Daniel M. Landers passed away peacefully on June 18, 2023, at 81 years of age, with his wife, Pat Landers, by his side. In addition to Pat, Landers is survived by his daughter Tracey (Gordon) Hester, son Danny (Courtney) Landers, daughter Lisa (Greg) Oliva, son Fred (Olga) Buckman, and his brother Steve (Maria) Landers, as well as 10 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Jack and Alice Landers and his former wife Donna Landers.
Landers was cofounder, with Rainer Martens, of the Journal of Sport Psychology (now titled Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology) and was its inaugural Editor-in-Chief from 1979 to 1985. As scholars and practitioners, we owe him our gratitude for his early vision of a rigorous and scholarly journal for the dissemination of sport psychology research and for exacting high standards for publishing in the journal to ensure its longevity as a consistently Tier 1 journal in sport science.
Landers was born in 1942 in Oakland, CA. He received his BA from San Jose State College, where he majored in physical education and competed on the men’s gymnastics team. He went on to the University of Illinois for graduate study, completing his MS degree and then his PhD in 1968, under the mentorship of Gunther Lueschen. While studying at Illinois, Landers met fellow student Rainer Martens (cofounder of Human Kinetics with Marilyn Martens), and both Landers and Martens were highly influenced by James Davis, a psychology professor teaching social psychology and group dynamics.
Career of Research
After taking a brief position as a research assistant professor at Illinois, working with Martens at the Children’s Research Center, Landers moved on to teach at the State University of New York–Brockport, where he mentored numerous undergraduate students in research. From there, he went on to the University of Washington, the Pennsylvania State University, and finally Arizona State University, where he served from 1981 to 2008 and was awarded Regents Professor status in 1990. He retired as Emeritus Regents Professor in 2008. Across his career, he mentored over 50 master’s students and 19 doctoral students, many of whom have gone on to successful and acclaimed academic careers.
Dan, his colleagues, and his doctoral students produced a plethora of original, experimental, and theory-driven research on a range of topics in sport, motor performance, and exercise psychology. The first decade or so of his research focused on socialization into sport and social psychological phenomena that influence motor and sport performance (e.g., Feltz & Landers, 1983; Landers & McCullagh, 1977; Martens & Landers, 1970). Testing theories for their relevancy in applied sport and motor performance settings, Landers earned respect for this early work with his induction to the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education in 1982 (now the National Academy of Kinesiology [NAK]).
Frustrated with the lack of utility of social-psychology theories and measurements to the study of arousal–performance relationships in motor skills, Landers and his students looked toward psychophysiological theories and measures to improve research and practice within motor performance and sport. Landers and his students wrote some of the classic works on the psychophysiology of kinetic imagery and on patterns of brain activity during micro- and macrophases of motor performance. In fact, their reviews and data-based research in this area helped initiate psychophysiology as a new subspecialty in sport psychology (Hatfield & Landers, 1983). This innovative approach to the psychology of skilled motor behavior stimulated the examination of cerebral cortical activity (i.e., via electroencephalography [EEG]) during the learning and performance of motor skills by scholars worldwide. The studies typically focused on elite participants performing self-paced precision-aiming tasks during such activities as marksmanship, archery, and golf putting. These activities were used because of technical restrictions related to movement artifact. However, the basic principle of neural efficiency, observed during the preparatory aiming period, is believed to generalize to critical moments in sport ranging from the focused mental state before execution of a complex gymnastics routine to the mindset of the placekicker before contact with the football in the heat of intense competition.
Motivated to understand the neural underpinnings of such sport situations, Landers and his students (Hatfield et al., 1984) generated the foundational protocol employed to study these brain processes by the broader research community, which relied on EEG measurements from critical regions of interest in the left and right hemispheres of the brain to deduce the critical psychological processes associated with expert performance. Importantly, he published another landmark study with his students that demonstrated accelerated learning and elevated accuracy in highly skilled athletes (i.e., competitive archers) as a result of neurofeedback training based on the psychophysiological model of superior visuomotor performance that emerged from their earlier work (Landers et al., 1991). Furthermore, his research on the psychophysiology of skilled performance has had important applications for Olympic performers. As a result, he served as a consultant to Olympic committees of the United States, Venezuela, Belgium, Israel, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
In memoriam.
