional intelligence on working-memory across athletic expertise. Journal of Sports Sciences. Advanced Online Publication.

Vaughan, R. S., & Laborde, S. (2020).Attention, working-memory control, working-memory capacity, and sport performance: The moderating role of athletic expertise. European Journal of Sports Science. Advanced Online Publication.

Vaughan, R. S., & Madigan D. J. (2020). The winner takes it all: The mediating role of competitive orientations in the Dark Triad and sport task performance relationship. European Journal of Sport Science. Advanced Online Publication.

Hagyard, J. D., Brimmell, J., Edwards, E. J., & Vaughan, R. S. (2021). Inhibitory control across athletic expertise and its relationship with sport performance. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 43(1), 14-27. 

Vaughan, R. S., Hagyard, J. D, Edwards, E. J., & Jackson, R. C. (2021). Athletic expertise and reflection impulsivity: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study. European Journal of Sport Science. Advanced Online Publication. 

Vaughan, R. S., & McConville, C. (2021). Executive function and mood: The moderating role of athletic expertise. Perceptual and Motor Skills. Advanced Online Publication. 

Selected Conference Presentations

Vaughan, R., Liddell, C., & McConville, C. (2012, May). The relationship between emotional intelligence, cohesion, and personality in team and individual athletes. Paper presented at the Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society (NIBPS), Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Vaughan, R., Liddell, C., & McConville, C. (2013, May). Factorial validity and reliability of psychological measures in sport specific samples: An example of trait emotional intelligence. Paper presented at the Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society (NIBPS), Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Vaughan, R., Liddell, C., & McConville, C. (2015, June). Executive Function Differences across Athletic Expertise. Paper presented at the British Society for the Psychology of Individual Differences (BSPID), York, England.

Vaughan, R., Laborde, S., Kennedy, I., & Fallon, K. (2017, July). The Relationship between Personality Trait-like Individual Differences in Elite, Amateur and Non-athletes. Paper presented at the 14th World Congress of Sport Psychology (ISSP), Seville, Spain.

Vaughan, R., Hagyard, J. D., Edwards, E. J., & Smith, M. M. (2018, November). Executive function and athlete expertise: A longitudinal study over a playing season. Paper presented at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES), Harrogate, England.

Vaughan, R. (Chair), Brimmell, J., Krenn, B., Savelsbergh, G., & Hagyard, J. D. (2019, July). Executive functions in sport: Current trends and future prospects. Symposia presented at the 15th European Congress of Sport & Exercise Psychology (FEPSAC), Munster, Germany.

Related staff

Search for School of Education, Language and Psychology staff

Back to the top

York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York, YO31 7EX   |   Phone: 01904 624624   |   Media: 01904 876466

© York St John University 2022

Cookie Settings