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Teaching Interests

Sarah is course leader for the MSc Psychology – a Psychology conversion programme accredited by the British Psychological Society.

She teaches a range of topics allied to Individual Differences, Developmental Psychology, Biopsychology, Social Psychology, and Research Methods and supervises MSc student research projects.

Sarah examines and supervises PhD students and is particularly interested in receiving expressions of interest from applicants wishing to explore topics relating to individual differences, mental health, and resilience, especially from a critical perspective.

For current self-funded PhD projects offered under Sarah’s supervision, please review the opportunities linked to the Interpersonal Relationships & Wellbeing Research Group.

Research Interests

Sarah is interested in individual differences and for some years her research has focussed on exploring the usefulness and value of emotional intelligence. She has published widely in this area with primary research studies using cross-sectional, prospective, experimental and mixed-methods designs. In addition to research articles, she has also authored critical reviews, textbook chapters, encyclopaedia entries, and blogs on the topic. Current projects include examining whether emotional intelligence contributes to psychological health in stressful situations or occupational roles, and exploring conceptual and measurement issues through a metatheoretical analysis of the construct.

For more information on Sarah’s research interests and publications, please visit .

Recent Publications

Below are selected published works. For current information on Sarah’s research interests and publications, please visit https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4683-4807

• Fiori, M., Agnoli, S., & Davis, S.K., (2023). Editorial: New Trends in Emotional Intelligence: Conceptualization, Understanding, and Assessment. Frontiers in Psychology, 14:1266076. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1266076
• Bromley, H., Davis, S.K., Morgan, B., & Taylor-Dunn, H. (2023). The professional quality of life of domestic and sexual violence advocates: A systematic review of possible risk and protective factors. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231171187
• Lea, R.G., Davis, S.K., Mahoney, B., & Qualter, P. (2023). Do emotionally intelligent adolescents flourish or flounder under pressure? Linking emotional intelligence to stress regulation mechanisms. Personality & Individual Differences, 201, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111943
• Sundvik, L.M.S. & Davis, S.K.. (2022). Social media stress and mental health: A brief report of the protective role of emotional intelligence. Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03035-9
• Swancott, L.J.& Davis, S.K. (2022). Service with a smile? Work engagement is a better predictor of job satisfaction than emotional intelligence. Current Psychology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02818-4
• Hampshire, C., Mahoney, B., & Davis, S.K., (2022). Parenting styles and disordered eating among youths: A rapid scoping review. Frontiers in Psychology. 12:802567. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.802567
• Davis, S.K.. (2021, September 30). Forward into the past: Emotional Intelligence turns 30. Interpersonal Relationships & Wellbeing Research Group Blog. https://irwbresearch.wp.worc.ac.uk/index.php/2021/09/30/forward-into-the-past-emotional-intelligence-turns-30/#respond
• Davis, S.K., Morningstar, M., & Qualter, P. (2021). Ability EI predicts recognition of dynamic facial emotions, but not beyond the effects of crystallized IQ, Personality and Individual Differences, 169, 109968. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.109968
• Davis, S. K., Morningstar, M., Dirks, M. A., & Qualter, P. (2020). Ability emotional intelligence: What about recognition of emotion in voices? Personality and Individual Differences, 160, 109938. doi: 10.1016/J.PAID.2020.109938
• Davis, S.K., & Qualter, P. (2020). Emotional competence [Part 2 Adolescent - Volume X: The Self]. In S. Hupp & J. Jewell (Eds). The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781119171492.wecad475
• Qualter, P. & Davis, S.K., (2020). Emotional intelligence. [Part 1 Child – Volume IV: Emotion]. In S. Hupp & J. Jewell (Eds). The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. doi:10.1002/9781119171492.wecad174
• Davis, S.K., Nowland, R., & Qualter, P. (2019). The role of emotional intelligence in the maintenance of depression symptoms and loneliness among children. Frontiers in Psychology. 10, (1672). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01672
• Lea, R.G., Davis, S.K., Mahoney, B., & Qualter, P. (2019). Does emotional intelligence buffer the effects of acute stress? A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology. 10, (810). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00810
• Davis, S.K., (2018). Emotional Intelligence in Adolescence and Early Adulthood. In L. Dacre-Pool & P.Qualter (Eds.) An Introduction to Emotional Intelligence (pp. 105-123). UK: Wiley-Blackwell ISBN 9781119108269
• R.G., Qualter, P., Davis, S.K., Pérez-González, J.C., & Bangee, M.,(2018).Trait emotional intelligence and attentional bias for positive emotion: An eye tracking study. Personality and Individual Differences, 128, 88-93. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.017.
• Davis, S.K., (2018). Emotional intelligence and attentional bias for threat-related emotion under stress. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 59 (3), 328-339, doi: 10.1111/sjop.124
• Davis, S.K., & Wigelsworth, M. (2018). The structural and predictive properties of the Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version – Short Form (EQi:YVS). Journal of Personality Assessment. 100, 2, 197-206, doi: 10.1080/00223891.2017.1280502.
• Qualter, P., Davis, S.K., Keefer, K. V., Parker, J.D.A., Saklofske, D.H, Wigelsworth, M., Simmons, N., & Stough, C., (2017). Emotional competency in education: Core concepts and applications. British Journal of Educational Psychology Monograph Series II, Psychological Aspects of Education – Current Trends, 12, 51-69.
• Davis, S.K., & Nichols, R. (2016). Does emotional intelligence have a ‘dark’ side? A review of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 7 (1316). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01316.

Professional Bodies

• Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol)
• Chartered Scientist (CSci)
• Division of Academics, Teachers and Researchers in Psychology
• Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID) 
• Society for Affective Science (SAS) 

External Roles

• Associate Editor for Personality and Individual Differences
• Guest Editor for Frontiers in Psychology (Personality & Social Psychology)
• Editorial board member for the International Journal of Emotional Education
• Ad hoc reviewer for more than 27 journals – see here for reviewer record https:// www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/F-9176-2011
• Reviewer for Swiss National Science Foundation
• Reviewer for Sage publishing; Palgrave Macmillan; Elsevier/Academic Press; Psychology Press/Routledge; Cambridge University Press; Taylor & Francis