Calum Arthur

Dr Calum Arthur specialises in performance psychology research in high performance, high consequence contexts including military, sport, and surgery. Calum has also worked outside of academia including UK Sport (working with the British Olympic High-Performance System), in professional sport for the Premier League, professional baseball (Philadelphia Phillies), and the NHS. His research and applied work specialise in optimising individual and environmental performance factors that enable sustained high-performance. Calum is currently a member of the Sabermetrics Laboratory based in the Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh.

Calum Arthur

Senior Lecturer in Surgical Performance

  • Surgical Sabermetrics Laboratory

Contact details

Appointments and Activities

Dr Calum Arthur currently researches the psychological and environmental factors that optimise sustained surgical performance. His research background includes military and high-performance sport and is typically underpinned by social cognitive psychology. 

Qualifications

  • PhD, Leadership in the British Military, Bangor University Wales, 2008
  • BSc, Sport Science, Bangor University, 2000
  • HNC, Sports Coaching and development, Edinburgh’s Telford College, 1999

Research Publications

A list of publications by Dr Dick are available on GoogleScholar


Recent Publications

Murray, R., Dugdale, J.H., Habeeb, C.M., & Arthur C.A. (2021). Transformational parenting and coaching on mental toughness and physical performance in adolescent soccer players: The moderating effect of athlete age. European Journal of Sport Science, 21(4), 580-589. 

Smith, M., & Arthur, C.A. (2022). Understanding coach-athlete conflict: An ethnodrama to illustrate conflict in elite sport. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise, & Health, 14(3), 474-492. 

Donnelly, J., Arthur R., & Arthur, C.A., Cowan, D. (2023). The indirect effects of transformational leadership in soccer programmes for socio-economically disadvantaged individuals: Need satisfaction as a mechanism. International Journal of Sport Science & Coaching, 19, 141-151. 

Beattie, S., Du Preeze, T., Hardy, L., Arthur, C.A. (2023). What do you bring to the table? Exploring psychological attributes that predict successful military training. Military Psychology, 1-12. 

Clarkson, B.G., Wagstaff, C.R.D., Arthur, C.A., & Thelwell, R.C. (2024). Measuring emotional contagion as a multidimensional construct: The development and initial validation of the contagion of affective phenomena scales. The Journal of Social Psychology, 1-23. 

Yule, S., Yule, J., & Arthur, C.A. (2025). Turing stress into success-surgery as professional sport. JAMA, 1;160(3):341.

Boyle, C, Arthur, C.A., & Yule, S. (2025). The rise and fall "marginal gains" - Lessons for surgery. Surgeon, 23910:e39-e41.

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