Dr. M. Blair Evans

Biographical Information

I arrived at the Department of Psychology in 2020, after gaining experience as an Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University (Kinesiology) and as a postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University. With academic training focused on social influences in physical activity contexts, my passion for applying psychological principles into real-life settings has led me to explore all sorts of interesting group environments. More information related to my professional pathway can be found in the link to my CV.

Education
PhD in Social Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University (2014)
MA in Kinesiology and Physical Activity at the University of Lethbridge (2010)
BA in Sport Psychology at Laurentian University (2008)

Selected Publications

Complete and updated list of publications available via google scholar ( https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=S8p1FSQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) or ORCID (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0668-4928)

Eys, M. A., Benson, A., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Group Dynamics in Sport (5th edition). FiT publishing. 

Panza, M., Graupensperger, S., Agans, J., Vella, S., Dore, I., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Adolescent sport participation and symptoms of anxiety and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42, 201-218.

Graupensperger, S., Panza, M., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Network centrality, group density, and strength of social identification in college club sport teams. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, & Practice, 24, 59-73.

Graupensperger, S, Turrisi, R., Jones, D., Evans, M. B. (2020). Longitudinal associations between perceptions of peer group drinking norms and students’ alcohol use frequency within college sport teams. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44, 541-552.

Benson, A. J., Azizi, E., Evans, M. B., Bray, S., & Eys, M. A. (2019). How innuendo shapes impressions of task and intimacy groups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 85, 103854.

Evans, M. B., Shanahan, E., Leith, S., Litvak, N., & Wilson, A. E. (2019). Living for today or tomorrow? Self-regulation amidst proximal or distal exercise outcomes. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, 11, 304-327.

Evans, M. B., Graupensperger, S. A., Benson, A. J., Eys, M. A., Gottschall, J. S., & Hastings, B. (2019). Group structure and entitativity in exercise: considering within- and between-group perceptions of groupness. Psychology & Health, 34, 715-732.

Rodrigues, A., Evans, M. B., & Galatti, L. (2019). Peer connections, social identity, and motivation ‘on the mat’: Social network analysis within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 40, 127-134.

Graupensperger, S. A., Benson, A., & Evans, M. B. (2018). Everyone else is doing it: The association between social identity and susceptibility to peer influence in NCAA athletes. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 40, 117-127.

Evans, M. B., Shirazipour, C., Zanhour, M., Allan, V., Sweet, S. N., Martin Ginis, K. A., & Latimer-Cheung, A. (2018). Integrating insights from the parasport community to understand optimal experiences: The Quality Parasport Participation Framework. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 37, 79-90.

Research

Our health and well-being can be powerfully shaped by the people who surround us.

Social influence is the target of my research, as well as projects led by my students and collaborators. We focus on how interpersonal relationships may help predict or influence a person’s health behaviors and wellbeing. Small groups are important social settings for studying these social influences because: (a) members often define themselves in part by the groups to which they belong, and (b) small groups are characterized by processes and structures like identities and norms that guide members to interact and behave in certain ways. Beyond studying how group memberships relate to health behaviors (e.g., physical activity; alcohol use), our research also targets more specific outcomes and populations – including research to understand the social participation of individuals with physical disabilities.

Work groups, physical activity classes, and student clubs all provide rich group environments to conduct field-based studies ranging from survey-based correlational research, to qualitative interviews and behavioral interventions. The complexity of group-based social phenomena means that we often use advanced methodologies related to multilevel modelling and social network analysis. We also focus on application to real life by pursuing partnerships within industry or relevant communities (e.g., student services, fitness and sport) and translating knowledge into programs or interventions.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out! Whether you are a student curious about research opportunities, a community organization, a potential industry partner, or a potential collaborator – I would love to hear from you.

Find out more by visiting our lab web site at: https://www.evanslab.ca