Associate Professor Pat Thomas

Associate Professor Pat ThomasCertT, BA (Hons), MA, PhD Qld

Lecturer, School of Education and Professional Studies

Contact Details for Associate Professor Pat Thomas

For more information on the book Optimising Performance in Golf

Membership of professional associations

  • Member, Australian Psychological Society (APS)
  • Member, College of Sport Psychologists (APS)
  • International Affiliate, American Psychological Association
  • Registered Psychologist, State of Queensland
  • Registered Teacher, State of Queensland

Research expertise

  • Enhancing performance in sport through psychological skills training, particularly cognitive processes such as imagery and attentional focus strategies.
  • Assessment of psychological skills in sport using the Test of Performance Strategies.
  • Individual differences in cognitive preferences.
  • Development and rehabilitation of movement skills through imagery training and virtual environments.

Current teaching areas

  • 2085EBL Introduction to Sport Psychology
  • 3241EBL Research Methods in Education

Publications

Books

Book chapters

  • Morris, T. & Thomas, P.R. (2004). Applied sport psychology. In T. Morris and J. Summers (Eds.), Sport psychology: Theory, applications and issues (2nd ed., pp. 236-277). Milton, QLD: John Wiley and Sons.

Refereed journals

  • Neumann, D.L. & Thomas, P.R. (2008). A camera-based scoring system for evaluating performance accuracy during a golf putting task. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 892-897.
  • Williams, J., Thomas, P.R., Maruff, P. & Wilson, P.H. (2008). The link between motor impairment level and motor imagery ability in children with developmental coordination disorder. Human Movement Science, 27, 270-285.
  • Williams, J., Thomas, P.R., Maruff, P., Butson, M. & Wilson, P.H. (2006). Motor, visual and egocentric transformations in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Child: Care, Health and Development, 32, 633-647.
  • Wilson, P.H., Maruff, P., Butson, M., Williams, J., Lum, J. & Thomas, P.R. (2004). Internal representation of movement in children with developmental coordination disorder: A mental rotation task. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 46, 754-759.
  • Farrally, M.R., Cochran, A.J., Crews, D.J., Hurdzan, M.J., Price, R.J., Snow, J.T. & Thomas, P.R. (2003). Golf science research at the beginning of the 21st Century. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 753-765.
  • Wilson, P.H., Thomas, P.R. & Maruff, P. (2002). Motor imagery training ameliorates motor clumsiness in children. Journal of Child Neurology, 17, 491-498.
  • Jackson, S.A., Thomas, P.R., Marsh, H,W. & Smethurst, C.J. (2001). Relationships between Flow, Self-Concept, Psychological Skills, and Performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, Vol. 13, pp. 129-153.

Refereed proceedings

  • Thomas, P.R., Neumann, D.L., & Hooper, S.L. (2008). Attentional focus and putting performance at different levels of skill development. Paper presented at the 5th World Scientific Congress of Golf, Phoenix.
  • Wilson, P.H., D., Duckworth, J., Mumford, N., Eldridge, R., Guglielmetti, M., Thomas, P.R., Shum, D., & Rudolph, H. (2007). A virtual tabletop workspace for the assessment of upper limb function in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Paper presented at the Virtual Rehabilitation 2007 Conference, Venice.
  • Mumford, N., Guglielmetti, M., Wilson, P.H., Watson, G., Duckworth, J., Eldridge, R., Thomas, P.R., Shum, D., & Rudolph, H. (2007). Elements: Game technologies and virtual environments for the therapeutic treatment of lower limb function for use in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Paper presented at the 13th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia, Brisbane.
  • Thomas, P.R., & Chen, R.H. (2006). The effects of attention on accuracy in golf putting. Paper presented at the Joint Conference of the Australian Psychological Society and New Zealand Psychological Society, Auckland.
  • Wilson, P.H., Thomas, P.R., Maruff, P., Butson, M., & Williams, J. (2006). Developmental changes in motor imagery in primary school-aged children. Paper presented at the Joint Conference of the Australian Psychological Society and New Zealand Psychological Society, Auckland.
  • Wilson, P.H., Thomas, P.R., Shum, D., Duckworth, J., Gugliemetti, M., Rudolph, H., Mumford, N., & Eldridge, R. (2006). A multilevel model for movement rehabilitation in traumatic brain injury (TBI) using virtual environments. Paper presented at the 5th International Workshop on Virtual Rehabilitation, New York.
  • Thomas, P.R. & Chen, R.H (2005). Attentional processes in golf putting: Effects of task difficulty. Paper presented at the ISSP 11th World Congress of Sport Psychology, Sydney.
  • Wrigley, W.J., Emmerson, S.B., & Thomas, P.R. (2003). Examining the constructs used to assess music performance excellence. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Music Education Annual Conference, Brisbane.

Non - refereed proceedings

  • Thomas, P. R. (2008). The golfer: Psychological performance considerations. Paper presented at the 5th World Scientific Congress of Golf, Phoenix.
  • Thomas, P.R., Neumann, D.L., & Hooper, S.L. (2007). Attentional focus and putting performance. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Brisbane.
  • Wilson, P.H., Thomas, P.R., & Maruff, P. (2005) Motor imagery training ameliorates motor clumsiness in children: A replication study. Paper presented at the 7th Motor Control and Human Skill Conference, Fremantle.
  • Wrigley, W.J., Emmerson, S., & Thomas, P.R. (2002). Improving the accountability and educational utility of the Queensland Conservatorium music performance assessment process. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Psychology of Music and Music Education, London.

Other

  • Thomas, P.R. (2002) Psychological skills training in golf. Professional Development Programme, Professional Golfers Association of Australia, Sydney.
  • Thomas, P.R. (2002) Peak performance under pressure. Professional Development Programme, Professional Golfers Association of Australia, Sydney.
  • Thomas, P.R. (2002) Self-talk and imagery training. Professional Development Programme, Professional Golfers Association of Australia, Sydney.

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