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Recently, interest in the unique pathways linking discrete positive emotions to specific health outcomes has gained increasing attention, but the role of awe is yet to be elucidated. Awe is a complex and transformative emotion that can restructure individuals' mental frames so deeply that it could be considered a therapeutic asset for major mental health major issues, including depression. Despite sparse evidence showing a potential connection between depression and awe, this link has not been combined into a proposal resulting in specific intervention guidelines. The aim of this perspective was three-fold: (i) to provide a new unifying model of awe's functioning—the Matryoshka model; (ii) to show systematic and explicit connections between this emotion and depression; and (iii) to suggest specific guidelines of intervention utilizing the potential therapeutic role of awe for mental health, specifically for depression. This theoretical endeavor in its entirety has been framed within the health domain.
Alice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. The Potential Role of Awe for Depression: Reassembling the Puzzle. Frontiers in Psychology 2021, 12, 1 .
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Andrea Gaggioli. The Potential Role of Awe for Depression: Reassembling the Puzzle. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021; 12 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. 2021. "The Potential Role of Awe for Depression: Reassembling the Puzzle." Frontiers in Psychology 12, no. : 1.
The sublime–the mixed aesthetic experience of uplift and elevation in response to a powerful or vast object that otherwise is experienced as menacing–has nurtured philosophical discourse for centuries. One of the major philosophical issues concerns whether the sublime is best thought of as a subjective response or as a stimulus. Recently, psychology has conceived of the sublime as an emotion, often referred to as awe, arising from natural or artistic stimuli that are great, rare, and/or vast. However, it has not yet been empirically demonstrated whether two major elicitors of the sublime–nature and art–differ in inducing this state. In order to experimentally compare nature and art, we exposed 50 participants to sublimity-inducing content in two different formats (nature-based and art-based) using 360° videos. We compared Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night with a photorealistic version of the actual place depicted in the painting, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. We measured participants’ emotional responses before and after each exposure, as well as the sense of presence. The nature-based format induced higher intensity emotional responses than the art-based format. This study compares different sublime stimuli (nature vs. art) for eliciting the sublime.
Alice Chirico; Robert R. Clewis; David B. Yaden; Andrea Gaggioli. Nature versus art as elicitors of the sublime: A virtual reality study. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0233628 .
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Robert R. Clewis, David B. Yaden, Andrea Gaggioli. Nature versus art as elicitors of the sublime: A virtual reality study. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (3):e0233628.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Robert R. Clewis; David B. Yaden; Andrea Gaggioli. 2021. "Nature versus art as elicitors of the sublime: A virtual reality study." PLOS ONE 16, no. 3: e0233628.
The goal of this large-scale study was to test the relationship between positive emotion dispositions (i.e., Joy, Contentment, Pride, Love, Compassion, Amusement, and Awe) and two strategies of emotion regulation (i.e., reappraisal and suppression) in the Italian population. 532 Italian-speaking adults completed the Dispositional Positive Emotion Scales (DPES), the Positive and Negative Affective Schedule (PANAS), the Italian Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Big-Five Inventory (BFI). DPES scales showed high reliability. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that a 6-factor model fits the Italian sample better. Joy and Contentment loaded on the same factor. Items assessing the other five emotions loaded on separate factors. The patterns of relationships between positive emotion dispositions, positive and negative affects traits (PANAS), and personality traits (BFI) indicated concurrent validity of the DPES. Twelve separated multiple regression models with BFI and ERQ factors as predictors and DPES factors as response variables showed that Extraversion significantly positively predicted of all DPES emotions. Agreeableness predicted Happiness, Love, Compassion, and Awe positively. Conscientiousness predicted Amusement and Love negatively and Compassion, Pride, and Happiness positively. Neuroticism predicted all emotions negatively except for Compassion. Positive emotions were significantly and positively predicted by reappraisal, and negatively predicted by suppression.
Alice Chirico; Michelle N. Shiota; Andrea Gaggioli. Positive emotion dispositions and emotion regulation in the Italian population. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0245545 .
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Michelle N. Shiota, Andrea Gaggioli. Positive emotion dispositions and emotion regulation in the Italian population. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (3):e0245545.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Michelle N. Shiota; Andrea Gaggioli. 2021. "Positive emotion dispositions and emotion regulation in the Italian population." PLOS ONE 16, no. 3: e0245545.
