CERITOM
Research Center on
Theory of Mind
The Steering Committee of the Center
Antonella Marchetti, Ph.D
Head
She is full professor of Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (Italy), director of the Research Center on Theory of Mind, coordinator of the PhD course in Human and Educational Sciences, member of the ISSBD Executive Committee and ISSBD Regional Coordinator for Italy, member of the Scientific Committee of FEDUF (Foundation for Financial Education and Savings). Her research interests include the development of Theory of Mind from childhood to old age, decision-making, theory of mind in HRI. Marchetti graduated in Philosophy at the University of Genoa and obtained a specialization in Psychology at the UCM, furthermore, she obtained a PhD in Psychology at the University of Pavia. Marchetti has published over 270 scientific contributions, consisting of articles, national volumes, chapters in national and international volumes, editing of national and international volumes. She has participated in numerous national and international conferences.
Davide Massaro, Ph.D
Segretario
He is Full Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (Italy), Senior Member of the Centre for Research on Theory of Mind. Coordinator of the Psychology of Religion Research Unit. Didactic Coordinator of the Doctorate in Human and Educational Sciences and Co-coordinator of the Master's Degree in Media Education. He is Vice-President of the Italian Association of Psychology (AIP). Davide Massaro holds a degree in Psychology and a PhD in Developmental and Social Psychology from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; during his PhD he spent a year as a visiting researcher at the University of Virginia. His main research interests include theory of mind development, decision making, cognitive biases, children's understanding of irony, and theory of mind in HRI.
Annalisa Valle, Ph.D
Associate Professor
She is Associate Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology (M-PSI/04) at the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. He obtained his PhD on 'Person, Development, Learning. Prospettive epistemologiche, teoriche ed applicative' (Person, Development, Learning. Epistemological, Theoretical and Applied Perspectives) and a second level Master's degree in 'Interventi psicologici nella scuola' (School Psychological Interventions) at the same University. He is currently a visiting professor for the following university courses 'Educational Psychology' (Faculty of Education, Degree in Primary Education), 'General and Developmental Psychology' and 'Psychology of Learning and Education' (Faculty of Education, Degree in Educational Science). His main research interests are Theory of Mind in the life cycle, with a focus on the relationship between it and emotional development, the role of mentalisation and attachment in educational relationships, Theory of Mind in economic and financial education, and the construction of training in mentalistic skills.
Cinzia Di Dio, Ph.D
Associate Professor
With experience in the scientific and teaching sectors, I obtained the academic title of ‘Bachelor in Psychological Sciences’ in 2002 at the University of Hertfordshire (Hatfield, UK), the Master in Science in ‘Research Methods and Data Analysis in Psychology’ in 2003 at the University of Hertfordshire, UK and the PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Parma in 2012. Until 2014 I collaborated on research as a research fellow at the University of Parma, Department of Neuroscience, mainly engaged in neurocognitive research associated with the study of neuroaesthetics and the motor system. Currently, I hold the role of associate professor with a fixed term at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (MI), Department of Psychology, SSD M-psi/04, mainly engaged in research in the field of aesthetic perception, decision-making processes and social competence in human-human and human-robot relationships in a life-span perspective.
Domenico Simeone, Ph.D
Researcher
Type A Researcher within the program “PON REACT EU DM 1062/21 57-I-999-1: Artificial agents, humanoid robots and human-robot interactions” at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Department of Psychology, on an interdisciplinary project entitled “Human-Robot Confluence: towards a multimodal analysis of human- robot”. He graduated in 2011 from the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" with a degree in Psychology and obtained a Master in Clinical Psychology in 2013, also from the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli". He holds a double PhD: in Human and Educational Sciences from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Italy, and in Psychology from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He is a member of the Center for Research on Theory of Mind of the Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore of Milan, Department of Psychology, and of the Human-Robot Laboratory of the same University. He is a member of the Emerging Career Scholar Committee of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD) since 2018. In 2017 and 2018 he received training on the use of the NAO and Pepper platform at the University of Plymouth and the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor Angelo Cangelsoi, in 2016 and 2018 on the use of the Robovie platform at the University of Kyoto with Professors Shoji Itakura and Takayuki Kanda. His main research interest is developmental and educational psychology, in particular focusing on social cognition and decision-making processes in human-human and human-robot interaction in a life-cycle perspective.
Dott. Mario Cesare Gatti
Post-doc
Giulia Peretti, born in Novara in 1993. In November 2015, she obtained a bachelor's degree in Educational and Training Sciences at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan branch, with a thesis entitled "Female Asperger's syndrome: problems and abuse in sentimental relationships", supervisor Prof. Silvia Maggiolini. In July 2017, she obtained a master's degree in Pedagogical Sciences, major in "Training in organizations", at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan branch, with a thesis entitled "The empathic doctor-patient relationship: a psychological study", obtaining top marks, supervisor Prof. Annalisa Valle. In January 2019, she obtained a PhD in Human and Training Sciences, curriculum "Person, Development, Learning. Epistemological, theoretical and applicative perspectives” with a thesis entitled “When a child meets a robot: the psychological factors that make interaction possible” at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan campus, Cycle XXXIV, under the guidance of Prof. Cinzia Di Dio. He is currently a research fellow at the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Psychology. His research interests include Theory of Mind, developmental and educational psychology, child-robot interaction, coding and educational robotics.