Prof. RECEP GÖRGÜLÜ

🧑‍🏫 About

Dr. Recep Görgülü is a sport and performance psychology specialist with extensive academic and applied experience in both Turkey and the United Kingdom. He holds MSc and PhD degrees in Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology from Bangor University, UK. His work focuses on understanding and improving human performance through the lens of psychological and psychophysiological processes.

During his time in the UK, Dr. Görgülü worked as a sport psychologist with various football and tennis clubs, applying evidence-based techniques to enhance athlete performance under pressure.

He is currently a faculty member at Bursa Uludağ University, and the founder of the Elite Performance Psychology Laboratory (PePLaB), where he leads a research team focusing on high-level performance and mental resilience.

🎓 Academic Background

• BSc – Uludağ University, Faculty of Education, Turkiye, 2008

• MSc – Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology, Bangor University, UK, 2012

• PhD – Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology, Bangor University, UK, 2017

Dr. Görgülü returned to Turkey in 2017 after completing his doctoral studies and joined the academic staff at Bursa Uludağ University. He also teaches sport psychology courses at the Faculty of Medicine and Department of Psychology, bridging the gap between sports sciences and clinical/health psychology.

In 2020, his article titled “Ironic Performance Errors under Anxiety: Task-Specific Instructions Matter” received the Excellence in Research Award from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA) and Human Kinetics, the world’s leading sport science publisher.

📚 Research & Publications

Dr. Görgülü’s research interests include:

• Psychophysiological foundations of performance

• Stress and anxiety in competitive settings

• Ironic performance errors

• Personality and individual differences in sport

His work has been published in top-tier journals such as:

• The Sport Psychologist (TSP)

• Psychology of Sport and Exercise (PSE)

• International Journal of Sport Psychology (IJSP)

• Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (JSEP)

• International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IRSEP)

• Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (SJMSS)

One of his widely read popular science articles, titled “ This is What Happens to Footballers' When They Miss Penalties”, was featured in The Conversation during the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

Since 2024, he has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, one of the field’s most respected journals.