Professor Moira Lafferty
Head of School
Biography
Professor Moira Lafferty is Head of the School of Society in the Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Society and within this role she works with the Dean and Associate Deans to lead and deliver on the Faculty and University strategic plans and to manage and support developments within the Divisions of Psychology and Social Work in line with the University strategy. She is a chartered psychologist and associate fellow of the British Psychology Society and a HCPC registered sport and exercise psychologist. She has taught, researched, and supervised in the area of sport and exercise psychology for over 25 years.
Teaching and Supervision
Professor Lafferty continues to lecture on undergraduate and postgraduate courses within the Division of Psychology teaching in the areas of sport and exercise psychology, research methods and project planning. She has previously led and development numerous MSc programs in sport, applied and behavioural psychology and particularly enjoys teaching research methods applicable to real world psychological problems.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
As a Professor of Applied Sport Psychology, Professor Lafferty’s research focuses on three broad areas: team performance including team formation and initiation activity. Applied sport psychology and young performers including safeguarding and the training and development of practitioner psychologists. She is the lead researcher and developer of the CHANGES-Intervention programme (Challenging Hazing and Negative Group Events in Sport) and has recently signed collaborative partnership agreements with both British Universities and Colleges Sport and Scottish Student Sport to further the integration of CHANGES into student sport. In collaboration with Professor Caroline Wakefield from Liverpool Hope University she is examining student sport initiations from both a social and health psychology perspective and with colleagues from across the UK she is exploring trainee sport psychologists’ journey, supervision, and neophyte practitioner development. She has published and presented widely in these areas as well as acting as an expert advisor based on her research and has a successful track record of PhD completion and grant capture.