Le affordances cognitive e sociali in Internet. Un confronto cross-culturale tra utenti italiani e americani.

Internet può essere descritto come un ambiente caratterizzato da affordances ovvero da “offerte” psico-tecnologiche che amplificano le capacità cognitive e sociali degli utenti. In particolare, i molteplici strumenti informativi del web sono riconducibili alle sue affordances cognitive, laddove quelli più connotati in senso interpersonale (p.e. chat-room) ne costituiscono le affordances sociali. Allo scopo di esplorare l’utilizzo delle suddette affordances in differenti popolazioni, abbiamo condotto un’indagine che confronta un gruppo di italiani ed uno di statunitensi tramite la somministrazione di un questionario online. I risultati indicano che, nonostante la sua più recente introduzione…

Protective and Educational Effects of Physical Activity Practice on Mental Health in Young Age during COVID-19 Lockdown

Background: The restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have modified the lifestyle of young people, worsening their mental health. Although some countries were allowed to practice outdoor physical activity (PA) in cases of lockdown, the PA level in the general population decreased. The current study aims to assess the differences in fear of COVID-19, anxiety, neuroticism, and general self-efficacy between university students who practiced PA during the second wave of lockdown and those who did not practice any PA. Methods: The sample consisted of 276 university students (176 females, 63.8%; mean age: 22.13, SD: ±3.94) who answered an online questionnaire detecting life habits …

Time perspective and Facebook addiction: The moderating role of neuroticism

The present paper verified the hypothesis that neuroticism moderates the relationship between past-negative or present-fatalistic time perspectives and Facebook addiction. A sample of 248 Facebook users (Female: 66%, mean age: 21.5 years) filled the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventor and the Facebook Addiction Italian Questionnaire. Two hierarchical regression analyses tested a moderator model in which time perspectives have been defined as independent variables, Facebook addiction as dependent variables, and neuroticism as moderator. Gender and age were introduced in the model as covariates. Results show that past-negative significantly predicts Facebook addiction through the moderation ef…

L’importanza dei prerequisiti e dello screening precoce nella scuola dell’infanzia

Questo contributo si propone di sottolineare l’importanza di alcune competenze cognitive, detti prerequisiti, che sono implicate nell’acquisizione delle abilità di lettura e scrittura come ad esempio: la conoscenza dell’alfabeto; la consapevolezza fonologica; la denominazione rapida automatica (RAN); la memoria fonologica e la processazione visiva. Numerose ricerche, anche internazionali, mostrano l’importanza dell’esercizio di tali abilità all’interno della scuola dell’infanzia anche ai fini della prevenzione dello sviluppo di difficoltà di apprendimento e/o di veri e propri disturbi nella successiva carriera accademica del bambino. Inoltre, la realizzazione di interventi didattici mirati …

Robotics and Virtual Worlds: An Experiential Learning Lab

Aim of the study was to investigate the cognitive processes involved and stimulated by educational robotics (LEGO® robots and Kodu Game Lab) in lower secondary school students. Results showed that LEGO® and KGL artifacts involve specific cognitive and academic skills. In particular the use of LEGO® is related to deductive reasoning, speed of processing visual targets, reading comprehension and geometrical problem solving; the use of KGL is related to visual-spatial working memory, updating skills and reading comprehension. Both technologies, moreover, are effective in the improvement of visual-spatial working memory. Implications for Human-Robot Interaction and BICA challenge are discussed.

Technostress: a research study about computer self-efficacy, Internet attitude and computer-anxiety

The current study describes a particular kind of techno-stress related to computer use, defined as computer anxiety and its psychological correlates: computer-expertise, computer self-efficacy and internet attitudes.

