About

As an expert in Emotion (Affective) Science, for the past 15+ years, my research has centred on understanding psychological, neurological, cognitive and physiological correlates of emotional wellbeing. In particular, my research has contributed to understanding anxiety and its relationship with eating disorders, understanding processes of pain, threat and self-criticism, and the use of compassion for improved emotion regulation and wellbeing across various populations. I have published circa 60 peer-reviewed papers in these specific areas, as well as several book chapters.

In recent years, I have become a key lead within the compassion in education field - initiating, co-ordinating, progressing and evaluating wellbeing effects of compassionate mind training with educators, pupils and FE/HE students, nationally and internationally. You can read more about my applied research in this area at Compassion in Education. 

I have further been involved in the successful award of over £1.3 million in grant funding. For example, currently, I am serving as an external expert on a five-year US NIH grant concerned with the ‘Neural Mechanisms Underlying Self-Critical Rumination and Self-Reassurance and Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior in Youth’. Prior to this, I have received funding from several recognised agencies including The Reed Foundation (to investigate Compassion in Schools), Leverhulme Trust (to investigate Compassion to Promote Wellbeing) and INNOVATE UK (to investigate errors in medication). 

Teaching responsibilities

Currently:

• I host/contribute to a specialist final year module 'Emotion in Context'
• I guest lecture on a range of on-campus modules at UG and MSc level - across different disciplines - mainly within the fields of biological psychology, cognitive psychology, educational psychology and psychopathology

Professional interests

I am a section editor for Cognitive Processing

Previously, I have been an associate editor for Frontiers in Psychology: Consciousness Research

Research interests

I lead on our Compassion in Education Programme of Research. As part of this, my team and I have developed several CPDs and curriculums to improve the wellbeing of both pupils and staff in the education sector. See Compassion in Education and Compassion in Schools. 

To aid the comprehensive and robust investigation of research in the field of emotion/affective science, more generally, I adopt an integrative approach to research and regularly use a wide variety of experimental methods to pursue research questions and evaluate the efficacy of the interventions and initiatives my team and I develop. These include psychophysiological methods (e.g. eye-tracking), behavioural methods (e.g. questionnaire measures and performance accuracy measures), physiological measures (e.g. stress hormones, blood pressure and heart-rate variability), neuroimaging methods (measures of MEG, EEG and fMRI) and qualitative methods (e.g. thematic analysis). 

Further research interests include visual attention and effects of related psychological phenomena such as cognitive load and expertise; visual attention, emotional processing and relevance; and processes of self-compassion and self-criticism.

I have supervised seven PhD students to successful completion; these include Dr Kirsten McEwan, Dr Lauren Kelly, Dr Kornanong Yuenyongchaiwat, Dr Julia Wahl, Dr Omimah Said, Dr Hajra Ashra and Dr Daniel Gaffiero, whose PhD research has been focused within the fields of Compassion, Anxiety, Self-Criticism, Physiological Health and Pain, in adult and/or child populations. 

My current PhD students include:

• Julie Hurst, Research Area: Compassion in the Classroom - development of curricula for younger children
• Alistair Turvill, Research Area: Efficacy of pain management programmes
• Charlotte Elson, Research Area: Cognitive and emotional biases in picky/fussy eating and intervention development
• James Mitchell, Research Area: Cognitive-perceptual strategies underpinning coaching expertise in climbing
• Cameron Hartley, Research Area: Factors affecting sporting performance and intervention development

I am interested in taking on further students who have an interest in emotion, emotional wellbeing, relevance and compassion. See for instance:'Exploring the impact of compassion-based initiatives in higher education' PhD

Membership of professional bodies

• I am a member of the Mindfulness Initiative steering group, which provides the secretariat for the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group
• I am a member of the British Association of Cognitive Neuroscience, the American Psychological Society and the British Psychological Society

Qualifications

Postgraduate qualifications

• PGCert in Learning & Teaching in HE, University of Derby, Derby (2007)

Research qualifications

• PhD Cognitive Neuroscience, Aston University, Birmingham (2005)

Occupational qualifications

• CPsychol, British Psychology Society (2020)
• Occupational Ability Test User, Psytech International (2014)
• Occupational Personality Assessment User, Psytech International (2014)

Recent conferences

Recent Invited Talks/Keynotes (limited to the past five years)

