Dr Daniel Bishop
Reader in Psychology

Summary

I am a Researcher and Senior Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Psychology here at Brunel, a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist registered to practise with the HCPC, an Associate Fellow of the BPS, and a Fellow of Advance HE (formerly the HEA). I am also the Programme Lead for the Psychology (Sport, Health and Exercise) BSc in the Department of Life Sciences.

I have worked in both public and private sectors, including local authorities, the NHS, investment banks, the health & fitness industry and Further Education. These experiences have given me a sophisticated understanding of the challenges faced in this diverse range of industries, which is why I continue to add value to the performance of various individuals and organisations - using established psychological principles to do so.

On this note: I am proud to be the Director of Research for The Bikeability Trust. My remit is to procure and generate evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of the excellent Bikeability cycle training programme - including a role for immersive cycle training to consolidate the considerable learning at every Level of Bikeability training.

In my role as Departmental Lead for Staff Experience & Wellbeing, my vision was for Brunel to deservedly attain national recognition (e.g., the RSPH Health & Wellbeing Awards) for its long-term prioritisation of staff wellbeing and health.

When I’m not working, I love to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends, although I have spent a disproportionate amount of time writing my book, Motivation: The Manual (available on Amazon) over the past few years. I have also been rebuilding my left knee from the inside out, with a careful self-determined rehabilitation programme. For those who are interested: I realised (very late) that tight quadriceps and patellar tendons were compounding my cartilage problems, so took to regular self-massage using commercially available percussive and vibrating massagers - a game-changer. I have also found that running in crocs (with heel straps!) instead of (over-engineered) running shoes increases my knee stability, as does using barefoot shoes occasionally - although at a cost to the lumbar spine and fatty pads in the soles of my feet! But to cut a long and slightly sad story short: on 23rd September 2023, I ran a parkrun in 21 minutes, at the age of 48 - and the knees felt great!

Qualifications

• PhD, Manipulating Emotions for Performance
• MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology
• BSc (Hons) Psychology

Responsibility

I fulfil various roles:

• Programme Lead, Psychology (Sport, Health and Exercise) BSc
• As Staff Experience & Wellbeing Lead for Department of Life Sciences, 2019-22, I made a significant contribution to our Athena Swan Bronze and Silver Award submissions
• Recognised Programme Developer, including spearheading development of the Psychology (Sport, Health and Exercise) BSc in 2016, and redevelopment of the suite of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences undergraduate programmes in 2019
• University Misconduct and Professional Suitability Chair and Panel Member, 2012-present
• Athena SWAN Self-assessment Team Member (Bronze Award) College of Health and Life Sciences (CHMLS)
• PhD and MPhil Examiner
• Postgraduate Research Supervisor (see Teaching/Supervision)
• Postgraduate and Undergraduate Module Leader (see Teaching/Supervision)
• CHMLS Research Ethics Committee Member
• Peer Reviewer for (inter alia) Behavioral Research Methods, Brain and Cognition, European Journal of Sport Science, Experimental Brain Research, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Human Movement Science, International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Journal of Sports Sciences, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, Music Performance Research, Neuroimage, Neuropsychologia, Physiology & Behaviour, Psychology of Music, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Scientific Reports, The Sport Psychologist.