Citation: Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 45, 6; 10.1123/jsep.2023-0225
In addition to psychophysiology of sport research, Landers promoted the use of meta-analytic techniques in sport and exercise psychology after collaborating on a meta-analysis of mental practice on motor skill learning and performance (Feltz & Landers, 1983). This was the first published meta-analysis of the literature in sport psychology and the most cited article in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology from 1979 to 2005. Landers was truly ahead of his time in recognizing the value of meta-analytic techniques, and this is demonstrated by his contributions to the publication of more than 10 meta-analyses. He was also in the vanguard in conducting research on the mental health benefits of exercise and physical activity. As his interests evolved to include this focus, he published numerous papers contributing to our understanding of the effects of exercise on (a) mood alteration (e.g., anxiety and depression reduction, enhancement of positive mood), (b) the ability to cope with psychosocial stressors, (c) the quality and quantity of sleep, (d) cognitive functioning, and (e) self-esteem. This examination involved the use of narrative (e.g., Kubitz & Landers, 1993), meta-analytic reviews of the literature (e.g., Etnier et al., 1997; Petruzzello et al., 1991), and experimental studies (e.g., Alderman et al., 2007; Etnier & Landers, 1997, 1998). He was selected as the Alliance Scholar in 2006 by the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, in part for this work. His presentation for that honor was titled “Physical Inactivity, Dementia, Anxiety, and Depression: An Evolutionary Perspective.” Landers continued to pursue this avenue of research in his retirement, contributing to further meta-analyses that dealt with exercise and the reduction of anxiety and depression (e.g., Rethorst et al., 2009; Wipfli et al., 2008). This work is having a major impact beyond the field of kinesiology in helping to demonstrate the importance of exercise in contributing to psychological health. The rigor of Landers’s scientific endeavors in sport and exercise psychology will likely be his most long-lasting significant contribution.
Landers received numerous other awards for his career-long contributions to the field. He was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award (1995) and President’s Award (2005) from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, the award for Distinguished Scientific and Research Contributions to Exercise and Sport Psychology from the American Psychological Association–Division 47 (2003), and the National Association of Sport and Physical Education Hall of Fame Award (2008). Last, he received the NAK’s highest award, the Hetherington Award in 2009.
Mentorship of Students
Landers distinguished himself as a teacher and mentor who took great care in preparing students for careers in sport and exercise psychology. He ensured that students had a rich graduate experience and were well prepared for the rigors of academia as researchers and teachers. He provided his graduate students with many opportunities to learn firsthand how to conduct research, teach, and design college-level courses. He was adept at discussing research projects in ways that engaged students in the critical thinking about ideas that eventually led to good research questions. He also was an exemplary role model for ethical research, ensuring that human experimentation conventions were followed and that research participants learned and benefited from volunteering their time. Furthermore, he expected his advisees to present their research at professional conferences with talks well practiced and polished before arriving at the podium. He encouraged studies he thought publishable, suggesting the appropriate journals for the type and sophistication of the research, and then guiding his mentees on how to write for publication.
As mentioned previously, Landers supervised approximately 50 master’s and 19 PhD students (see list of students at end). However, the number of students mentored was not his most important contribution. The most important contribution is evident from the quality of his mentoring as demonstrated by that fact that 10 of his students received dissertation awards from scientific societies. Furthermore, his former doctoral students have made significant contributions to the field themselves, including, but not limited to, numerous department chair positions, journal editors, and presidents of academies. To date, six of them have also become NAK Fellows (Shawn Arent, Larry Brawley, Jennifer Etnier, Deborah Feltz, Brad Hatfield, and Steve Petruzzello).
Service to the Profession
Landers’s service to the profession is also noteworthy. Beyond serving as founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sport Psychology, he served as President of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Research Consortium, President of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and President of the Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology (Division 47) within the American Psychological Association. He was founding member of the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Academy of Sport Sciences, served on the Selection Committee of the International Olympic Committee Olympic Prize for outstanding research in exercise, sport, and motor behavior, and was one of 12 sport scientists to serve on the Comprehensive Olympic Sports Medicine Operational System within the Sports Medicine Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In the broader scientific field, he also served on the Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance in the National Research Council National Academy of Sciences.