Background: Older people’s deficits in executive functions (EF) have been shown to lead to higher fall risk, postural sway, and reduced speed. Crucially, EF impairments are even more pronounced in individuals with chronic cerebrovascular disease (CVD), namely vascular cognitive impairment. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we used a complete neuropsychological battery, including the Trail Making Test (TMT) and physical measures, such as the Morse fall and EQUI scales, to assess 66 individuals with chronic CVD. Linear regressions, Bayesian analyses, and model selection were performed to see the impact of EF, global cognition, and vascular parkinsonism/hemiplegia on physical measures (fall risk and balance). Results: The TMT part B and BA correlated (r = 0.44 and r = 0.45) with Morse fall scale. Only EF significantly explained fall risk, whereas global cognition and vascular parkinsonism/hemiplegia did not. These findings were confirmed by Bayesian evidence and parsimony model selection. Balance was not significantly correlated with any of the neuropsychological tests. Conclusions: This is the first study investigating the relationship between cognitive and physical measures in a sample of older people with chronic CVD. The results are consistent with previous findings that link EF with fall risk in CVD.
Cosimo Tuena; Valentina Mancuso; Ilaria M. A. Benzi; Pietro Cipresso; Alice Chirico; Karine Marie Goulene; Giuseppe Riva; Marco Stramba-Badiale; Elisa Pedroli. Executive Functions Are Associated with Fall Risk but not Balance in Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2020, 9, 3405 .
AMA StyleCosimo Tuena, Valentina Mancuso, Ilaria M. A. Benzi, Pietro Cipresso, Alice Chirico, Karine Marie Goulene, Giuseppe Riva, Marco Stramba-Badiale, Elisa Pedroli. Executive Functions Are Associated with Fall Risk but not Balance in Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020; 9 (11):3405.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCosimo Tuena; Valentina Mancuso; Ilaria M. A. Benzi; Pietro Cipresso; Alice Chirico; Karine Marie Goulene; Giuseppe Riva; Marco Stramba-Badiale; Elisa Pedroli. 2020. "Executive Functions Are Associated with Fall Risk but not Balance in Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease." Journal of Clinical Medicine 9, no. 11: 3405.
Background: Living in the time of the COVID-19 means experiencing not only a global health emergency but also extreme psychological stress with potential emotional side effects such as sadness, grief, irritability, and mood swings. Crucially, lockdown and confinement measures isolate people who become the first and the only ones in charge of their own mental health: people are left alone facing a novel and potentially lethal situation, and, at the same time, they need to develop adaptive strategies to face it, at home. In this view, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and scientifically validated self-help solutions aiming to reduce the psychological burden of coronavirus are extremely necessary. Aims: This pragmatic trial aims to provide the evidence that a weekly self-help virtual reality (VR) protocol can help overcome the psychological burden of the Coronavirus by relieving anxiety, improving well-being, and reinforcing social connectedness. The protocol will be based on the “Secret Garden” 360 VR video online (www.covidfeelgood.com) which simulates a natural environment aiming to promote relaxation and self-reflection. Three hundred sixty–degree or spherical videos allow the user to control the viewing direction. In this way, the user can explore the content from any angle like a panorama and experience presence and immersion. The “Secret Garden” video is combined with daily exercises that are designed to be experienced with another person (not necessarily physically together), to facilitate a process of critical examination and eventual revision of core assumptions and beliefs related to personal identity, relationships, and goals. Methods: This is a multicentric, pragmatic pilot randomized controlled trial involving individuals who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and underwent a lockdown and quarantine procedures. The trial is approved by the Ethics Committee of the Istituto Auxologico Italiano. Each research group in all the countries joining the pragmatic trial, aims at enrolling at least 30 individuals in the experimental group experiencing the self-help protocol, and 30 in the control group, over a period of 3 months to verify the feasibility of the intervention. Conclusion: The goal of this protocol is for VR to become the “surgical mask” of mental health treatment. Although surgical masks do not provide the wearer with a reliable level of protection against the coronavirus compared with FFP2 or FFP3 masks, surgical masks are very effective in protecting others from the wearer’s respiratory emissions. The goal of the VR protocol is the same: not necessarily to solve complex mental health problems but rather to improve well-being and preserve social connectedness through the beneficial social effects generated by positive emotions.
