Faculty Collective-Mark Otten
Mark P. Otten is a professor in the Department of Psychology. He runs the CSUN Sport Psychology research lab, which is dedicated to a variety of sport and exercise-related lines of study. The first focus of the group is continuing research on the psychological keys to successful (i.e., "clutch") sport performance under pressure. Ongoing projects also include studies of loss aversion and fear of failure in sport, and of Coach John Wooden's famed Pyramid of Success and its links to empirical research on sport and exercise. A study exploring mental toughness and motivations in marathon runners was also recently compiled. Students who participate in the lab will help run participants through sport activities (e.g., basketball free throw shooting) and administer psychological assessments in connection. They will also have the opportunity to manage and analyze data, attend lab meetings devoted to the discussion of sport and exercise psychology, and present at professional conferences.