• Keynote Speaker: The Importance of Compassion in Education, Compassion and Wellbeing in Education Event, University of Derby, UK, November, 2022
• Invited Speaker: Compassion in Education: Why, What & How to Apply in HE, University of Leicester, UK, June, 2022
• Invited Speaker: Wellbeing in the Workplace: Understanding the link between Emotions & Behaviour, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, UK, May 2021
• Invited Speaker: Progressing compassionate mind training in school settings to improve wellbeing: An international research programme, The Consciousness, Mindfulness, Compassion (CMC) - International Association, Italy, May 2021
• Invited Speaker: An Introduction to Compassion and Compassion-Based Interventions: Theory & Research Examples; Brown University, USA, February 2021
• Keynote Speaker Invite: How compassionate mind training can improve wellbeing, Emotionally Healthy Schools, Derby, UK, December, 2020
• Keynote Speaker Invite: Progressing compassionate mind training in school settings to improve wellbeing – An international research programme, International Perspectives in Education, Greece, April 2020
• Invited Speaker: Progressing compassionate mind training in school settings, an international study. Exeter University, January 2020
• Keynote Opening Speaker:  Progressing compassionate mind training in school settings to improve wellbeing – An international research study. Applied Psychology Conference, Singapore, June 2019
• Keynote Speaker: Mental Health in Schools: Why is it important and what can be done? Mental Health Awareness Conference, October 2018
• Symposium Organiser: Relations between Emotion, Attention, Psychopathology and the Brain. CERE, Glasgow, April 2018 Speakers: Professor Luiz Pessoa (University of Maryland, USA); Professor Narayanan Srinivasan (University of Allahabad, India); Dr Frances Maratos (University of Derby, UK), Dr Nick Hedges (University of Reading, UK), Dr Nathan Ridout (Aston University, UK)

Experience in industry

• Embracing a Compassionate Approach in HE
• Schooling with Compassion

International experience

Currently, I am serving as an external expert collaborator on a five-year $1,000,000 National Institute of Health Grant, with Anastacia Kudinova to understand 'Neural Mechanisms Underlying Self-Critical Rumination and Self-Reassurance and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviour in Youth.'

Dates: 4/1/2020 – 3/31/2025

Find out more about the project

In the media

Focus on COVID-19:

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8739615/Blaming-young-people-spike-Covid-19-cases-encourage-social-distancing.htm Sept 2020
• https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/44923-helping-children-overcome-their-isolation-worries April 2020

Focus on Compassion in Education:

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/compassion-training-catchup-pupils-covid-b1840317.html April, 2021
• https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/embracing-compassionate-approach-higher-education April, 2021
• https://www.fenews.co.uk/fe-voices/the-uk-education-system-needs-to-change-to-encourage-greater-health-and-wellbeing/ March, 2020
• https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/schooling-compassion December, 2019
• https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/31653-compassionate-mind-training-improves-mentalhealth-of-teachers-and-support-staff July 2019
• https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/training-teachers-to-be-compassionate-creates-a-better-classroom-environment July 2019
• http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/best-practice/compassion-in-the-classroom/ February 2019

Focus on compassion to boost well-being:

• 'Compassionate imagery helps suppress physical pain response, research finds' September 2020
• 'The difference between empathy and compassion, and how to have more of both' August 2017
• 'Can you tell the difference between a smiling and menacing face? Abuse victims can't - but this game could rewire their brain' March 2014

Focus on general emotion/fear processing:

• http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2009/08/20/angry-faces-attract-our-attent August 2009

Picky/Fussy eating in Children:

• 'Top tips for parents on how to tackle their child's picky eating' January 2018
• 'How to deal with young picky eaters - top tips for parents' January 2018
• 'Here are some top tips for parents if their youngster is a picky eater' January 2018
• 'Children and the rejection of foods before tasting - the role of visual familiarity' August 2016

Painkiller Addiction & Measurement:

• https://www.clinicalpainadvisor.com/home/topics/opioid-addiction/shorter-pain-medication-attitudes-questionnaire-validated/ March 2017
• https://drinkanddrugsnews.com/a-different-pain/ May 2017
• http://thecareruk.com/painkiller-addiction-how-to-spot-the-warning-signs-and-avoid-becoming-dependent-on-pain-relief-medication/ April 2017

Medical Practice: Patient-Doctor Relations/Medication Errors

• https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-color-coded-syringe-trays-medication-errors.html January 2023
• https://nursingnotes.co.uk/news/colour-coded-syringe-trays-help-cut-medication-errors/ January, 2023
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/03/gps-carry-out-consultations-in-as-little-as-two-minutes-study-fi/ November 2016
• http://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5744 November 2016

I am also quite often invited to speak on local radio (e.g. BBC Radio Derby GEM 106, Mansfield FM etc.) or in the national press (e.g. the Guardian) and I have featured on local television (for example East Midlands Today).