Giuseppe Riva; Luca Bernardelli; Matthew H. E. M. Browning; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Silvia Cavedoni; Alice Chirico; Pietro Cipresso; Dirce Maria Bengel de Paula; Daniele Di Lernia; Javier Fernández-Álvarez; Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols; Kei Fuji; Andrea Gaggioli; Jose Gutiérrez-Maldonado; Upyong Hong; Valentina Mancuso; Milena Mazzeo; Enrico Molinari; Luciana F. Moretti; Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari; Francesco Pagnini; Elisa Pedroli; Claudia Repetto; Francesca Sforza; Chiara Stramba-Badiale; Cosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Daniela Villani; Brenda K. Wiederhold. COVID Feel Good—An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2020, 11, 563319 .
AMA StyleGiuseppe Riva, Luca Bernardelli, Matthew H. E. M. Browning, Gianluca Castelnuovo, Silvia Cavedoni, Alice Chirico, Pietro Cipresso, Dirce Maria Bengel de Paula, Daniele Di Lernia, Javier Fernández-Álvarez, Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols, Kei Fuji, Andrea Gaggioli, Jose Gutiérrez-Maldonado, Upyong Hong, Valentina Mancuso, Milena Mazzeo, Enrico Molinari, Luciana F. Moretti, Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari, Francesco Pagnini, Elisa Pedroli, Claudia Repetto, Francesca Sforza, Chiara Stramba-Badiale, Cosimo Tuena, Clelia Malighetti, Daniela Villani, Brenda K. Wiederhold. COVID Feel Good—An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2020; 11 ():563319.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiuseppe Riva; Luca Bernardelli; Matthew H. E. M. Browning; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Silvia Cavedoni; Alice Chirico; Pietro Cipresso; Dirce Maria Bengel de Paula; Daniele Di Lernia; Javier Fernández-Álvarez; Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols; Kei Fuji; Andrea Gaggioli; Jose Gutiérrez-Maldonado; Upyong Hong; Valentina Mancuso; Milena Mazzeo; Enrico Molinari; Luciana F. Moretti; Angelica B. Ortiz de Gortari; Francesco Pagnini; Elisa Pedroli; Claudia Repetto; Francesca Sforza; Chiara Stramba-Badiale; Cosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Daniela Villani; Brenda K. Wiederhold. 2020. "COVID Feel Good—An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus." Frontiers in Psychiatry 11, no. : 563319.
Sometimes, life houses rare and unexpected events, such as moving abroad or meeting a special person unexpectedly. Recently, these situations have been indicated as “diversifying experiences” (DEs), defined as unusual and unexpected events that drag people outside their daily routine and accustomed schemas. The core mechanism of DEs would entail the disruption of our mental schema, which can facilitate unexpected connections among even distant ideas, thus enhancing people’s cognitive flexibility, that is, a key component of creative thinking. Despite both qualitative and lab-based studies have investigated the features of these experiences, an ecological assessment of their properties also in relation with creativity is still an open issue. The aim of this research is to study the DE–creativity link in a more ecological way, on the basis of a real-life disruptive experience of light deprivation. Specifically, we compared an ecological DE artistic established entertainment format (i.e., “dialogue in the dark,” which is seeing people perform several daily life activities but in the absence of light) with an equivalent experience in which the same activities were acted in the sunlight. The absence of light played the role of violating mechanism, framed within the ecological experiential format of the “dialogue in the dark.” We compared visitors’ emotional profile [Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), ad hoc Adjective Checklist], perceived impact of the experience [Centrality of Event Scale (CES)], and creative performance [Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)] in both groups of sighted people (in absence of light vs. in presence of light); and we also controlled for people’s openness to experience and need for cognitive closure, as dispositions. Results showed that (vs. control group) “dialogue in the dark” (i) led to worse creative performances, (ii) produced more intense positive affect, and (iii) resulted as a more impacting experience. Intense short-term impact of DE could have been detrimental for participants’ creativity. People may need more time to elaborate the DE and accommodate existing schema to generate more creative ideas. This is the first study proposing and succeeding in demonstrating the feasibility to investigate even real complex DEs in a controlled way, thus outlining how their link with creativity can take place in real life.