In closing, Landers has made significant contributions to the scientific knowledge base in the areas of social facilitation in motor performance, the psychophysiology of kinetic imagery, and the effect of exercise on psychological outcomes, which helped shape the direction of scientific research in the sport and exercise psychology field. His 40 years of scholarship and service have influenced researchers, students, coaches, athletes, and other practitioners involved with physical activity and will have a lasting impact on our field and our understanding of these psychological phenomena.
Major Professor for PhD Students
Landers was major professor for the following PhD students:
Lawrence Brawley, 1980
Deborah Feltz, 1980
Brad Hatfield, 1981
David Furst, 1981
Stephen Boutcher, 1986
Min Qi Wang, 1987
Debra Crews, 1989
Karla Kubitz, 1990
Steven Petruzzello, 1991
Walter Salazar, 1992
Myung-woo Han, 1993
Jennifer Etnier, 1995
Chun-Xiao He, 1998
Marc Lochbaum, 1998
Shawn Arent, 2002
Tracie Rogers, 2003
Brandon Alderman, 2004
Brad Wipfli, 2008
Chad Rethorst, 2008
References
Alderman, B.L., Arent, S.M., Landers, D.M., & Rogers, T.J. (2007). Aerobic exercise intensity and time of stressor administration influence cardiovascular responses to psychological stress. Psychophysiology, 44(5), 759–766. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00548.x
Etnier, J.L., & Landers, D.M. (1997). The influence of age and fitness on performance and learning. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 5(3), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.5.3.175
Etnier, J.L., & Landers, D.M. (1998). Motor performance and motor learning as a function of age and fitness. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 69(2), 136–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.1998.10607679
Etnier, J.L., Salazar, W., Landers, D.M., Petruzzello, S.J., Han, M., & Nowell, P. (1997). The influence of physical fitness and exercise upon cognitive functioning: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 19(3), 249–277. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.19.3.249
Feltz, D.L., & Landers, D.M. (1983). The effects of mental practice on motor skill learning and performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5(1), 25–57. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsp.5.1.25
Hatfield, B.D., & Landers, D.L. (1983). Psychophysiology—A new direction for sport psychology. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5(3), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsp.5.3.243
Hatfield, B.D., Landers, D.M., & Ray, W.J. (1984). Cognitive processes during self-paced motor performance: An electroencephalographic profile of skilled marksmen. Journal of Sport Psychology, 6(1), 42–59. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsp.6.1.42
Kubitz, K.A., & Landers, D.M. (1993). The effect of an aerobic exercise program on cardiovascular responses to mental stress: An examination of underlying mechanisms. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 15(3), 326–337 https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.15.3.326
Landers, D.M., & McCullagh, P.D. (1977). Social facilitation of motor performance. Exercise & Sport Science Reviews, 4, 125–162.
Landers, D.M., Petruzzello, S.J., Salazar, W., Crews, D.L., Kubitz, K.A., Gannon, T.L., & Han, M.W. (1991). The influence of electrocortical biofeedback on performance in pre-elite archers. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 23, 123–129.
Martens, R., & Landers, D.M. (1970). Motor performance under stress: A test of the inverted-U hypothesis. Journal of PersonaIity and Social Psychology, 16(1), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029787
Petruzzello, S.J., Landers, D.M., Hatfield, B.D., Kubitz, K.A., & Salazar, W. (1991). A meta-analysis on the anxiety-reducing effects of acute and chronic exercise. Sports Medicine, 11(3), 143–182. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199111030-00002
Rethorst, C.D., Wipfli, B.M., & Landers, D.M. (2009). The antidepressive effects of exercise: A meta-analysis of randomized trials. Sports Medicine, 39(6), 491–511. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200939060-00004
Wipfli, B.M., Rethorst, C.D., & Landers, D.M. (2008). The anxiolytic effects of exercise: A meta-analysis of randomized trials and dose–response analysis. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 30(4), 392–410. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.30.4.392
