Summary

Dan is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He divides his time between research, supervision, and teaching.

Dan’s research centers on the psychology of human excellence and well-being, with specific focus on understanding and facilitating resilience and thriving in humans. Dan has published regularly in international peer-reviewed journals and authored several book chapters, as well as delivering over 50 scientific and professional presentations at conferences and invited events. Dan’s research has been recognized for several national and international prizes, and he has received funding from external agencies (e.g., International Olympic Committee Olympic Studies Centre) and secured contracts to support the development of Thriving Environments within sport national governing bodies. He currently supervises a team of doctoral students on projects broadly examining human functioning in sport and performance settings using relational and systems-based approaches.

Dan is the current Research Lead for the BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and sits on the BPS Research Board and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Research Development Committee. Dan also serves on the editorial boards for International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, and Sport and Exercise Psychology Review, as well as regularly peer-reviewing across the breadth of sport and exercise psychology journals and for grant bodies.

Previously, Dan created and presented the Participation and Performance Podcast.

Research interests

Dan’s research seeks to build understanding of functioning in sport and performance populations, and the social and cultural factors that support the achievement of performance outcomes in a safe, sustainable, and fulfilled way to, ultimately, enable human development and success.

Teaching responsibilities

Dan is the course leader for the BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Psychology programme and contributes sport psychology and methodological expertise to taught modules.

Research outputs

2025

Examining the psychometric properties of the sport psychology professional quality of life scale using item response theory

Quartiroli, A., Wagstaff, C., Brown, D. J.

1 Jul 2025, In: Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 79, 13p., 102862

Research output: Article

Striving for thriving: A narrative analysis of cyclists’ stories from the Olympic qualification window

Brown, D. J., Wagstaff, C.

25 Jun 2025, In: Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology

Research output: Article

Thriving together: conceptual and methodological considerations for examining thriving in interdependent sport

McGuire, C. S., Brown, D. J., McEwan, D., Arnold, R., Martin, L. J.

28 May 2025, In: International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 18, 1, p. 218-241

Research output: Article

Bringing appreciative inquiry to sport organizations

Staten, T. B., Brown, D. J., Wagstaff, C., Price, D.

13 May 2025, In: Journal of Sport Psychology in Action

Research output: Article

Thriving in youth talent development environments

Passaportis, M. J., Brown, D. J.

26 Feb 2025,

Research output: Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Supporting client transitions out of UK football academies

Scandle, M., Brown, D. J., Wagstaff, C.

2 Jan 2025, In: Journal of Sport Psychology in Action. 16, 1, p. 18-30

Research output: Article

‘Carefree enjoyment - can you tick that box?': A story of thriving following experiences of abusive coaching in gymnastics

Cleave, L., Brown, D. J., Wagstaff, C., Cavallerio, F.

1 Jan 2025, In: Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. 17, 1, p. 1-16, 16p.

Research output: Article

Working with time: navigating the temporal jungle to capture change processes

Brown, D. J., Stenling, A.

1 Jan 2025, In: Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. 14, 1, p. 24-39

Research output: Article

2024

Two confessional tales of trainee sport psychology practitioners’ experiences of operating in Trinidad and Tobago

Brain, J. J., Hunter, H., Franklin, G. H., Quartiroli, A., Wagstaff, C., Brown, D. J.

1 Dec 2024, In: The Sport Psychologist. 38, 4, p. 271–279, 9p.

Research output: Article

“Are you here for performance or are you here for well-being?”: Using participatory research to promote thriving in a British Olympic sport organization

Passaportis, M. J., Brown, D. J., Wagstaff, C., Arnold, R.

1 Nov 2024, In: Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 36, 6, p. 997-1022

Research output: Article

View all my research outputs