Alice Chirico; Sofia Carrara; Sofia Bastoni; Elena Gianotti; Andrea Gaggioli. The Effects of an Ecological Diversifying Experience on Creativity: An Experimental Study. Frontiers in Psychology 2020, 11, 1396 .
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Sofia Carrara, Sofia Bastoni, Elena Gianotti, Andrea Gaggioli. The Effects of an Ecological Diversifying Experience on Creativity: An Experimental Study. Frontiers in Psychology. 2020; 11 ():1396.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Sofia Carrara; Sofia Bastoni; Elena Gianotti; Andrea Gaggioli. 2020. "The Effects of an Ecological Diversifying Experience on Creativity: An Experimental Study." Frontiers in Psychology 11, no. : 1396.
Virtual Reality (VR) has progressively emerged as an effective tool for wellbeing and health in clinical populations. VR effectiveness has been tested before in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) with full-body illusion. It consists in the embodiment of patients with AN into a different virtual body to modify their long-term memory of the body as a crucial factor for the onset and maintenance of this disorder. We extended this protocol using the autobiographical recall emotion-induction technique, in which patients recall an emotional episode of their life related to their body. In this pilot study, we aimed to test the usability and User Experience (UX) of this VR-based protocol. Five Italian women with AN were embodied in a virtual body resembling their perceived body size from an ego- and an allocentric perspective while remembering episodes of their life related to their body. High levels of embodiment were reported while embodied in a virtual body resembling their real perceived body size for ownership (p<0.0001), agency (p=0.04), and self-location (p=0.023). Negative affective state increase after session 2 (p=0.012), and positive affective state increase after session 4 (p=0.006) (PANAS). However, further iteration of the VR system is needed to improve the user experience and usability of the system.
Marta Matamala-Gomez; Eleonora Brivio; Alice Chirico; Clelia Malighetti; Olivia Realdon; Silvia Serino; Antonio Dakanalis; Giulia Corno; Nicoletta Polli; Chiara Cacciatore; Giuseppe Riva; Fabrizia Mantovani. User Experience and usability of a new virtual reality set-up to treat eating disorders: a pilot study. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleMarta Matamala-Gomez, Eleonora Brivio, Alice Chirico, Clelia Malighetti, Olivia Realdon, Silvia Serino, Antonio Dakanalis, Giulia Corno, Nicoletta Polli, Chiara Cacciatore, Giuseppe Riva, Fabrizia Mantovani. User Experience and usability of a new virtual reality set-up to treat eating disorders: a pilot study. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Matamala-Gomez; Eleonora Brivio; Alice Chirico; Clelia Malighetti; Olivia Realdon; Silvia Serino; Antonio Dakanalis; Giulia Corno; Nicoletta Polli; Chiara Cacciatore; Giuseppe Riva; Fabrizia Mantovani. 2020. "User Experience and usability of a new virtual reality set-up to treat eating disorders: a pilot study." , no. : 1.
In addition to established body image alterations, abnormal perception and executive functioning in anorexia nervosa (AN), neurocognitive factors including multisensory integration (MSI) and episodic memory (EM) might play a pivotal role in the diagnosis of this disorder. According to the allocentric lock theory, deficits in the updating of distorted memory of body-based episodes through misleading real-time multisensory bodily stimuli could lead to altered body image in AN. In this study, 25 healthy females and nine AN individuals were tested on a set of neurocognitive measures, encompassing unimodal perceptual accuracy and MSI (MSI) ability assessed with the sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI), episodic memory recognition (EMR) evaluated with a remember/know (R/K) task, memory and executive functions tested with the RBMT-3 and the Stroop task. Collected data were analyzed with Bayesian statistics and machine learning algorithms. In the SiFI task, we found that AN compared to control group had lower discrimination accuracy for unimodal visual and auditory stimuli, for bimodal (visual and auditory) stimuli and disrupted MSI ability. Further, we found on the EMR task and the RBMT-3 that AN individuals had higher proportions of false memories for R responses and visual recognition. Additionally, we found greater inhibition at the Stroop task for the patient group compared. The importance of the considered neurocognitive measures was confirmed by a machine learning feasibility analysis, which showed that SiFI, RBMT-3, Stroop and EMR had more weight than classic eating disorder risk scales of the EDI-3 when computing classification between the AN and control individuals. In conclusion, MSI along with memory could be crucial factors for improving diagnosis and consequently design innovative therapeutic solutions that tap critical bodily and cognitive elements altered in AN with new technologies such as virtual reality.
Cosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Alice Chirico; Silvia Serino; Daniele Di Lernia; Manuel Muratore; Elisa Pedroli; Pietro Cipresso; Annalisa Setti; Claudia Repetto; Giuseppe Riva. Exploring the impact of multisensory integration and episodic memory with machine learning: a proof-of-concept study in anorexia nervosa. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleCosimo Tuena, Clelia Malighetti, Alice Chirico, Silvia Serino, Daniele Di Lernia, Manuel Muratore, Elisa Pedroli, Pietro Cipresso, Annalisa Setti, Claudia Repetto, Giuseppe Riva. Exploring the impact of multisensory integration and episodic memory with machine learning: a proof-of-concept study in anorexia nervosa. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Alice Chirico; Silvia Serino; Daniele Di Lernia; Manuel Muratore; Elisa Pedroli; Pietro Cipresso; Annalisa Setti; Claudia Repetto; Giuseppe Riva. 2020. "Exploring the impact of multisensory integration and episodic memory with machine learning: a proof-of-concept study in anorexia nervosa." , no. : 1.
Background: Living in the time of the COVID-19 means experiencing not only a global health emergency but also extreme psychological stress with potential emotional side effects such as sadness, grief, irritability and mood swings. Crucially, lockdown and confinement measures isolate people who become the first and the only ones in charge of their own mental health: people are left alone facing a novel and potentially lethal situation, and, at the same time, they need to develop adaptive strategies to face it, at home. In this view, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and scientifically validated self-help solutions aiming to reduce the psychological burden of coronavirus are extremely necessary.Aims: This pragmatic trial aims to provide the evidence that a weekly self-help virtual reality (VR) protocol can help overcome the psychological burden of the Coronavirus by relieving anxiety, improving well-being and reinforcing social connectedness. The protocol will be based on the “Secret Garden” 360 VR video online (www.covidfeelgood.com) which simulates a natural environment aiming to promote relaxation and self-reflexion. 360° or spherical videos allow the user to control the viewing direction. In this way, the user can explore the content from any angle like a panorama and experience presence and immersion. The “Secret Garden” video is combined with daily exercises that are designed to be experienced with another person (not necessarily physically together), to facilitate a process of critical examination and eventual revision of core assumptions and beliefs related to personal identity, relationships and goals.Methods: This is a multicentric, pragmatic pilot randomized controlled trial involving individuals who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic and underwent a lockdown and quarantine procedures. The trial is approved by the Ethics Committee of the Istituto Auxologico Italiano. Each research group in all the countries joining the pragmatic trial, aims at enrolling at least 30 individuals in the experimental group experiencing the self-help protocol, and 30 in the control group, over a period of 3 months to verify the feasibility of the intervention.Conclusion: The goal of this protocol is for VR to become the “surgical mask” of mental health treatment. Although surgical masks do not provide the wearer with a reliable level of protection against the coronavirus compared with FFP2 or FFP3 masks, surgical masks are very effective in protecting others from the wearer’s respiratory emissions. The goal of the VR protocol is the same: not necessarily to solve complex mental health problems but rather to improve well-being and preserve social connectedness.
