About

I joined the University of Derby in April 2026 as a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology and teach on the BSc Forensic Psychology and MSc Forensic Psychology (levels 4-7). My key research interests include understanding neurobiological and personality related predictors of aggression and violence. This includes interest in the Dark Tetrad traits, empathy and the role of attitudes, cognition, and pain perception.

In my previous role as Hourly Paid Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, I have experience with teaching advanced research methods, statistics and trauma-informed approaches. Moreover, I have worked on a range of research projects, including research examining mortality for individuals given community sentences, exploring dual harm within offence neutral prisons and investigating aggression in young children from domestic abuse backgrounds.

I also am passionate about LGBTQIA+ inclusion within research and teaching spaces, having worked as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Psychology Department ATHENA Swan project at NTU.

Teaching responsibilities

I teach across a range of modules on the BSc Forensic Psychology and MSc Forensic Psychology (levels 4-7), online and on campus. I am the module leader for the following modules:

• Psychological Perspectives of Serious and Dangerous Offenders (UG, on-campus and online, Level 6)
• Psychopathy (UG, online, Level 6)
• Forensic Risk Assessment and Case Formulation (MSc, online, Level 7)

I supervise quantitative and qualitative research projects for UG and MSc students.

Research interests

I am actively engaged in research within the spheres of personality, individual differences, cognition, aggression and risk assessment, with core interests including:

• Understanding motivations for and contributors to aggression and violence (neurobiological, social and developmental)
• How personality, psychopathology and cognition shape antisocial and criminal behaviour (dark tetrad, empathy)
• Psychological outcomes relating to those who engage in violence and antisocial behaviour (mortality, mental health outcomes)
• The impact of witnessing or experiencing violence on victims and survivors (IPV, trauma-informed approaches)

Key themes in my research: dark tetrad, empathy, attitudes, sexual aggression, callous-unemotional traits, pain perception, violence.

Membership of professional bodies

British Psychological Society - Graduate Membership

Qualifications

• PhD in Psychology, Nottingham Trent University (corrections pending)
• MRes in Psychological Research Methods, Nottingham Trent University
• BSc (Hons) Psychology (mental health), Nottingham Trent University

Recent conferences

Fleet, M. (2026, July) Distinct Pathways to Aggression: Psychopathy, Sadism, and the Mediating and Moderating Role of Empathy [Conference presentation]. British Society for Personality and Individual Differences (BSPID), University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Fleet, M. (2025, May) Latent Profile Analysis: Psychopathy, Sadism and Empathy [Conference presentation]. British Society for Personality and Individual Differences (BSPID), Queens University Belfast, Ireland.

Fleet, M., & Heym, N. (2025, December) Pleasure from pain: the role of pain, pain processing, and empathy for pain in understanding sadism [Conference presentation]. Affect Personality and Embodied brain conference (APE), Nottingham Trent University, England.

Fleet, M., & Heym, N. (2024, July) The distinguishing role of empathy in understanding motivations for direct and indirect aggression, across the Dark Tetrad traits [Conference presentation]. International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID), Queens University Belfast, Ireland.

Fleet, M. & Heym, N. (2023, April) Breaking down the role of empathy and RST in sadistic & psychopathic aggression [Conference presentation]. British Society for Personality and Individual Differences (BSPID), London South Bank University, England.

Fleet, M. (2022, July) The role of empathy in the enjoyment of aggression amongst the dark tetrad traits. [Conference presentation]. Heym, N., Sumich, A., Fleet, M., Blanchard, A. & Wertag, A. (Chair - Heym, N.) Empathy in the Heart of Darkness. [Symposium]. European Association of Personality Psychology, Madrid.