Alexander T. R. Sharpe
Associate Lecturer in Psychology, Department Administrator
About
Alex is a Department Administrator, Associate Lecturer and PhD candidate in Psychology at the University of Chichester. He teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including developmental psychology, positive psychology, biological psychology, experimental design and analysis, and organisational behaviour and development.
Alex began working at the university during his Advanced Applied Psychology MSci degree, gaining experience both in teaching and in supporting large-scale research projects.
He has also contributed to public engagement through media appearances and university outreach activities.
Professional
Alex is a member of the Human Attention Laboratory (HAL) and the Lab for Global Research on Gender, Sexuality and Identity.
Research
Alex’s research interests centre on mental health and wellbeing, particularly in relation to digital behaviour and stress management.
He has co-authored peer-reviewed publications on esports performance using neuroscientific interventions such as transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), and he is currently co-writing a paper on facilitators and barriers to positive mental health among LGBTQ+ young people.
His earlier MSci research examined the effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing and earthing with mindfulness as interventions to support wellbeing.
PhD
Alex’s doctoral research focuses specifically on the phenomenon of doomscrolling and its impact on mental health.
His first study, a scoping review of the empirical literature, has been completed and was the first of its kind in this field.
He is now undertaking a cross-sectional study with longitudinal and qualitative components to examine how doomscrolling behaviours relate to wellbeing across time.
The overarching aim of his PhD is to design and test an intervention that can transform doomscrolling into a more positive form of digital engagement.
Publications
Sharpe, B. T., Sharpe, A., Poulus, D., Obine, E. A. C., A., King, R., & Gladwin, T. (2025). Effects of Combining Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Arousal Reappraisal on Pressurised Esport Performance. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2025.2502792
Sharpe, B. T., Leis, O., Moore, L., Sharpe, A. T. R., Seymour, S., Obine, E. A. C., & Poulus, D. (2024). Reappraisal and mindset interventions on pressurised esport performance. Applied Psychology, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12544
Other department members
Dr Benjamin T. Sharpe
Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology, Director of the Human Attention Laboratory, Coordinator for the BSc Psychology of Esports and BSc Criminology and Forensic Psychology Programmes