Internet Addiction Disorder: An Italian Study

Abstract The Italian version of the Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) was administered online to a sample of Italian chatters (n = 236) who were different in terms of gender, age, and occupation. Results revealed that young users are more at-risk subjects for Internet addiction than adults, perceiving a compromised social and individual quality of their life that led them to make a compensatory usage of the Internet. Similarly, employed users perceive their social and individual quality of life as more compromised by the Internet than students. Moreover, subjects who declared spending much time online obtained IAT scores higher than others in all the IAT subscales. Finally, nightly user…

Factorial Structure of Web-Credibility in a population of Italian Internet Users. A pilot study

Recent studies by Fogg and his colleagues have defined a new psychological construct called Web credibility. It describes the principal dimensions which lead people to believe (or not) online information. In this framework, the factorial structure of Web credibility was explored in a sample of 152 Italian students of psychology who were Internet users, using a questionnaire. A consistent four-factorial structure emphasized crucial aspects of Web credibility, namely, Inaccuracy, Efficiency, Social Validation, and Commercial Features. Such results seem in line with Fogg's theoretical model; however, further research is required to identify dimensions of this construct.

The Reciprocal Influences among Motivation, Personality Traits, and Game Habits for Playing Pokémon GO

This article reports a study exploring motivations of Pokémon Game use, individual differences related to personality traits, and game habits. First, it analyzed Pokémon GO motivations through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by administering online the Pokémon GO Motivational Scale to a group of Italian gamers (N = 560). Successively, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted testing three factorial models of Pokémon Game motivations on a selected random sample (N = 310). Results showed a three-factor model of Pokémon GO Game motivations (i.e. Personal Needs, Social Needs and Recreation), accounting for 68.9% of total variance plus a general higher order factor that best fits the…

Strategie di costruzione e programmazione di robot. Uno studio pilota

Techno-stressed Teachers are responsible for the digital divide? Gender differences in the perceived levels of Computer-anxiety, Computer-expertise, Computer self-efficacy and Internet attitudes of an Italian population

Dimensioni psicologiche della web-credibility.

Facebook as a Small World: a topological hypothesis

Facebook is becoming a pervasive entity as its social, cultural and media ramifications grow deep and entrenched in our daily life. Its nature of a complex system of interactions, bearing a strong similarity to networks built through individual choices and systems shaped by evolu- tionary pressure, makes it an interesting target for research. Scale-free Small World networks, recently popularized by Barabasi, are a topological class pertaining to both these domains, whose members have resilience to disruption and short intermediate connections between nodes. In this paper we show that the topological structure of a specific subset of Facebook, gathered using data from a self-report online qu…

La valutazione precoce dei prerequisiti dell’apprendimento scolastico. Nuovo ambito di intervento per l’insegnante di sostegno nella Scuola dell’Infanzia.

Mente e identita-in-rete nell’era di facebook.

La robotica nella riabilitazione di soggetti autistici e con deficit cognitivi.

The effectiveness of using LEGO® robotics kits as cognitive and social rehabilitative toys

The present article offers a theoretical contribution to the understanding of the effectiveness of using robotics as cognitive and social rehabilitative toys. Starting from the theoretical foundations of educational robotics in the framework of constructionism, it provides methodological indications related to game activities with robotics behaviour construction kits, such as LEGO® Ev3. Moreover, it discusses empirical studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the use of robotics behaviour construction kits in the field of intellectual disabilities. Practical implications of the present study might be useful for educators, school psychologists, or rehabilitative therapists in the field of…

Premorbid Personality Traits as Risk Factors for Behavioral Addictions: A Systematic Review of a Vulnerability Hypothesis

The debate on personality structure and behavioral addictions is an outstanding issue. According to some authors, behavioral addictions could arise from a premorbid personality, while for others, it could result from a pathological use of technological tools. The current study aims to investigate whether, in the latest literature, personality traits have been identified as predictors of behavioral addictions. A literature search was conducted under the PRISMA methodology, considering the most relevant studies of the five-factor model from the past 10 years. Overall, most studies on addiction, personality traits, and personality genetics proved that behavioral addiction may be an epiphenomen…

Intelligenza Emotiva e Successo Professionale degli insegnanti di sostegno nella scuola primaria e dell’infanzia

Personality Variables as Predictors of Facebook Usage

This study investigates the role of personality factors as predictors of Facebook usage. Data concerning Facebook usage and personality factors from 654 Facebook users were gathered using a web survey. Using path analysis, the results showed Openness was a predictor of Facebook early adoption, Conscientiousness with sparing use, Extraversion with long sessions and abundant friendships, and Neuroticism with high frequency of sessions. The possible role of Agreeableness in predicting low session frequency and friendships needs further validation.

