Dipartimento di Discipline Umanistiche, Sociali e delle Imprese Culturali (DUSIC)
Università di Parma
ORCID: 0000-0001-7173-6478
Scopus Author ID: 23035761800
Web of Science ResearcherID: AAC-3547-2020
Teaching and Institutional Roles
Chair (Programme Director) of the Master’s Degree Programme in Psychology of Clinical and Social Intervention.
Lecturer in Social Psychology of Cultural Processes and Social Psychology of Digital Media (Master’s Degree Programme in Psychology of Clinical and Social Intervention, University of Parma); Psychology of Identity (Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Parma); and Social Psychology and Work Groups (Master’s Degree in Nursing and Midwifery, University of Parma).
Member of the Academic Board of the PhD programme in Psychology (University of Parma) and of the Italian PhD programme in Learning Sciences and Digital Technologies.
Since 1997/1998, she has taught (as contract lecturer or appointed instructor) several courses at the University of Parma, including: Social Psychology, Group Psychology, Methodology of Psychosocial Research, Interview and Questionnaire Techniques, Methods and Techniques of Clinical-Social Research, Cultural Psychology, Identity Construction, Research and Intervention in Social and Health Contexts.
From 2012 to 2015, Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Psychology (University of Parma); from 2009 to 2011, Scientific Director of the Advanced Training Course in Psychology of Migration Processes for social and healthcare professionals.
From 2019 to 2025, Chair of the CUN Area Committee 11 and member of the University Research Committee. Since 2024, Departmental Delegate for Research (DUSIC Department); since 2026, with responsibility for research monitoring.
Since 2018, holder of the Italian National Scientific Qualification (ASN) in Social Psychology for Full Professor level (I Fascia) – 11E3: Social Psychology, Work and Organizational Psychology.
International Experience
1 Aug 2009 – 30 Sept 2009: Visiting Scholar, Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Oregon, USA.
15 Mar 2012 – 30 May 2012: Visiting Scholar, Department of Communication, University of New Hampshire, New Hampshire, USA.
2023 (15–24 Sept.): Erasmus+ STA programme, Universidad de Almería, Department of Psychology, Almería, Spain.
2024 (19–26 Apr.): Visiting Professor, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
2025 (8 July): External evaluator, PhD thesis assessment committee for “Psychological Well-Being of Populations Affected by Humanitarian Crises: The Role of Resilience, Social Identity, and Social Support”, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain.
Research Activity
For many years involved in several research projects at local, national, and international levels, across different research areas.
Author and co-author of more than 95 publications in indexed, peer-reviewed journals, as well as several book chapters and monographs.
Main research interests focus on identity construction processes in postmodern contexts and on the role of minorities in processes of social stability and change.
She has investigated highly topical issues such as biases and gender-based violence, identity and identities, and the integration of asylum seekers and refugees in host societies. She is currently involved in national and international research projects on online discrimination, analysing underlying identity dynamics and their effects on individual well-being. Within this field, she has conducted research on memes as a potential vehicle for online discrimination against sexual minorities. Another current research interest concerns the outcomes of intercultural contact in digital contexts.
Supervised 14 PhD dissertations and 4 postdoctoral projects. She is currently tutor of an MSCA project on virtual reality as a tool for the empowerment of immigrant Muslim women.
Affiliations, Professional Roles, and Editorial Activities
Full member of the Social Psychology Section of the Italian Psychological Association (AIP) and of the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology (EAESP).
Since 2016, member of the University Working Group for initiatives supporting refugee integration; she has also been a member of the University Centre for International Cooperation (CUCI), University of Parma.
Since 2020, member of the Interdepartmental Research Centre for Social Research – Rights, Society and Civilization (CIRS), University of Parma.
Since 2021, member of the Digital Humanities Laboratory and of the Environmental Social Humanities group (DUSIC Department).
Since 2014, Deputy Editor of Acta Bio Medica Atenei Parmensis. Health Professions; since 2017, member of the Editorial Board of Psicologia Sociale. She served as Guest Editor of Psicologia Sociale (Issue 2, 2014): Acculturation processes: perspectives compared across different contexts of everyday life. Since 2024, Associate Editor of Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research.
For many years, she has served as reviewer for several national and international scientific journals, including Psicologia Sociale, Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, Psicologia Clinica e dello Sviluppo, Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, Computers in Human Behavior, Simulation & Gaming, Cyberpsychology.eu, International Journal of Psychology, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, Current Psychology, Asian Journal of Social Psychology, Social Science Research, among others.
Since 2020, reviewer of international research projects for the European Research Council (ERC) and the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS).
