Sean Müller, PhD


Position: Associate Professor of Expertise and Skill Learning, Defence Science Institute Liaison Manager
Discipline: Exercise and Sport Science
Location: Mt Helen Campus P341
Phone: +61 3 5327 6931
Email: sean.muller@federation.edu.au

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy – The University of Queensland – 2005

Master of Philosophy (Research) – Australian Catholic University – 2001

Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement) – Deakin University – 1998

Teaching

Courses

  • Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science
  • Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology

Units

  • Motor Learning and Control (EXSCI1703)
  • Research Methods and Ethical Practice (HEASC4001)

Biography

Assoc. Prof. Sean Müller is a motor learning and control academic in the discipline of exercise and sport science. He joined Federation University in 2021 as a researcher and lecturer. Previously, Sean worked at Murdoch University in Perth where he conducted expertise and skill learning research with Western Australian Cricket Association, Kookaburras and Hockeyroos, Western Force Rugby, Perth Heat, and Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball in USA. At Federation University, he has consulted on vision and action to major league baseball, as well as has ongoing research and coach / instructor education projects with Cricket Victoria, Greater Western Rebels, Ballarat Cricket Association, Victorian Institute of Sport, University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, and Western Australia / Australian Federal Police. Dr Müller is a member of the research Centre for Smart Analytics and is Federation University’s Defence Science Institute Liaison Manager. He is editorial board member for Journal of Sports Sciences and Journal of Expertise, as well as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychology, Performance Science section.

Areas of expertise

Assoc. Prof. Müller’s background is in motor learning, control and experimental psychology with a specialisation in expertise and skill learning. His research experience of more than 15 years has focused upon expert visual anticipation and decision-making in sport, as well as interventions to train anticipation and decision-making. He has also conducted research on individual differences, transfer of learning, interdisciplinary factors of expertise in sport and movement disorders. His knowledge and skills are relevant to a broad range of domains such as sport, Defence, law enforcement, and rehabilitation. Dr. Müller’s research has featured in a Forbes article.

Research interests

  • Expertise and skill learning
  • Visual anticipation, individual differences, and perceptual training
  • Transfer of skill learning
  • Interdisciplinary factors of performance, learning and transfer

Supervision

Present doctoral students

Minerva Westbrook (Federation University) – Utilising biological motion perception to understand and accelerate anticipation in law enforcement officers - Primary Supervisor

Zachariah Hoyne (The University of Notre Dame, Fremantle) – Accelerating decision-making in Australian Football through virtual reality - Associate Supervisor

Rifqah Maker (Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town) – The effects of a cricket coaching education intervention program on coaching strategies in the Western Province – Associate Supervisor

In past 6 years, supervised to completion three PhD projects with sport organisations of cricket (Western Australian Cricket Association), Australian football (WAFL) and field hockey (Hockey Australia).

Publications

Book Chapters

Müller, S., & Rosalie, S. M. (2019). Transfer of expert visual-perceptual-motor skill in sport. In M. Williams & R. C. Jackson (Eds.), Anticipation and decision-making in sport. Oxfordshire, London: Routledge.

Müller, S., & Abernethy, B. (2006). Skill learning from an expertise perspective: Issues and implications for practice and coaching in cricket.  In J. Dosil (Ed.), The Sport Psychologist’s Handbook: A Guide for Sport-Specific Performance Enhancement. (pp. 245-261.). London: John Wiley & Sons.

Refereed journal articles (selected)

Müller, S., Beseler, B., Morris-Binelli, K., & Mesagno, C. (2024). Temporal samples of visual information guides skilled interception. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1328991

Müller, S., Morris-Binelli, K., Hambrick, D. Z., & Macnamara, B. N. (2024). Accelerating visual anticipation in sport through temporal occlusion training: A meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-024-02073-6

Grieve, G., Besler, Z., Müller, S., Spering, M., & Hodges, N. J. (2024). Assessing the validity and reliability of a baseball pitch discrimination online task. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 22(2), 481-505.

Müller, S., Gabbett, T., & McNeil, D. (2023). Reducing injury risk and improving skill: How a psycho-perceptual-motor approach can benefit high-performance sport. Sports Health, 15(3), 315-317.

Müller, S., Brenton, J., & O’Grady, M. (2023). Reliance upon contextual information can impede visual anticipation. European Journal of Sport Science, 23(7), 1324-1333.

Müller, S., Dekker, E., Morris-Binelli, K., Piggott, B., Hoyne, G., Christensen, W., Fadde, P., Zaichkowsky, L., Brenton, J., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2023). Attributes of expert anticipation should inform the design of virtual reality simulators to accelerate learning and transfer of skill. Sports Medicine, 53(2), 301-309.

