{"id":26671,"date":"2026-08-25T17:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss-dev\/people\/kevin-becker\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T17:51:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:51:46","slug":"kevin-becker","status":"publish","type":"people","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Becker"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_eb_attr":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"people_cat":[],"class_list":["post-26671","people","type-people","status-publish","entry"],"acf":{"people_featured_photo":26322,"people_name":"Kevin Becker","people_title":"Associate Professor","people_unit":"Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior","people_address":"HPER 360A2","people_email":"kbecker2@utk.edu","people_phone":"865-974-3743","people_biography":"","people_education":"\n\n\n\n\n
PhD<\/td>\nUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville<\/td>\nKinesiology and Sport Studies \u2013 Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MS<\/td>\nIllinois State University<\/td>\nKinesiology; Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
BS<\/td>\nUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse<\/td>\nPhysical Education; School Health Education<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>","people_research":"

Dr. Becker\u2019s research involves studying factors that enhance and inhibit the learning and performance of motor skills. A large portion of his work has been dedicated to understanding the complexities of how attentional focus (i.e., what one thinks about while performing a task) impacts performance and learning. Additional topics of interest include how factors such as task difficulty, variability, and practice structure influence perceived competence, performance, and learning. Dr. Becker has interest in applying this work in clinical and rehabilitation settings as well as high performance sport.<\/p>","website_one":"","website_two":"","faculty_website":"","people_links":"","people_additional":"

Courses Taught<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
KNS 541<\/td>\nSupervision in Sport Psychology<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Experience<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n
2022 \u2013 Present<\/td>\nAssociate Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020 \u2013 2022<\/td>\nAssociate Professor, Texas Women\u2019s University<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2014 \u2013 2020<\/td>\nAssistant Professor, Texas Women\u2019s University<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Recent Publications<\/h4>\n

(Google Scholar Profile<\/a>)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aiken, C. A., & Becker, K. A.<\/strong> (2022). Utilising an internal focus of attention during preparation and an external focus during execution may facilitate motor learning. European Journal of Sport Science<\/em>, 1-8. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/17461391.2022.2042604<\/p>\n

Becker, K. A.<\/strong>, & McNamara, S. W. (2021). The Absence of Vision Impacts Attentional Focus Effects During a Balancing Task. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport<\/em>, 1-6. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02701367.2021.1946462<\/p>\n

Abedanzadeh, R., Becker, K.A.<\/strong>, & Mousavi, S. M. (2021).  Both a holistic and external focus of attention enhance the learning of a badminton short serve.   Psychological Research<\/em>,   1-9. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00426-021-01475-9.<\/p>\n

Goh, H., Stewart, J., Becker, K.A.<\/strong>, & Hung, C.* (2021).  Perceived effort for reaching is associated with self-reported fatigue.   Journal of Motor Behavior<\/em>., 1-11. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00222895.2021.1871877.<\/p>\n

Fuchs, C. T., Becker, K. A.<\/strong>, Austin, E., & Tamplain, P. (2020).  Accuracy and vividness in motor imagery ability: Differences between children and young adults.   Developmental Neuropsychology<\/em>. 45<\/em>(5), 297-308. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/87565641.2020.1788034.<\/p>\n

Becker, K. A<\/strong>., & Hung, C.* (2020).  Attentional focus influences sample entropy in a balancing task.   Human Movement Science<\/em>, 72<\/em>, 102631. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.humov.2020.102631.<\/p>\n

Becker, K. A.<\/strong>, Georges, A.F.\u2020<\/sup>, & Aiken, C. A. (2019).  Considering a holistic focus of attention as an alternative to an external focus.   Journal of Motor Learning and Development, 7 (2)<\/em>, 194-203, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1123\/jmld.2017-0065.<\/p>"},"yoast_head":"\nKevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T17:51:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/people\\\/kevin-becker\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/people\\\/kevin-becker\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-25T17:44:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-25T17:51:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/people\\\/kevin-becker\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/people\\\/kevin-becker\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/people\\\/kevin-becker\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kevin Becker\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies\",\"description\":\"The University of Tennessee\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cehhs.utk.edu\\\/krss\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies","og_url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/","og_site_name":"Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies","article_modified_time":"2026-08-25T17:51:46+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/","name":"Kevin Becker - Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-25T17:44:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-25T17:51:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/people\/kevin-becker\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kevin Becker"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/","name":"Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies","description":"The University of Tennessee","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people\/26671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/people"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"people_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/krss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/people_cat?post=26671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}