Recent publications

For a full list of my circa 60 publications, please visit my Google Scholar profile. Below is a list of my most recent publications since 2020:

• Maratos, F.A.*, Simione, L. & Raffone, A. (2020). Emotional faces, visuo-spatial working memory and anxiety. Psychology & Psychiatry, 9, 43-51.
• Harvey, C., Maratos, F.A, Montague, J, Gale, M., Clarke, K & Gilbert, T. (2020) Embedding Compassionate Micro Skills of Communication in Higher Education: implementation with psychology undergraduates. Psychology of Education Review, 44, 68-72
• Maratos, F.A.*, Matos, M, Albuquerque, I, Wood, W, Palmeira, L, et al., (2020) Exploring the international utility of progressing Compassionate Mind Training in School Settings: A comparison of Implementation Effectiveness of the same curricula in the UK and Portugal. Psychology of Education Review, 44, 73-82
• Gilbert, P., Matos, M., Wood, W. & Maratos, F.A. (2020) The compassionate mind and the conflicts between competing and caring: Implications for educating young minds. In J. Cole (Eds) Education for Survival: The pedagogy of compassion. UCL Institute of Education Press
• Mitchell, J., Maratos, F.A., Giles, D., Taylor, N., Butterworth, A. & Sheffield, D. (2020) The Visual Search Strategies Underpinning Effective Observational Analysis in the Coaching of Climbing Movement. Frontiers in Psychology, Movement Science and Sport Psychology, 11, 1025
• Clift, R. & Maratos, F.A (2020). Investigating Depression: Effects of Time, Trauma Type, Trauma Levels and Active Coping. Journal of European Psychology Students, 11, 21-31
• Maratos, F.A.* & Sheffield, D. (2020) Brief compassion focused imagery dampens anticipation of and physiological response to pain. Mindfulness. 11, 2730-2740
• Condliffe, O. & Maratos, F.A.* (2020). Can compassion, happiness and sympathetic concern be differentiated on the basis of facial expressions? Cognition and Emotion, 34, 1395-1407.
• Ashra, H., Barnes, C., Stupple, E.J., & Maratos, F.A.* (2021) A Systematic Review of Negative Self-Directed Emotional Measures developed for non-clinical Child and Adolescent samples to measure wellbeing. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 24, 224-243
• Ya, T. H., Parente, F., Faghy, M. A., Roscoe, C. M., & Maratos, F. A. (2021). Influence of the COVID-19 Lockdown on the Physical and Psychosocial Well-being and Work Productivity of Remote Workers: Cross-sectional Correlational Study. Jmirx med, 2, e30708-e30708.
• Ashra, H., Barnes, C., Stupple, E.J., & Maratos, F.A.* (2022) Negative self-referential emotions and mental health in youth: The importance of self-criticism Current research in Psychiatry, 1, 63-67
• Matos, M. A., Palmeira, L., Albuquerque, I., Cunha, M., Pedroso Lima, M., Galhardo, A., Maratos, F.A., & Gilbert, P. (2022). Building compassionate schools: Pilot study of a Compassionate Mind Training intervention to promote teachers’ well-being. Mindfulness, 13, 145-161.
• Gaffiero, D., Staples, P., Staples, V., & Maratos, F. A.* (2022). Interpretation Biases in Pain: Validation of Two New Stimulus Sets. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 784887.
• Maratos, F.A.*., Hurst, J, Harvey, C. & Gilbert, P. (202). Embedding Compassion in Schools. In A. Giraldez-Hayes & J. Burke, Editor (Eds) Positive School Psychology. Routledge
• Matos, M., Albuquerque, I., Galhardo, A., Cunha, M., Pedroso Lima, M., Palmeira, L., Maratos, F.A., & Gilbert, P. (2022). Nurturing compassion in schools: A randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of a Compassionate Mind Training program for teachers. PLoS One, 17, e0263480.
• Craven, H. P., Hallmark, M., Holland, F., & Maratos, F.A*. (2022). Factors Influencing Successful Coping among Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Personnel: Recruiting for Resilience–A Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 37, 549-568.
• Maratos, F. A.* Chu, K., Lipka, S., Stupple, E. J. N., & Parente, F. (2022). Exploring pattern recognition: what is the relationship between the recognition of words, faces and other objects?. Cognitive Processing, 24, 59-70.
• Laxton, V., Maratos, F. A*., Hewson, D. W., Baird, A., & Stupple, E. J*. (2023). Standardised colour-coded compartmentalised syringe trays improve anaesthetic medication visual search and mitigate cognitive load. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 130, 343-350

* = Corresponding Author