Kevin Fisher is a second-year doctoral student in the Sport Psychology & Motor Behavior specialization offered by the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies working with Dr. Jeffrey T. Fairbrother. Kevin’s research focuses on the role of attention, sensory information, and feedback in the learning and performance of motor skills. He recently had a manuscript accepted for publication in Human Movement Science entitled “Examining the time course of attention in a soccer kick using a dual task paradigm.” This study examined differences in attentional demand during different phases of a soccer penalty kick by asking participants to respond to auditory cue during performance. Results indicated longer auditory reaction times at the initiation of the kick consistent with greater attentional demand related to preparatory adjustments. Additionally, reaction times were longer for the dominant foot compared to the non-dominant foot at kick initiation suggesting that soccer players engage in more complex planning when using the dominant foot. This study added to a growing body of literature showing that attentional demand fluctuates during the performance of sport skills. Such findings are valuable to current theoretical understanding of attention and to practical application in sport- and movement-related instruction.
Fisher is an active member of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and also belongs to the Golden Key International Honor Society and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He previously won the Pearl Berlin Writing Award (2009) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Department of Kinesiology and a Research Excellence Award (2007) from the University of Virginia Department of Psychology.