I’m a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology    focusing on the study of cognitive and emotional processes in sport. I re-joined Abertay in 2013 and over the years I have taught a number of modules, including Sport psychology, Exercise and health psychology and Motor control and skill acquisition.

I completed my PhD at Florida State University.  My doctoral thesis - on the dynamic nature of cognitive and emotional states during competition - received the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) 2007 Dissertation Award as “recognition of excellence in applied sport psychology.”

I also hold a BSc in PE and Sport, and a Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology - both from the Faculty of Human Movement in Lisbon. My master Thesis consisted on the application of a cognitive-behavioural intervention, the SPARK self-management programme, to increase out-of-school physical activity in adolescents.

My wider research interests include stress, cognitive appraisals and coping, youth sport, behaviour change, exercise adherence and mental health, body image/social physique anxiety and adolescents’ psychosocial health.

I have published various peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on these themes including lead authoring “Health assets and active lifestyles during pre-adolescence and adolescence: Highlights from the HBSC/WHO health survey and implications to health promotion”, featuring in the last FEPSAC sponsored book, “Sport and exercise psychology research: From theory to practice” . 

I played handball competitively for 17 years and am a Qualified National level handball Coach.

Luis teaches across a range of modules focussing on topics related to sport and exercise psychology, coaching pedagogy, exercise adherence, behaviour change and health promotion, children's psychossocial development through sport.

Luis is mainly concerned with the broad areas of human performance and health behaviours. He is particularly interested in interdisciplinary research. His research areas include:

• Stress, appraisals and coping
• Cognitive and emotional processes in sport
• Performance enhancement interventions
• Exercise adherence
• Physical activity and sedentary behaviour
• Body image and social physique anxiety
• Adolescents’ health behaviours and psychosocial health

Honours/awards
 

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
• Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) 2007 Dissertation Award.
• Best poster presentation at the V Portuguese-Spanish Conference on Sport and Exercise Psychology, Higher Institute of Applied Psychology - ISPA, Lisbon, Portugal.
• ECSS Young Investigator Award Competition: Calmeiro, L. (1999). “Effects of Spark Self-Management program on the Promotion of Adolescents’ Physical Activity”. Poster presented at the IV Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, 14-17 July, Rome, Italy.
• Foundation for the Science and the Technology Doctoral Scholarship, Portuguese Ministry of the Science and the Technology