Dr. Stephen Warren is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Communication Studies Department and Affiliate of the Center for Transformative Media at Northeastern University, where he specializes in sports communication and media psychology. His research examines how media shapes our understanding and experience of sports in contemporary society, with expertise in quantitative research methods and statistical analysis. Dr. Warren’s recent research focuses on NFL fan moral reasoning strategies, the effects of sport consumption and fandom on psychological well-being, and feminist consciousness among WNBA fans.
At Northeastern, Dr. Warren teaches courses on sports media and communication, sport and spectacle, sports promotion and marketing, and the intersection of sports and politics. He currently serves as the Faculty Advisor for Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s official honor society (Alpha Gamma Alpha Chapter).
Dr. Warren earned his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2021, where his dissertation explored how sports fans cope with their team loyalties when dealing with athletes’ controversial political associations. Prior to joining Northeastern in 2022, he served as a Lecturer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with dual appointments in the Departments of Journalism and Advertising.
His scholarship has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media; Communication & Sport; International Journal of Sport Communication; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; Psychology of Popular Media; Journal of Children and Media; and The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology.
He is also a proud Syracuse sports fan, having earned two master’s degrees from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Research/Publications Highlights
Warren, S. (in press). Sports Fan Moral Reasoning Strategies in Response to an Athlete’s Controversial Political Associations. Communication & Sport.
Warren, S. & Liebler, C. M. (in press). Feminist consciousness, team identification and sports media use: An intersectional study of WNBA fans. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Warren, S. (2025). The Effects of Moral Reasoning and Team Identification of Sports Fans’ Psychological Health. International Journal of Sport Communication. Online Advance Publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2024-0228
Warren, S. (2023). The Effects of Moral Reasoning and Team Identification of Sports Fans’ Psychological Health. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Washington, DC.
Warren, S. (2022). Fan reactions to athlete activism: “Stick to Sports.” In D. S. Coombs & A. C. Osborne (Eds.), Routledge handbook of sport fans and fandom (1st ed., pp. 388–400). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429342189-37
Scharrer, E., & Warren, S. (2022). Adolescents’ modern media use and beliefs about masculine gender roles and norms. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 99(1), 289–315. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990211035453
Scharrer, E., Warren, S., Grimshaw, E., Kamau, G., Cho, S., Reijven, M., & Zhang, C. (2021). Disparaged dads? A content analysis of depictions of fathers in U.S. sitcoms over time. Psychology of Popular Media, 10(2), 275-287. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000289
Warren, S. (2020). Binge-watching as a predictor of narrative transportation using HLM. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 64(2), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1718985
Scharrer, E., Warren, S., Olson, C., & Israsena Twishime, P. (2020). Early adolescents’ views of media ratings in the context of a media literacy program in the U.S. Journal of Children and Media, 14(4), 422-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2020.1711788
Warren, S. (2020). Ritualistic versus instrumental viewing. In J. Van den Bulck (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of media psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0263
Goldman, S. K., & Warren, S. (2019). Debating how to measure media exposure in surveys. In E. Suhay, B. Grofman, and A. Trechsel (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of electoral persuasion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.28
Scharrer, E., Kamau, G., Warren, S., & Zhang, C. (2018). Violent video games do contribute to aggression. In C. J. Ferguson (Ed.), Video game influences on aggression, cognition, and attention (pp. 5–21). New York, NY: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95495-0_2
Departments
Communication Studies
Education
- Ph.D., Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- M.A., Communication and Media Studies, Syracuse University
- M.A., Television, Radio & Film, Syracuse University
- B.S., Recording Industry, Middle Tennessee State University
Research Focus
- Media Psychology
- Sports Communication
- Sport and Media Audiences
Courses Taught
- COMM2110 Sports, Media, and Communication
- COMM2700 Sports Promotion in the 21st Century
- COMM2800 Sport and Spectacle
- COMM2900 Sport, Politics, and Communication