Definizione e Misurazione del Costrutto di Computer-Anxiety. Una rassegna di studi.

Robotic and virtual World Programming labs to Stimulate Reasoning and visual-spatial Abilities

Abstract The individuals’ cognitive skills, academic performance and their relationship with programming of robots or virtual learning environment is a topic of particular interest in the area of human-robot interaction. This paper presents a pilot study performed on a group of 36 lower secondary school students involved in a 32-hours laboratory based on the combination of LEGO Mindstorm NXT and Microsoft Kodu Game Lab (KGL) and aimed at programming first a robot and further a more complete virtual world based on a narrative-designed scenario. The findings of the research will be discussed in the light of the effectiveness of using robotics and virtual world programming as a meaningful and …

The Switch to Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Interplay between Personality and Mental Health on University Students

The switching from traditional to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for students, determining an increase in physical and mental health problems. The current paper applied a two-step cluster analysis in a large sample of n = 1028 university students (Mage = 21.10 years, SD = 2.45 years; range: 18–30 years; 78.4% females). Participants responded to an online survey exploring neuroticism, trait/state anxiety, general self-efficacy, academic motivation, fear of COVID-19, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health, and the help requests. Results showed two significant clusters of students having a Maladaptive Academic Profile (n = 456; 44.4%) or…

Esperienze con la robotica educativa come nuovo strumento di apprendimento e di riabilitazione.

Nel presente lavoro esponiamo i risultati di alcune nostre ricerche, che hanno visto studenti di scuola secondaria di primo e secondo grado impegnati nella costruzione e programmazione comportamentale di piccoli robot mobili (LEGO® Mindstorms). Le esperienze da noi realizzate sono riconducibili alla cosiddetta Educational Robotics, che -ispirandosi all’approccio di Vygotskji e all’epistemologia post-piagetiana di Papert- concepisce i robot come “oggetti-con-cui-pensare o come “impalcature per la mente”. In linea con tale filone teorico, i nostri studi dimostrano che l’attività con i robot favorisce varie abilità visuo-costruttive, di ragionamento logico e di pensiero creativo. Le peculiari …

The big five personality factors as predictors of facebook usage

Personality and learning in robots. The role of individual motivations/expectations/ emotions in robot adaptive behaviours.

Social stigma and self-esteem as mediators of the relationship between Body Mass Index and Internet addiction disorder. An exploratory study

The present study aimed at investigating the mediational effects of social stigma and self-esteem on the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Internet addiction disorder. A total of 413 participants aged between 18 and 26 years old (M = 20.94 SD = 2.95) were assessed with self-report standardized questionnaires exploring self-esteem (i.e. Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale - RSES), Internet addiction (i.e. Young Internet Addiction Test- YIAT), and social-stigma (i.e. Perception of Teasing Scale - POT), and with objective measures related to BMI. Results showed a partial direct association between BMI and Internet addiction. Specifically, our mediation model revealed a good fit to data sh…

The Social Cognitive Theory. A new framework for implementing Artificial Consciousness

Neuroticism and Fear of COVID-19. The Interplay Between Boredom, Fantasy Engagement, and Perceived Control Over Time

The Italian government adopted measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection from 9 March 2020 to 4 May 2020 and imposed a phase of social distancing and self-isolation to all adult citizens. Although justified and necessary, psychologists question the impact of this process of COVID-19 isolation on the mental health of the population (e.g., Lee, Jobe & Matis, 2020). Hence, this paper investigated the relationship between neuroticism, boredom, fantasy engagement, perceived control over time, and the fear of COVID-19. Specifically, we performed a cross-sectional study aimed at testing an integrative moderated mediation model. Our model assigned the boredom to the mediation role, and b…

La robotica educativa per l’assessment e per la riabilitazione di soggetti con ritardo mentale: analisi di un caso.