Morris-Binelli, K., Müller, S., Van Rens, F. E. C. A., Harbaugh, A. G., & Rosalie, S. M. (2022). Individual differences and transfer of visual anticipation in expert female field hockey goalkeepers. Optometry and Vision Science, 99(2), 150-158.

Harnett, K., Plint, B., Chan, K. Y., Clark, B., Netto, K., Davey, P., Müller, S., & Rosalie, S. (2022). Validating an inertial measurement unit for cricket fast bowling: a first step in assessing the feasibility of diagnosing back injury risk in cricket fast bowlers during a tele-sport-and-exercise medicine consultation. PeerJ, 10, e13228.

Morris-Binelli, K., Müller, S., van Rens, F. E. C. A., Staniforth, D., Appleby, B., & Rosalie, S. M. (2022). Implementing skill acquisition research in high-performance sport: Reflecting on the importance of autonomy-support for successful collaboration. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 13(3), 143-154.

Müller, S., Brenton, J., & Mansingh, A. (2021). Sources of information pick-up for anticipation by skilled cricket batsmen. European Journal of Sport Science, 21(10), 1385-1393.

Morris-Binelli, K., Müller, S., van Rens, F., Harbaugh, A. G., & Rosalie, S. (2021). Individual differences in performance and learning of visual anticipation in expert field hockey goalkeepers. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 52, 101829.

Morris-Binelli, K., van Rens, F., Müller, S., & Rosalie, S. (2020). Psycho-perceptual-motor skills are deemed critical to save the penalty corner in international field hockey. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 51, 101753.

Piggott, B., Müller, S., Chivers, P., Cripps, A., & Hoyne, G. (2020). Interdisciplinary sport research can better predict competition performance, identify individual differences & quantify task representation. Frontiers in Sports & Active Living: Elite Sports and Performance Enhancement, 2, 1-10.

Piggott, B., Müller, S., Chivers, P., Burgin, M., & Hoyne, G. (2019). Coach rating combined with small-sided games provides further insight into mental toughness in sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1552.

Brenton, J., Müller, S., & Harbaugh, A. G. (2019). Visual-perceptual training with motor practice of the observed movement pattern improves anticipation in emerging expert cricket batsmen. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37, 2114-2121.

Brenton, J., Müller, S., & Dempsey, A. (2019). Visual-perceptual training with acquisition of the observed motor pattern contributes to greater improvement of visual anticipation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 25, 333-342.

Müller, S., van Rens, F., Brenton, J., Morris-Binelli, K., Piggott, B., Rosalie,S., & Burgin, M. (2019). Embedding of psycho-perceptual-motor skills can improve athlete assessment and training programs. Journal of Expertise, 2, 14-22.

Piggott, B., Müller, S., Chivers, P., Cripps, A., & Hoyne, G. (2019). Small-sided games can discriminate perceptual-cognitive-motor capability and predict disposal efficiency in match performance of skilled Australian footballers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 19, 1139-1145.

Piggott, B., Müller, S., Chivers, P., Papaluca, C., & Hoyne, G. (2019). Is sports science answering the call for interdisciplinary research? A systematic review. European Journal of Sport Science, 19, 267-286.

Brenton, J., & Müller, S. (2018). Is visual-perceptual or motor expertise critical for expert anticipation in sport? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 36, 739-746.

Refereed conference proceedings

Müller, S., Morris-Binelli, K., Macnamara, B. N., Hambrick, D. Z. (2022, November 28 – 30). Visual-perceptual training techniques to accelerate decision-making skill in defence personnel. Defence Human Sciences and Human Performance Research Network Symposium.

Müller, S., Dekker, E., Morris-Binelli, K., Piggott, B., Hoyne, G., & Hambrick, D. Z. (2021, November 29 - December 1). Expertise and skill learning knowledge can accelerate performance of soldiers. Defence Human Sciences and Human Performance Research Network Symposium.

Associations

  • Expertise, Skill Learning & Psychology Research Group – Assoc. Prof. Sean Müller (Lead), Dr. John Brenton, Dr. Wayne Christensen, Mr. Evan Dekker, Prof. Peter Fadde, Prof. David Z. Hambrick, Dr. Khaya Morris-Binelli, Assoc. Prof. Ben Piggott, Prof. Shyh Wei Teng, Dr. Fleur van Rens, Prof. Leonard Zaichkowsky.
  • North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity