Dr. Blair Evans

Dr. Blair Evans

Assistant Professor

Department:  Kinesiology
College:  College of Health and Human Development
Address:  Room 23, Recreation Building
Phone:  814-865-1601
E-mail:  mbe13@psu.edu
Webpage:  http://hhd.psu.edu/kines/directory/Bio.aspx?id=EvansBlair

The Team Lab
Members of the Team laboratory study how our experiences in sport and exercise are shaped by those around us.  Our work is grounded in the understanding that sport and exercise often take place in groups that provide opportunities to integrate rich social experiences. Importantly, we want to understand the potential for those group experiences to shape physical activity beliefs (e.g., enhancing motivation), personal beliefs and competencies that shape one’s sense of self (e.g., positive youth development), and even performance in these settings (e.g., cooperation among group members).

What types of research do we conduct? Our research approach often includes pairing theories or methods from across disciplinary boundaries, including social psychology, organizational psychology, and developmental psychology. We particularly focus on understanding group dynamics by studying constructs such as group cohesion, social interdependence, cooperation, and social identities. In doing so, our recent research has explored topics such as: (a) how group processes impact elite and developing individual sport athletes, (b) defining the most vital social experiences for athletes with physical disabilities, and (c) exploring the social identities and motives derived from involvement in exercise groups. A particularly strong focus of our lab involves youth sport settings – striving to understand how to mitigate negative peer interactions, such as bullying, and promote positive peer relationships. Based on the research questions at hand, we explore these topics using survey-based (e.g., online surveys) and qualitative research (e.g., interviews), along with experimental studies that hope to establish clearer causal links.

Student experiences: Undergraduate students involved in our lab have opportunities to contribute to designing new studies, assisting in data collection (e.g., seeking participants to complete surveys), and developing materials to translate our research findings – broadly learning the process of conducting socially-oriented psychological research.  Students who demonstrate independent interests may also have opportunities to extend beyond these tasks by leading their own projects, by designing, conducting, and disseminating research that they developed under the supervision of senior members of the Team lab.