Autobiographical Memory, Personality, and Facebook Mementos

The present study analyzed the relationships between directive, self and social functions of autobiographical memory, personality traits, as defined by the Five Factor model, and the Facebook mementos. We defined Facebook mementos as objective measures of the textual (i.e., Facebook Status Updating) and visual (i.e., Photos uploading) information people record on their Facebook profiles. Questionnaires gathered data from a sample of 193 Italian Facebook users (148 female; 45 male; age M = 22.8, SD = 6.8). Results at path analysis using AMOS showed direct significant positive associations between personality traits related to extraversion, openness, neuroticism, conscientiousness and Faceboo…

Il ruolo dell'Intelligenza Emotiva nella formazione degli insegnanti di sostegno per la scuola primaria: la ricerca

A three-wave panel study on longitudinal relations between problematic social media use and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: It still remains unclear whether problematic social media use (PSMU) is a cause or a consequence of psychological distress. The present study aimed to investigate the temporal relationships between PSMU and psychological distress through a three-wave panel study (between April and July 2020, with an interval of 1 month between each period of time). Methods: 3,912 adult Italian participants were surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic for psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale) and PSMU (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale). Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models were applied to disaggregate between-person from within-person associations as regards PSMU an…

L'uso delle Prove per la Memoria di Lavoro (PML) nella scuola dell'infanzia, per la predizione del successo scolastico

Early usage of Pokémon Go and its personality correlates

Pokmon Go is a popular augmented reality mobile game. Players find imaginary creatures by wandering into the real world, which can then be collected and used in combat. In this paper an assessment of Pokmon Go early usage in the Italian community and of its correlates with the Big Five personality traits is given. The resulting profile of early PG player is one of a more Introverted, close person with high agreeability and conscientiousness. Extraversion and Stability are positively correlated with the collection part of the game, while Agreeableness is a negative predictor thereof. Openness is correlated to the level of proficiency. Display Omitted We assess Pokmon Go early usage and its c…

Il Saper Essere, il Sapere ed il Saper Fare degli insegnanti. Prime applicazioni dell’adattamento italiano del Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test

Robotics: a new tool for education of subjects with cognitive diseases

Locus of control e robot: implementazione e validazione di un modello simulativo di apprendimento sociale

Dalla credibilità offline alla web-credibility: dimensioni psicologiche del costrutto

Italian Bloggers’ Stories. Their Personalities and Interpersonal Relationships Quality

FROM A COLLABORATIVE DESIGNING OF STORYTELLING TO A ROBOTIC AND VIRTUAL WORLD REPRESENTATION

This paper presents an experiential learning lab focused on building a digital storytelling using both robots with LEGO Mindstorms and virtual worlds with Kodu Game Lab. The experiential laboratory (32 hours) has involved 33 children of secondary schools in a collaborative learning setting in formal (school labs) and informal learning context (external cultural association). In a first phase of the activity children used Lego Mindstorm robotic kits, assembling them and creating a physical environment (pasterboard arenas) where robots were programmed for moving and taking actions. In a second phase children were invited to transfer the physical world built for robots in a new digital storyte…

La robotica educativa come strumento di apprendimento e creatività

Does Attentional Style Moderate the Relationship between Time Perspective and Social Network Addiction? A Cross-Sectional Study on a Sample of Social Networking Sites Users

The present study investigates the role of attentional style as a moderator variable between temporal perspective and social network addiction, since little is known about users’ cognitive variables involved in this kind of addictive behavior. To achieve this goal, a sample of 186 volunteers and anonymous social networking sites users (M = 34%; F = 66%; Mage = 22.54 years; SD = 3.94; range: 18 ÷ 45 years) participated in a cross-sectional study. All participants filled out self-report instruments measuring temporal perspective, internal vs. external attentional style, and social network addiction. The results align with the previous literature and show that present fatalistic and past negat…

