Originally from Montreal, Canada, Jennifer joined the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2002 after completing her PhD at the University of Western Ontario. As a competitive ice skater, she was first exposed to sport psychology training and developed an appreciation for the mental side of her sport. After further studies and gathering more than ten years of professional coaching experience, Jennifer now lectures about the applied aspects of exercise and sport psychology to second year undergraduate students and supervises PhD students. Her research mainly focuses on the effective use of imagery by athletes, exercisers and dancers. She has published this work in several leading journals in the field, has served as a section editor for the European Journal of Sport Sciences and now sits on the editorial board of The Sport Psychologist and the Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity. Jennifer also works as a mental skills consultant by advising sport scholars and TASS athletes at the University of Birmingham, and offers workshops and consultations to local sport clubs.
Exercise Imagery
Exercise imagery and its correlates in older adults (with Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Nikos Ntoumanis, and Nikitas Nikitaras), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2012)
Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to test a structural model examining the...
Images of exercising: Exploring the links between exercise imagery use, autonomous and controlled motivation to exercise, and exercise intention and behavior (with Damian M. Stanley, Martyn Standage, and Joan L. Duda), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2012)
Objectives: In the present study, we tested a model examining the relationships between exercise imagery...
Are Images of Exercising Related to Feeling States? (with Damian M. Stanley), Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity (2010)
This study examined the relationships between different types of exercise imagery and feeling states, and...
Are we having fun yet? Testing the effects of imagery use on the affective and enjoyment responses to acute moderate exercise (with Damian M. Stanley), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2010)
Objectives The present study investigated whether using imagery during acute moderate exercise evokes more positive...
Not Just How One Feels, but What One Images? The Effects of Imagery Use on Affective Responses to Moderate Exercise (with Damian M. Stanley), International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2010)
Previous research has highlighted a need for identifying the psychological strategies which best maximize the...
Dance Imagery
Imagining Yourself Dancing to Perfection? Correlates of Perfectionism Among Ballet and Contemporary Dancers (with Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Danielle Aways, and Lucinda Sharp), Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2011)
The present study investigated perfectionism prevalence and its relationship to imagery and performance anxiety. Two...
Professional Dancers Describe Their Imagery: Where, When, What, Why, and How (with Sanna M. Nordin), The Sport Psychologist (2005)
In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 male and female professional dancers from several dance...
Sport Imagery
Athletes’ ease of imaging predicts their imagery and observational learning use (with Sarah E. Williams), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2012)
Objectives: Following the development of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ; Williams & Cumming, 2011),...
Further Validation and Development of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire (with Sarah E. Williams, Nikos Ntoumanis, Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Richard Ramsey, and Craig Hall), Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology (2012)
This research validated and extended the Movement Imagery Questionnaire- Revised (MIQ-R; Hall & Martin, 1997)....
Measuring athlete imagery ability: The Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (with Sarah E. Williams), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2011)
This research aimed to develop and provide initial validation of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire...
The Use of Imagery to Manipulate Challenge and Threat Appraisal States in Athletes (with Sarah E. Williams and George M. Balanos), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2010)
The present study investigated whether imagery could manipulate athletes’ appraisal of stress-evoking situations (i.e., challenge...
Self-Reported Psychological States and Physiological Responses to Different Types of Motivational General Imagery (with Tom Olphin and Michelle Law), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2007)
The aim of the present study was to examine self-reported psychological states and physiological responses...
Mental Skills Training
Assessing Mental Skill and Technique Use in Applied Interventions: Recognizing and Minimizing Threats to the Psychometric Properties of the TOPS (with Charlottee Woodcock, Joan L. Duda, Lee-Ann Sharp, and Mark J. G. Holland), The Sport Psychologist (2012)
Drawing from the experiences of the authors in developing, conducting, and evaluating sport psychology interventions,...
Working within an Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) framework: Consultant practice and athlete reflections on refining emotion regulation skills (with Charlotte Woodcock, Joan L. Duda, and Lee-Ann Sharp), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2012)
Objective: To examine how working within Hanin’s (2000a) Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning theoretical model...
Psychological Qualities of Elite Adolescent Rugby Players: Parents, Coaches, and Sport Administration Staff Perceptions and Supporting Roles (with Charlotte Woodcock, Mark J. G. Holland, and Joan L. Duda), The Sport Psychologist (2011)
The aim of the current study was to extend previous research by Holland and colleagues...
Mental Qualities and Employed Mental Techniques of Young Elite Team Sport Athletes (with Mark J.G. Holland, Charlotte Woodcock, and Joan L. Duda), Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2010)
Research on the psychological characteristics of elite performers has primarily focused on Olympic and World...
Neuroscience Research
Incongruent imagery interferes with action initiation (with Richard Ramsey, Daniel Eastough, and Martin G. Edwards), Brain and Cognition (2010)
It has been suggested that representing an action through observation and imagery share neural processes...
Educational Research
Student-initiated group management strategies for more effective and enjoyable group work experiences, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sports and Tourism Education (2010)
This study examined whether group processes and task cohesion mediated the relationship between student-initiated group...
Other Research
Profiles of perfectionism, body-related concerns, and indicators of psychological health in vocational dance students: An investigation of the 2 (with Joan L. Duda), Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2012)
Objectives. The study examined 1) profiles of multidimensional perfectionism; and 2) inter-relationships between these profiles...
When feeling attractive matters too much to women: A process underpinning the relation between psychological need satisfaction and unhealthy weight control behaviors (with Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Nikos Ntoumanis, and Nikos L. D. Chatzisarantis), Motivation and Emotion (2011)
This study examined a process model linking psychological need satisfaction to unhealthy weight control behaviors....
Can Self-Esteem Protect Against the Deleterious Consequences of Self-Objectification for Mood and Body Satisfaction in Physically Active Female University Students? (with Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Nikos Ntoumanis, Kimberley J. Bartholomew, and Gemma Pearce), Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2011)
Using objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), this study tested the interaction between self-objectification, appearance...
Self-Presentational Cognitions for Exercise in Female Adolescents (with Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani), Journal of Applied Social Psychology (2011)
The study’s main purpose was to clarify the role of a range of self-presentational cognitions...