I completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of Birmingham, followed by an MSc in Research Methods in Psychology and PhD at the University of Reading, under the supervision of Professor Pasco Fearon. My PhD thesis explores the development of emotion regulation in young children, as well as the parenting behaviour that might influence this development.

In 2012, I started at the University of Portsmouth as a Research Fellow where I worked on a number of externally funded projects, most recently leading on the Changing Mindsets 2 project funded by the Educational Endowment Foundation. During my time at the University of Portsmouth, I was also a part-time lecturer and contributed to a number of different teaching modules.

I joined the University of Winchester in 2020 as a Lecturer in Psychology.

My research interests broadly span both developmental and educational psychology. My developmental research focuses on children’s socio-emotional development, specifically investigating the developmental trajectory of emotion regulation across infancy and the preschool years, as well as the role of parent-child interaction over this time. Beyond this, I am also interested in childhood anxiety, attachment, play, and creativity.

I am also interested in issues that relate to educational psychology. My postdoctoral work has largely been applied educational research, focusing on children’s learning and motivation. Across a range of funded projects, I have been developing and testing an education intervention with foundations in implicit theories of intelligence (Mindsets). The aim of the intervention is to raise the achievement, aspirations, and expectations of pupils, with particular interest in its effectiveness at closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.  

Journal articles

• Sowden, P.T., Warren, F., Seymour, M. Martin, C., Kauer, A. Spencer, E., Mansfield, S., Waite, J. (2025) A Creativity Navigator to Guide Teaching for Creativity: Implementation and Teacher Impacts in a Creativity Collaborative of Schools, Journal of Creative Behavior 59/2. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70005

• Warren, F., Mason-Apps, E., Hoskins, S., Devonshire, V., & Chanvin, M. (2019). The relationship between implicit theories of intelligence, attainment, and socio-demographic factors in a UK sample of primary school children. British Educational Research Journal, 45, 736-754.
• Warren, F., Mason-Apps, E., Hoskins, S., Azmi, Z., & Boyce, J. (2018). The role of implicit theories, age, and gender in the creative performance of children and adults. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 28, 98-109.
• Hoskins, S., Nye, J., Warren, F., Mason-Apps, E., Devonshire, V., & Chanvin, M. (2018). Challenging the myths of mindset: theory and practice. Impact: Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 2.
• Apperly, I. A., Warren, F., Andrews, B. J., Grant, J. & Todd, S. (2011). Developmental continuity in theory of mind: Speed and accuracy of belief-desire reasoning in children and adults. Child Development, 82, 1691-1703.

Book chapters

• Warren, F. (2019). The development of mindset beliefs. In S. Hoskins (Ed.), Growth Mindset for Teachers. London: Corwin.

Media articles

• Warren, F. & Hoskins, S. (2015). CBeebies Grown-ups. Growth Mindsets: Help your child try new things. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-try-new-things

Research Grants

• Warren, F. (2019). Grit Breakthrough Programmes. £20,500. Providing external evaluation for a community transformation programme aimed at supporting vulnerable young people in East London.