The Dimensions of Facebook Addiction as Measured by Facebook Addiction Italian Questionnaire and Their Relationships with Individual Differences

Abstract The studies reported analyze the factorial structure of Facebook Addiction Italian Questionnaire (FAIQ), a variant of 20-item Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT). In Study 1, we tested FAIQ psychometric properties using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In Study 2, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the FAIQ factorial structure identified through EFA. Results from CFA confirm the presence of a four-factor model accounting for 58 percent of total variance, plus a general higher order factor that best fits the data. Further relationships between FAIQ factor scores, personality, and Facebook usage have been explored.

The relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intention to get vaccinated. The serial mediation roles of existential anxiety and conspiracy beliefs

Abstract Today, we witness the progress toward global COVID-19 vaccinations organized by countries worldwide. Experts say a mass vaccination plan is the only effective antidote against the spread of SARS-COV-2. However, a part of the world population refuses vaccination. The present study aimed to understand the impact of some individual variables on the intention to get vaccinated. Through a serial mediation model, we tested the influence of fear of COVID-19 on the intention to get vaccinated and the serial mediating effect of existential anxiety and conspiracy beliefs. Via a cross-sectional design this research was conducted with the participation of 223 French adults (Female: 69.5%; Male…

Quando il diario diventa virtuale: il personal blog ovvero esserci online

Il presente contributo esplora alcuni correlati psicologici del personal blog, de- finibile come un diario online. Il blogger crea facilmente il suo spazio in Rete, nel quale riporta e condivide con altre persone, gli eventi, i pensieri, le sensazioni, le emozioni della vita quotidiana. Tale strumento comunicativo, particolarmente dif- fuso fra i giovani, sembra così soddisfare il bisogno di esibire online la propria i- dentità, in contrasto con la tendenza opposta ad occultarla dietro l’anonimato o die- tro fantasiosi avatar, come accade ad esempio in Second Life.

Techno-stressed Teachers Are Responsible for the Digital Divide? Gender differences in the percevied levels of computers-anxiety, computer expertise, computer self-efficacy and internet attitude of an Italian Population

Comportamenti individuali e connettivi in Facebook: uno studio simulativo

Robotica e Mondi Virtuali: un Laboratorio di Edutainment con Lego Mindstorm e Kodu Game Lab

Un gruppo di studenti del primo anno della scuola secondaria di primo grado è stato coinvolto in uno studio di ricerca-azione volto ad esplorare le abilità cognitive coinvolte e stimolate dall’uso di tecnologie quali LEGO® Mindstorm e Kodu Game Lab (KGL). I risultati dello studio dimostrano che l’utilizzo di queste due tecnologie richiede, negli alunni coinvolti nel laboratorio, l’applica- zione di processi cognitivi e competenze scolastiche differenti. Nello specifico, LEGO® Mindstorm sollecita maggiormente l’impiego di abilità di ragiona- mento logico-deduttivo, la capacità di elaborare velocemente target visivi, il problem solving geometrico, e la lettura e comprensione del testo-. L’uso…

Happiness by personality traits: the mediating role of decision-making tendencies

Background: Prior work has shown that happiness is associated with high levels of extroversion and low levels of neuroticism; whereas conscientiousness and agreeableness have also been found to be moderately associated with subjective well-being and happiness.Nevertheless, the reasons why personality traits are linked to subjective well-being remain poorly interpreted. As a consequence, the identification of mediating variables could be strategic for better understanding of the reasons for well-being. One promising avenue has been the focus on individuals’ tendencies in decision-making which may alter happiness levels. The relationships between well-being and maximizing vs. satisficing tend…

Laboratorio di robotica: una palestra per la mente

Facebook: topology to personality and back – an actor-based simulation.

