Study of the epistemological status of psychology
Epistemological founding elements of the psychological discipline: comparison between the defining rules in the logical and psychological fields; study of some relevant psychological concepts, such as the concept of motivation and creative thinking.
Deepening of the methodological and scientific status of psychoanalysis and of some theoretical themes in the field of clinical psychology
Epistemological founding elements of the psychoanalytic model and legitimacy of its belonging to the area of scientific disciplines, according to criteria for verifying and falsifying theoretical hypotheses in the clinical setting. Empirical verification of the concept of slip and comparison of the consistency of the Freudian hypotheses with the knowledge acquired in the psychology of cognitive processes.
Quantitative analysis of clinical data. Verification of the hypothesis, through a quantitative analysis of the content of the speech, of the existence of recurring and invariable themes of discomfort and maladjustment of patients of the Student Psychological Aid Service.
Cognitive processes: the imaginative function and the mental representation of space
Analysis of the debate on the main models of the imaginative function and empirical-experimental research of the functional and structural aspects of mental images. Study of the relationship between visual perception and imagery: in particular experimental analysis of the concept of functional or second order isomorphism.
Theoretical and experimental analysis of the cognitive process involved in the mental representation of space. The intervening factors in the encoding of spatial information and their weight in the construction of a mental image of physical space.
Study of the processes determining the sense of orientation and the effects of alignment and counter-alignment. Relationship between sense of direction and different cognitive styles of mental representation of space: how individual differences can determine our ability to move in familiar and unfamiliar environments.
Study of spatial memory through the use of physical virtual reality environments.
Cognitive processes: the psychology of thought and decision
Theoretical research and experimental analysis of inductive reasoning processes, with particular reference to individual differences and the presence of personality traits, in pathological and non-pathological conditions.
Analysis of decision-making processes in conditions of risk and uncertainty.
Theoretical and experimental analysis of the reasoning processes used in both civil and criminal law. As regards the civil field, study of the aspects that define parenting capacity and analysis of the tools used to measure and evaluate it. The institution of support administration versus the institution of interdiction. With regard to the criminal field, study of the judicial decision, that is the wording of the sentence, considering processes of verification and falsification of the evidence, as well as the presence / absence of inductive reasoning bias.
As regards the psychology of testimony, in particular eyewitness testimony, theoretical and experimental analysis of the tools for detecting witness accuracy and reliability. Testimony validation criteria, truthfulness / falsity indices in testimonial reports.
Study of the factors that determine the attribution of intentionality to an action, with particular reference to different personality traits.
