March 16, 2021
Energy for the future – a video series for parents in the covid era
In collaboration with the Cariplo Foundation, the Catholic University, the Politecnico of Milano, and other local and regional associations in Lombardy, a video series has been produced (with the participation of Gianluca Castelnuovo, professor in our Faculty) to help parents managing critical situations with their children in this difficult pandemic moment. Suggestions ("toolbox") to detect and manage the "warning signs" of discomfort (especially for adolescents) have been provided. These short videos will be disseminated through the social media every week.
To learn more: https://www.facebook.com/ACELEnergie/videos/796617954277194
An example of video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3038555049756135
March 9, 2021
The life experience of university students at the time of the covid19
Our Faculty, in collaboration with other Italian universities and the National Council of University Students, is taking part in a research project aimed at gathering university students' opinions on teaching, social relations and lifestyles during the pandemic period. The results of last year's survey, to which more than 15,000 students from all over Italy responded, were recently published in the book "Sotto Esame", published by Erickson. The study highlighted the importance of the university institution not only in educational terms, but also as a place for the formation of personal identity and the building of social relationships. Matteo Moscatelli, a member of the research team and a research fellow at our Faculty, invites you to take part in this year's online questionnaire, which takes about 10 minutes to complete.
To answer the questionnaire, click here.
February 12, 2021
Prize
The Society of Personality and Social Psychology, attributed the Graduate Student Poster Award to 5 winners 5 runner-up candidates. Among them there are two PhD students - Carlo Pistoni and Adriano Mauro Ellena – who are supervised by our teacher Prof. Maura Pozzi. Here the video of the ceremony (our winners: minute 10): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNEV9vU4nsY
January 7, 2021
Travelling in the time of covid-19: the role of risk perception, social norms and trust on travel behavior. an italian-swedish study
Since the Covid-19’s outbreak, dealing with the challenges posed by the Covid-19 is requiring enormous efforts to our society. Among others, the transportation sector has received a huge deal of attention from both the governmental institutions and the citizens for its potential role in spreading the disease. A study conducted by the Catholic University Traffic Psychology Research Unit is investigating the influence on travel behavior, in particular on the decision to use public transport, of different factors: the perception of risk, the adherence to social norms and the trust in government institutions. A questionnaire will be administered to a wide sample of public transport users, in Italy (in Milan, Turin, and Brescia) and Sweden (in Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö). The aim of the study is to provide the mobility system stakeholders with an overview of the public transport users’ representations and perception of the public transport at the present time, during the coexistence with Covid-19 pandemic, so as to support the decision makers in finding solutions to integrate health and safety and sustainability issues. Here you can find the survey:
https://unicatt.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6kVfpXKF5trLQjP.
December 20, 2020
I’m ill, has it just to do with me? A relational perspective on illness
When someone falls ill, the very first thing one does is to talk with close others. Thus, from the very beginning illness involves the family and social relationships of the ill person. This is the relational perspective that two social psychologists, Anna Bertoni and Silvia Donato, exploited in a study on couples with a sick partner and highlighted three novel approaches to illness. First, the illness is a “couple matter”: Patients with a supportive partner are more involved in their treatment and feel better. Second, partners can be described as “hidden patients”: Partners, especially women, report even higher levels of depression and anxiety than patients. Third, the doctor is not only a reference point for the treatment, but also a person carrying his/her own needs at both personal and professional level (e.g., the need for recognition of his/her professional competence and input, the need for working in a cooperative environment, etc.). In line of this, effective interventions to support those who are involved in the care process, with particular attention to the partner-caregiver dyad as well as the health workers, are needed.
December 15, 2020
Dyslexia and learning english: inclusive technologies for teaching
The Interreg - European project “Includi”, in which the Faculty is involved, is on new technologies for teaching and learning English in high-school school. The project is targeted to students with specific learning disorder (SLD), in particular with dyslexia. Second language learning is a very complex area that has been the subject of interest in various studies. Who has never encountered any difficulty in learning a foreign language? If we refer to students with dyslexia, learning English presents a greater challenge, in particular for Italian mother-tongue students. In the case of Italian, we are facing a substantially transparent language, since, with some exceptions, one shall read it as it’s written. On the other hand, English is an opaque language and only in a minority of cases we find a correspondence between grapheme and phoneme. Learning English can be experienced as a cognitively stressful task, but there are also emotional and motivational issues. However, English is now a very important skill for both work and social life. New technologies can be a valuable aid, an additional resource in the classroom and at home, able to support and help students by stimulating motivation and positive emotions, given the possibility to create ecological learning environments. The webinar was focused on the presentation of the new teaching method. The new method is based on cooperative activities and activities implemented through devices providing IVR, AR, and MR experiences. The efficacy of the new method will be assessed through a quasi-experimental research design, according to an evidence-based methodology. The study implies the comparison between experimental samples in which the training programs will be implemented and control groups through the application of pre- and post-intervention tests. (More information on the project website: http://www.includi.eu)
May 27, 2020
Relax in orbit
Life in outer space is challenging. Stress and sleep issues, in particular, are two critical issues for astronauts’ well-being and performance. A new study, conducted by professor Francesco Pagnini, belonging to our Faculty, , in collaboration with the European Space Agency, the Italian Space Agency, NASA, and other space agencies, will address these issues. Specifically, it will test the efficacy of relaxation and meditation training with astronauts on the International Space Station in reducing stress and promoting sleep quality. Results will be valuable to develop new strategies for the incoming deep-space exploration human flights, including the incoming Moon and Mars missions.