Internet e Facebook. Addiction a confronto.

In questo studio pilota abbiamo misurato il livello di Internet Addiction dei soggetti sperimentali italiani in due condizioni: uso generale di Internet, ed uso specifico del SN Facebook, utilizzando la versione italiana di IAT sopra citata, e confrontato i risultati divisi per fasce di età.

Come è piccolo il mondo in rete: una ipotesi small-world sulla topologia di Facebook

In questo lavoro viene presentata una prima ipotesi di modellizzazione della struttura comunicativa e sociale di Facebook a partire dalle risposte fornite da un totale di 1001 utenti Facebook ad un questionario di self-report 1 appositamente predisposto. Oltre a fornire una serie di elementi sui meccanismi cognitivi, comunicativi e sociali nonché sulle motivazioni all’uso di Facebook, i suddetti dati hanno offerto la possibilità di verificare se la struttura topologica di Facebook può essere assimilabile ad una rete small-world.

Robotica e Mondi Virtuali: un’esperienza di Edutainment con LEGO ® Mindstorm e Kodu Game Lab

Un gruppo di studenti del primo anno della scuola secondaria di primo grado è stato coinvolto in uno studio di ricerca-azione volto ad esplorare le abilità cognitive coinvolte e stimolate dall’uso di tecnologie quali LEGO® Mindstorm e Kodu Game Lab (KGL). I risultati dello studio dimostrano che l’utilizzo di queste due tecnologie richiede, negli alunni coinvolti nel laboratorio, l’applicazione di processi cognitivi e competenze scolastiche differenti. Nello specifico, LEGO® Mindstorm sollecita maggiormente l’impiego di abilità di ragionamento logico-deduttivo, la capacità di elaborare velocemente target visivi, il problem solving geometrico, e la lettura e comprensione del testo-. L’uso di …

Factors Related to Women’s Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

Background. A growing body of research has highlighted the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s mental health. Previous studies showed that women have higher levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD, and worse psychological adjustment than men, which also persisted after the earlier phase of the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate changes in women’s psychological distress during the pandemic and to evaluate the factors that have a more significant impact in predicting women’s psychological distress. Methods. This two-wave longitudinal study (T1 = Italian first lockdown, and T2 = second phase, when the restrictive measures were eased) involved 893 women (Mage = 36.45, SD = 1…

Do mental health and vitality mediate the relationship between perceived control over time and fear of COVID-19? A survey in an Italian sample

Several studies evidenced increased elevated symptomatology levels in anxiety, general stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress related to COVID-19. Real difficulties in the effective control of time that could be responsible for mental health issues and loss of vitality were also reported. Prior literature highlighted how perceived control over time significantly modulates anxiety disorders and promotes psychological well-being. To verify the hypothesis that perceived control over time predicts fear of COVID-19 and mental health and vitality mediate this relationship, we performed an online survey on a sample of 301 subjects (female = 68%; Mage = 22.12, SD = 6.29; age range = 18–57 ye…

The Psychological Impact of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Survey on a Sample of Italian Undergraduates

The COVID-19 pandemic created a risk to all educational system levels, ranging from primary to university grades, due to social restriction measures of isolation worldwide. Switching from the traditional educational system to Online Learning (OL) was challenging for many undergraduates due to the lack of Internet connectivity or digital devices and a suitable home study environment. Therefore, a survey study on a sample of 1069 undergraduates (78.5% female; Mage = 21.72; SD = 4.05) investigated the interrelation among psychological skills for managing learning habits and strategies, academic achievement, social interaction, and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic was perform…

New frontiers for psychology and education: Robotics

The paper reviews the first attempts to study the educational and psychological usefulness of robotics: (1) the social and cooperative dimensions involved in the robot-building activities; (2) the reasoning strategies implied in building and programming robots; (3) the influences of robotics on mathematical and scientific achievement; (4) the use of robotics in modification of social skills of autistic children.

