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Dr. Vista Beasley, PHD

Assistant Professor: (585) 395-5359
vbeasley@brockport.edu
Office: Tuttle North 323

Bio

Vista Beasley is an assistant professor of sport, exercise, and performance psychology at SUNY Brockport. Her scholarly work is focused on the psychological antecedents of pain endurance behaviors and overuse injuries in physical activity contexts to include mental toughness, social identity, and self-presentation.

Beasley was the managerial editor of the first Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology and edited a textbook about military field leadership. She has completed 450+ hours towards certification with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) working directly with athletes and teams to improve performance. She has served as reviewer for ten peer-reviewed research journals and the national AASP conference and is on the editorial board of the APA journal Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology. Her sport participation and coaching include track, cross country, and triathlon. She also enjoys long-distance backpacking, ultimate frisbee, and orienteering. Previously, she served as an officer in the United States military as well as in federal and state law enforcement.

Education

PhD, University of Stirling (Scotland)
MS, Florida State University
BA, Emory University

Areas of Specialty

Sport Psychology
Exercise Psychology

Research Interests

Mental toughness
Pain endurance behaviors
Overuse injury
Social identity
Self-presentation

Beasley, V. L., & Too, D. (2025). Effect of performance on social identification in serious leisure activities: Two studies of Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. Leisure Studies, 1-20. https://doi//10.1080/02614367.2025.2564784

Beasley, V. L., Lauer, S. D., Pell, E., & Fontana, M. S. (2025). Hikers’ injury-risk behaviors: Self-categorization processes and self-presentational tactics. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 49(100850), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2024.100850

Beasley, V. L., Bastos, T., McDougall, H., & Martin, J. J. (2025). Challenges and stresses experienced by Paralympic athletes and coaches. In K. Griggs (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Disability Sport Science (1^st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003397656-42

Munroe Chandler, K. J., Ely, F. O., Loughhead, T. M., Martin, J. J., & Beasley, V. L. (2025). Use of psychological skills training. In K. Griggs (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Disability Sport Science (1^st ed.). Routledge.

Beasley, V. L., & Martin, J. A. (2024). Athletes with physical and sensory disabilities. In D. A. Tod, K. P. Hodge & V. Krane (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Applied Sport Psychology (2^nd ed., pp. 486-493). Routledge.

Snarr, R. L., & Beasley, V. L. (2022). Personal, work-, and client-related burnout within strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 36(2), e31-e40. https://doi//10.1519/JSC.0000000000003956.

Beasley, V. L., Arthur, R., Eklund, R. C., Coffee, P., & Arthur, C. (2021). A thematic analysis of social identity and injury in CrossFit®. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 10(2), 327-343. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000220

Martin, J. A., Guerrero, M., & Beasley, V. L. (2019). Sport psychology research: Proper standards and limitations. In M. Anshel (Ed.), APA Handbook of Sport and Exercise Psychology (Volume 1). American Psychological Association.

Roethlisberger, K., Beasley, V. L., Martin, J. J., Byrd, B., Munroe-Chandler, K., & Muir, I. (2019). Young female ice hockey players’ enjoyment and commitment to sport. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 28(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2018-0024

Beasley, V. L., Thompson, B. H., Young, P. R., & Basevitch, I. (2016). What you know makes a difference: Physical activity maintenance and adherence of collegiate students. Journal of Counseling and Psychology, 1(2), Article 3. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/jcp/vol1/iss2/3

Open gallery

Dr. Vista Beasley, PHD

Bio

Education

Areas of Specialty

Research Interests

Recent Publications