CERITOM
Research Center on
Theory of Mind
The Scientific Direction 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.
Collaborators
Our team is composed of Professors, Researchers, Research Fellows and PhD Students
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.
Federico Manzi, 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.
Giulia Peretti, Ph.D
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.
Scientific direction
Laura Miraglia, Ph.D
Post-doc
Giusi Figliano
Dottoranda di Ricerca
Laura Miraglia is an educator with a PhD in Human and Educational Sciences from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Department of Psychology, Milan. She holds a degree in Educational Counselling for Disability and Marginalisation from the same University. Her doctorate focused on the study of social cognition, with particular attention to the embodied and cognitive aspects of this construct. During his research, he investigated how social cognition develops within the human-robot relationship. His main research interests are in developmental psychology, with a focus on the cognitive and embodied processes that underlie the understanding of each other's behaviour. In particular, he has studied the psychological mechanisms involved in human-robot interaction, taking into account developmental age and typical or atypical development. He is a member of the Italian Psychological Association (AIP) and the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD).
Andrea Luna Tacci
PhD Student
Andrea Luna Tacci holds a Master's degree in Psychology for Wellbeing: Empowerment, Rehabilitation and Positive Technology. She is currently a PhD student at the Theory of Mind Research Unit within the Department of Psychology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Her research interests are in the following areas Theory of Mind in development and Human-Robot Interaction with a special focus on moral judgements. He is currently the representative of the doctoral students in the Department of Human and Educational Sciences at the Catholic University of Milan. He is a member of the Italian Association of Psychologists and the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development.
Letizia Aquilino
PhD Student
She is a PhD student in Human and Educational Sciences, with a PNRR scholarship co-financed by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and DEXAI – Artificial Ethics. Her research activity focuses on the topic of trust, applied to the context of human-robot interaction and the use of artificial intelligence systems. She is currently involved in the European project SOLARIS (Strengthening democratic engagement through value-based generative adversarial networks), aimed at analyzing the political risks associated with the spread of deepfakes and the creation of new forms of generative artificial intelligence for the promotion of democratic values. In 2022, she obtained a master's degree in Developmental Psychology and Protection Processes (LM-51) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. She has completed her post-graduate internship experience at a school of psychotherapy and is waiting to take the Practical Evaluation Test for the qualification to practice as a psychologist (Albo A).
Chiara Lovati
PhD Student
Chiara Lovati graduated from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Psychology for Wellbeing: Empowerment, Rehabilitation and Positive Technologies at the Faculty of Psychology. She is currently a PhD student. Her interests include environmental psychology and the interaction between humans and the environment throughout life. Her research focuses on the relationship between humans, the environment and sustainability. She also collaborates with the Research Unit of Psychology of Art.
Federica Sacco
Dottoranda di Ricerca
Lorenzo Augusto Prete
PhD Student
Candidate for the PhD in Human and Educational Sciences (XXXIX Cycle), under the supervision of Prof. Davide Massaro, and the Specialization in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, directed by Prof. Gianluca Castelnuovo, at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. After completing his university studies by obtaining the Bachelor's Degree in Psychological Science and Techniques (L-24) and the Master's Degree in Psychological Intervention Methodology (LM-51) at the University of Salento, he qualified as a Psychologist (Section A) at the University of Palermo and is currently registered in the Professional Register of Psychologists of the Puglia Region. He stands out as an active member of the Italian academic ecosystem's learning body by obtaining the II Level Masters in Forensic Neuropsychology and Clinical Criminology (under the supervision of Prof. Giuseppe Sartori) and in Evaluation, Training and Development of Human Resources (under the supervision of Prof. Laura Dal Corso), at the University of Padua. He is recognized as an MBSR Instructor by Sapienza University of Rome and San Diego California University, thanks to the achievement of the II Level Master in Mindfulness: practice, clinic and neuroscience. His research interests focus on the integration of the generative conversational capabilities of artificial intelligence within social robots for the promotion of well-being and the educational development of the person. Part of his research is currently dedicated to training in corporate contexts through learning models in a virtual environment. He also collaborates with Auxologico IRCCS in the design of care and research paths for frail elderly people and caregivers, optimizing his commitment to the study of the impairment of Spatial Cognition in Mild Cognitive Impairment and in the prodromal phases of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. He holds the role of Teaching Assistant, as a Subject Expert, in the courses of Psychopathology (held by Prof. Davide Maria Cammisuli), Developmental Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology (held by Prof. Antonella Marchetti), Psychological Development and Media, Legal Psychology and Developmental Processes, General Psychology and Developmental Psychology (held by Prof. Davide Massaro), at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
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Margherita Magnini
PhD Student
She is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan, with a project focused on the integration of generative artificial intelligence models and social robotics in order to improve human-machine interaction in educational contexts. She is also involved in other projects such as the European project DiversHUBility, for the transition of people with disabilities from University to the world of work. She graduated in the Master's Degree in Media Education at the Catholic University of Milan with a thesis entitled: The adoption of digital technologies by Nigerian smallholder farmers; research project carried out with AB5 Consulting, a London-based company employed in the aerospace engineering sector.
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Francesca Croce
PhD Student
In 2022, she graduated in Psychology for Well-being: empowerment, rehabilitation and positive technology at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, discussing a thesis entitled “Inclusive environment, healing environment: study and analysis of the psychological characteristics of a rehabilitation environment for people with autism spectrum disorder” (supervisor: Prof. Daniele Ruscio; co-supervisor: Prof. Federico Manzi). In 2023, she completed a professional internship at the Developmental Psychopathology Unit of the “La Nostra Famiglia” Association (Bosisio Parini), where she studied in depth the issues related to autism spectrum disorder and parental support. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Human and Educational Sciences, majoring in “Person, development, learning. Epistemological, theoretical and applicative perspectives”, at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore under the supervision of prof. Annalisa Valle and Cinzia Di Dio. Her main research interest is environmental psychology, with a particular focus on the inclusive approach of Design for All and Universal Design. She is also interested in research on autism spectrum disorder, having already followed projects on parent training and post-diagnostic parental support. In the context of her doctoral activity, she tries to include the typical needs of the autism spectrum and other functionings in the design of learning environments that can be functional and effective for all users, improving their performance and well-being. The doctoral project, co-funded by Lombardini22, aims to investigate the effects of space on learning processes.
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Gianmarco Pastore
PhD Student
Graduated in Artificial Intelligence, Business and Society at the Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM, he continues his research path with the Doctorate of National Interest in AI for Society. Assigned to the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan and active in the UniToM research group, he works on the possibility of developing AI models that, by simulating understanding of social norms, develop in robots a degree of multiagent interaction based on trust
