Professor Mark Williams

Professor Mark Williams moved to Brunel University in September 2012 from Liverpool John Moores University, where he was Professor of Motor Behaviour. He gained a B.Sc (Hons) Sports Science from Crewe and Alsager College and a PhD in Movement Science/Experimental Psychology from the University of Liverpool. Professor Williams has published extensively in the areas of motor control, perceptual – cognitive expertise and expert performance.

He has previously worked at the University of Liverpool, Florida State University and the University of Sydney, where he was Head of Discipline Exercise and Sports Science and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation.

His research and teaching interests focus on the psychology of expertise and its acquisition. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles in highly-rated journals in exercise and sports science (e.g., Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Sports Medicine) and experimental psychology (e.g., British Journal of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Neuroscience Letters, The Lancet, Acta Psychologica, Visual Cognition, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Memory, Consciousness and Cognition and Applied Cognitive Psychology). He has written 13 books, more than 60 book chapters, 60 professional articles and over 100 abstracts in journals. He has delivered more than 200 keynote and invited lectures in upwards of 30 countries, across four continents.

His research work is currently being funded by the Australian Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Lawn Tennis Association and the English Institute of Sport. Previously he has been funded by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Council, the British Academy, FIFA, UEFA, The Football Association, Nike, Umbro and several professional sports clubs and governing bodies.

Certifications and Memberships

Certification

Fellow, European College of Sports Science

Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society

Chartered Scientist, National Skills Council

Associate Fellow, British Psychological Society 

Memberships

British Psychological Society

European College of Sports Science

North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity

International Society for Sport Psychology

World Commission of Science and Sport

Previous Employment

1989 to 1992: Research Assistant, Department of Exercise and Sports Science, Manchester Metropolitan University.

1992 to 1995: Lecturer in Motor Skills, Department of Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool.

1995 to 1999: Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Health and Human Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University.

1999 to 2002: Reader in Sport and Exercise Psychology, Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Health and Human Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University.

2002 to 2003: Professor of Motor Behaviour, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University.

2003 to 2005: Senior Research Associate, Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University.

2005 to 2009: Professor of Motor Behaviour, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University.

2009 to 2011: Professor, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Head of Discipline, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney.

Research Details

Professor Mark Williams undertakes research in the following areas:

• · Anticipation and decision-making
• · Expertise and skill learning in sport
• · Visual perception and motor performance
• · Visual search behaviours in real-world tasks
• · Cognition and action
• · Implicit and explicit learning
• · Practice scheduling
• · Observational learning and feedback
• · Talent identification
• · Emotion and performance

Research Centre

Publications

Journal Papers

(2012) Stevens, D., Anderson, DI., O'Dwyer, NJ. and Williams, AM., Does self-efficacy mediate transfer effects in the learning of easy and difficult motor skills?, CONSCIOUSNESS AND COGNITION 21 (3) : 1122- 1128

(2012) Williams, AM., North, JS. and Hope, ER., Identifying the mechanisms underpinning recognition of structured sequences of action, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 65 (10) : 1975- 1992

(2012) Smeeton, NJ. and Williams, AM., The role of movement exaggeration in the anticipation of deceptive soccer penalty kicks, British Journal of Psychology 103 (4) : 539- 555

(2012) Weston, M., Castagna, C., Impellizzeri, FM., Bizzini, M., Williams, AM. and Gregson, W., Science and Medicine Applied to Soccer Refereeing An Update, SPORTS MEDICINE 42 (7) : 615- 631

(2012) Williams, AM., Ward, P., Bell-Walker, J. and Ford, PR., Perceptual-cognitive expertise, practice history profiles and recall performance in soccer, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 103 393- 411

(2011) Causer, J., Holmes, PS. and Williams, AM., Quiet eye training in a visuomotor control task, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 43 (6) : 1042- 1049

(2011) Williams, AM., Ford, PR., Eccles, DW. and Ward, P., Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise in Sport and its Acquisition: Implications for Applied Cognitive Psychology, APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 25 (3) : 432- 442

(2011) McRobert, AP., Ward, P., Eccles, DW. and Williams, AM., The effect of manipulating context-specific information on perceptual-cognitive processes during a simulated anticipation task, BRITISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 102 519- 534

(2011) North, JS., Ward, P., Ericsson, A. and Williams, AM., Mechanisms underlying skilled anticipation and recognition in a dynamic and temporally constrained domain, MEMORY 19 (2) : 155- 168

(2011) Causer, J., Holmes, PS., Smith, NC. and Williams, AM., Anxiety, Movement Kinematics, and Visual Attention in Elite-Level Performers, EMOTION 11 (3) : 595- 602

(2010) Canal-Bruland, R. and Williams, AM., Recognizing and Predicting Movement Effects Identifying Critical Movement Features, EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 57 (4) : 320- 326

(2010) Causer, J., Bennett, SJ., Holmes, PS., Janelle, CM. and Williams, AM., Quiet Eye Duration and Gun Motion in Elite Shotgun Shooting, MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE 42 (8) : 1599- 1608

(2009) North, JS., Williams, AM., Hodges, N., Ward, P. and Ericsson, KA., Perceiving Patterns in Dynamic Action Sequences: Investigating the Processes Underpinning Stimulus Recognition and Anticipation Skill, APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 23 (6) : 878- 894