James Black
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Email
james.black@essex.ac.uk -
Location
ESA.3.11, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
James is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research interests primarily focus on individual differences and mental health in performance settings, including sport, education, and the workplace. In particular, he is interested in the personality trait of perfectionism and the mental health concern of burnout. He currently leads and collaborates on several international research projects examining these topics. Beyond his research, James has worked as a consultant for businesses on projects including the evaluation of health and wellbeing interventions. Alongside his research, James has experience as an educator in higher education. Prior to joining the department as a Lecturer in 2025, he served as an Assistant Lecturer, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students across a range of modules in sport and exercise psychology and research methods. His teaching was recently recognised with an Excellence in Education award.
Qualifications
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BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science York St John University, (2022)
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MSc Sport & Exercise Psychology University of Essex, (2023)
Appointments
University of Essex
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Lecturer, School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, University of Essex (1/12/2025 - present)
Research and professional activities
Conferences and presentations
The relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and competitive swimming performance
British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Annual Conference, 15/11/2023
The coach social support-athlete burnout relationship: The mediating role of perceived stress.
British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Student Conference, 24/4/2023
Athlete burnout reduces sports performance: evidence from multiple samples.
the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Annual Conference, 16/11/2022
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Professional Skills and Development 1 (SE101)
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Sport and Performance Psychology (SE207)
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Developing Self and Others (SE231)
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Applied Sports Psychology (SE304)
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Further Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health (SE738)
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Psychological Skills and Strategies (SE742)
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Understanding Self and Others (SE752)
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Applied Performance Analysis Practices (SE798)
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Research Project (SE309)
Publications
Journal articles (2)
Olsson, LF., Glandorf, HL., Black, JF., Jeggo, REK., Stanford, JR., Drew, KL. and Madigan, DJ., (2025). A multi-sample examination of the relationship between athlete burnout and sport performance.. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 76, 102747-102747
Salter, J., Black, J., Mallett, J., Barrett, S., Towlson, C., Hughes, JD. and De St Croix, M., (2023). Does biologically categorised training alter the perceived exertion and neuromuscular movement profile of academy soccer players compared to traditional age‐group categorisation?. European Journal of Sport Science. 23 (8), 1490-1499
Grants and funding
2026
Evaluation - Feel Better ALL Together
Cre8 Wellbeing