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Best Female Scientists
2025
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Psychology
UK
2026

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Best Female Scientists

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117
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Psychology

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123
Citations
71150
World Ranking
225
National Ranking
39

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in United Kingdom Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Best Female Scientists Award
  • 2011 - Member of Academia Europaea
  • 1998 - Spearman Medal, British Psychological Society
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom

Overview

Francesca Happé is affiliated with King's College London in the United Kingdom. Their research primarily focuses on autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental conditions, contributing extensively to the fields of psychology and neuroscience. The main areas of study include cognitive neuroscience and clinical psychology, alongside psychiatry and mental health.

The scientist's work covers several research topics, including:

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Family and Disability Support Research
  • Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
  • Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Child Development and Digital Technology
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders
  • Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Frequent publication venues for their work include:

  • Autism Research
  • Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
  • Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
  • Autism in Adulthood
  • Autism

Notable recent papers by Francesca Happé include:

  • "Annual Research Review: Looking back to look forward - changes in the concept of autism and implications for future research," 2020, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
  • "Barriers to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis for Young Women and Girls: a Systematic Review," 2020, Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
  • "A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Cultural and Contextual Factors on Autism Across the Globe," 2020, Autism Research
  • "Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders," 2020, Children
  • "Quantifying compensatory strategies in adults with and without diagnosed autism," 2020, Molecular Autism

Frequent co-authors working with Francesca Happé include:

  • Gavin R. Stewart
  • Rebecca A. Charlton
  • David Mason
  • William Mandy
  • Debbie Spain

Awards received by Francesca Happé are:

  • Member of Academia Europaea, 2011
  • Spearman Medal, British Psychological Society, 1998
  • Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom

Best Publications

  • The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-Focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

    Francesca Happé;Uta Frith

  • An advanced test of theory of mind: understanding of story characters' thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped, and normal children and adults.

    Francesca G. E. Happé

  • Autism: beyond “theory of mind”

    Uta Frith;Francesca Happé

  • Other minds in the brain: a functional imaging study of "theory of mind" in story comprehension.

    P. C. Fletcher;F. Happe;U. Frith;S. C. Baker

  • Reading the mind in cartoons and stories: an fMRI study of 'theory of mind' in verbal and nonverbal tasks.

    H. L. Gallagher;F. Happé;Nicola Brunswick;P. C. Fletcher

  • Autism, Asperger syndrome and brain mechanisms for the attribution of mental states to animated shapes.

    Fulvia Castelli;Chris Frith;Francesca Happé;Uta Frith

  • The Role of Age and Verbal Ability in the Theory of Mind Task Performance of Subjects with Autism

    Francesca G. E. Happé

  • Movement and Mind: A Functional Imaging Study of Perception and Interpretation of Complex Intentional Movement Patterns

    Fulvia Castelli;Francesca Happé;Uta Frith;Chris Frith

  • Communicative competence and theory of mind in autism: A test of relevance theory

    Francesca G.E. Happé

  • Mind reading: neural mechanisms of theory of mind and self-perspective.

    Kai Vogeley;Patrick Bussfeld;Albert Newen;S. Herrmann

  • Autism: cognitive deficit or cognitive style?

    Francesca Happé

  • Time to give up on a single explanation for autism

    Francesca Happé;Angelica Ronald;Robert Plomin

  • Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta‐analysis of twin studies

    Beata Tick;Patrick Bolton;Francesca Happé;Michael Rutter

  • Autism: An Introduction to Psychological Theory

    Francesca Happé

  • 'Theory of mind' in the brain. Evidence from a PET scan study of Asperger syndrome.

    Francesca Happé;Stephan Ehlers;Paul Fletcher;Uta Frith

  • Executive Function Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Examining Profiles across Domains and Ages.

    Francesca Happé;Rhonda Booth;Rebecca A Charlton;Claire Hughes

  • Do triangles play tricks? Attribution of mental states to animated shapes in normal and abnormal development

    F Abell;F Happé;U Frith

  • Theory of mind and self consciousness: what is it like to be autistic?

    Uta Frith;Francesca Happé

  • How different are girls and boys above and below the diagnostic threshold for Autism Spectrum Disorders

    Katharina Dworzynski;Angelica Ronald;Patrick Bolton;Francesca Happé

  • Studying Weak Central Coherence at Low Levels: Children with Autism do not Succumb to Visual Illusions. A Research Note

    Francesca G.E. Happé

  • Feeling, caring, knowing: different types of empathy deficit in boys with psychopathic tendencies and autism spectrum disorder

    Alice P. Jones;Alice P. Jones;Francesca G.E. Happé;Francesca Gilbert;Stephanie Burnett

Frequent Co-Authors

Angelica Ronald
Angelica Ronald Birkbeck, University of London
Uta Frith
Uta Frith University College London
Tony Charman
Tony Charman King's College London
Robert Plomin
Robert Plomin King's College London
Emily Simonoff
Emily Simonoff King's College London
Debbie Spain
Debbie Spain King's College London
Simon Baron-Cohen
Simon Baron-Cohen University of Cambridge
Essi Viding
Essi Viding University College London
Andrew Pickles
Andrew Pickles King's College London
Michael V. Lombardo
Michael V. Lombardo Italian Institute of Technology

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