Emotional Intelligence as a key competency for professional success of preschool and primary special education teachers

Come è piccolo il mondo in rete: una ipotesi small-world sulla topologia di Facebook

Il contributo descrive una prima ipotesi di modellizzazione della struttura comunicativa e sociale di Facebook, effettuata assimilando tale network sociale a una rete con topologia small-world di tipo scale free. La topologia small-world presenta una struttura analoga alle strutture dei sistemi biologici e sociali, alle reti di associazioni tra idee e concetti e ad alcuni network artificiali (quali internet e le rotte aeree), e consente di spiegare l’evoluzione di questi sistemi in termini di aggiunta, rimozione e modifica di parti. Per testare la nostra ipotesi abbiamo analizzato i profili di 1001 utenti Facebook selezionati su base volontaria (F = 70%; M = 30%; età media = 25.5; DS = 7.0;…

The Interplay Between Artificial Intelligence and Users’ Personalities: A New Scenario for Human-Computer Interaction in Gaming

The latest business reports showed that Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are ranked among the top 10 strategic trends for 2018. For these reasons, in this paper, we provide an interdisciplinary focus on design and personality issues, trying to discuss the interplay between games with personality and Artificial Intelligence. First, we describe taxonomy models on personality in games and empirical studies aimed at exploring personality traits of Pokemon GO users. Second, we explore virtual humans employed in investigating chess personalities via simulating human chess players. In this research article, the term virtual human is used to describe a computer program that s…

The Italian version of the Thinking About Life Experiences Questionnaire and its relationship with gender, age, and life events on Facebook

The present study provided a cross-cultural validation of the Thinking About Life Experiences Scale-revised (TALE-R) in an Italian sample of Facebook users (n = 492; female = 378; male = 114; mean age 26.1) to test for replication and universality of the TALE-R three-factor model. Furthermore, it explored the interrelations among gender, age, the scores at the TALE-R and the frequency of posting textual/visual information about individuals' life events on Facebook. Results at exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis gave empirical support to both of a tripartite model for the functions of autobiographical memory (i.e., directive-behavior, social-bonding, and self-continuity) and measure…

Computer-expertise, Computer self-efficacy e Internet attitude come fattori che predicono l’ansia da computer. Una ricerca su un gruppo di docenti del territorio palermitano

Il ruolo degli insegnanti di sostegno per la prevenzione delle difficoltà specifiche di apprendimento nella scuola dell'infanzia: la ricerca-azione

Il successo professionale degli insegnanti di sostegno nella scuola primaria e dell’infanzia

Cultural and psychological variables predicting academic dishonesty: a cross-sectional study in nine countries

Academic dishonesty has serious consequences for human lives, social values, and economy. The main aim of the study was to explore a model of relations between personal and cultural variables and academic dishonesty. The participants in the study were N = 2,586 individuals from nine countries (Pakistan, Israel, Italy, India, the USA, Peru, Romania, Ghana, and Poland). The authors administered the Academic Dishonesty Scale to measure academic dishonesty, the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale to measure distress, the Almost Perfect Scale – Revised to measure perfectionism, the Brief Self-Control Scale to measure self-control, and the Singelis Scale to measure independent self-construal. Th…

Lo screening dei prerequisiti dell’apprendimento nella Scuola dell’Infanzia. Nuovo scenario per l’insegnante di sostegno

Development and Maintenance of Self-Disclosure on Facebook: The Role of Personality Traits

This study explored the relationships between Facebook self-disclosure and personality traits in a sample of Italian users. The aim was to analyze the predictive role of Big Five personality traits on different parameters of breadth and depth of self-disclosed behaviors online. Facebook users, aged between 18 and 64 years of age ( M age = 25.3 years, SD = 6.8; N = 958), of which 51% were female, voluntarily completed an online survey assessing personality traits and Facebook self-disclosure. Results at a series of hierarchical regression analyses significantly corroborated the hypotheses that high extroverted and openness people tend to disclose on Facebook a significant amount of personal …