Giuseppe Riva; Luca Bernardelli; Matthew H E M Browning; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Silvia Cavedoni; Alice Chirico; Pietro Cipresso; Dirce Maria Bengel De Paula; Daniele Di Lernia; Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols; Javier Fernández-Álvarez; Kei Fuji; Andrea Gaggioli; Jose Gutiérrez Maldonado; Upyong Hong; Valentina Mancuso; Milena Mazzeo; Enrico Molinari; Luciana F. Moretti; Angelica B. Ortiz De Gortari; Francesco Pagnini; Elisa Pedroli; Claudia Repetto; Francesca Sforza; Chiara Stramba-Badiale; Cosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Daniela Villani; Brenda K. Wiederhold. COVID Feel Good – An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleGiuseppe Riva, Luca Bernardelli, Matthew H E M Browning, Gianluca Castelnuovo, Silvia Cavedoni, Alice Chirico, Pietro Cipresso, Dirce Maria Bengel De Paula, Daniele Di Lernia, Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols, Javier Fernández-Álvarez, Kei Fuji, Andrea Gaggioli, Jose Gutiérrez Maldonado, Upyong Hong, Valentina Mancuso, Milena Mazzeo, Enrico Molinari, Luciana F. Moretti, Angelica B. Ortiz De Gortari, Francesco Pagnini, Elisa Pedroli, Claudia Repetto, Francesca Sforza, Chiara Stramba-Badiale, Cosimo Tuena, Clelia Malighetti, Daniela Villani, Brenda K. Wiederhold. COVID Feel Good – An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGiuseppe Riva; Luca Bernardelli; Matthew H E M Browning; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Silvia Cavedoni; Alice Chirico; Pietro Cipresso; Dirce Maria Bengel De Paula; Daniele Di Lernia; Natàlia Figueras-Puigderrajols; Javier Fernández-Álvarez; Kei Fuji; Andrea Gaggioli; Jose Gutiérrez Maldonado; Upyong Hong; Valentina Mancuso; Milena Mazzeo; Enrico Molinari; Luciana F. Moretti; Angelica B. Ortiz De Gortari; Francesco Pagnini; Elisa Pedroli; Claudia Repetto; Francesca Sforza; Chiara Stramba-Badiale; Cosimo Tuena; Clelia Malighetti; Daniela Villani; Brenda K. Wiederhold. 2020. "COVID Feel Good – An Easy Self-Help Virtual Reality Protocol to Overcome the Psychological Burden of Coronavirus." , no. : 1.
It is noted that the perceptual experience of body and space can be modulated by changing the action capabilities or by manipulating the perceived body dimensions through a multisensory stimulation. This study adds to pre-existing literature by investigating the alterations in bodily experience following embodiment to both enlarged and shrunked bodies, while participants actively navigated in a virtual environment. A normal-sized body served as a reference condition. After each embodied navigation, participants estimated the height and width of three different body parts. Results revealed that the embodiment over shrunked body induced a significant reduction in participants’ body image, while no changes were reported after the embodiment over the enlarged body. Findings were discussed in terms of previous literature exploring the constraints implicated in the ownership over different bodies.
S. Serino; Federica Scarpina; Alice Chirico; A. Dakanalis; D. Di Lernia; D. Colombo; V. Catallo; E. Pedroli; G. Riva. Gulliver’s virtual travels: active embodiment in extreme body sizes for modulating our body representations. Cognitive Processing 2020, 21, 509 -520.
AMA StyleS. Serino, Federica Scarpina, Alice Chirico, A. Dakanalis, D. Di Lernia, D. Colombo, V. Catallo, E. Pedroli, G. Riva. Gulliver’s virtual travels: active embodiment in extreme body sizes for modulating our body representations. Cognitive Processing. 2020; 21 (4):509-520.
Chicago/Turabian StyleS. Serino; Federica Scarpina; Alice Chirico; A. Dakanalis; D. Di Lernia; D. Colombo; V. Catallo; E. Pedroli; G. Riva. 2020. "Gulliver’s virtual travels: active embodiment in extreme body sizes for modulating our body representations." Cognitive Processing 21, no. 4: 509-520.
Starting from the pro-environmental potential of virtual reality (VR), the aim was to understand how different statistical information formats can enhance VR persuasive potential for plastic consumption, recycling and waste. Naturalistic, immersive virtual reality environments (VREs) were designed ad hoc to display three kinds of statistical evidence formats, featured as three different formats (i.e., numerical, concrete and mixed). Participants were exposed only to one of the three formats in VR, and their affect, emotions, sense of presence, general attitudes toward the environment, specific attitudes and behavioral intentions toward plastic, use, waste, recycle, as well as their social desirability proneness were measured. Numerical format was the least effective across all dimensions. Concrete and mixed formats were similar. Social desirability only partially affected participants’ attitudes and behavioral intentions. Numerical format did not increase the persuasive efficacy of statistical evidence displayed in VR, with respect to visual alone. Implications and future directions for designing effective VRE promoting pro-environmental behaviors were discussed.
Alice Chirico; Giulia Wally Scurati; Chiara Maffi; Siyuan Huang; Serena Graziosi; Francesco Ferrise; Andrea Gaggioli. Designing virtual environments for attitudes and behavioral change in plastic consumption: a comparison between concrete and numerical information. Virtual Reality 2020, 25, 107 -121.
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Giulia Wally Scurati, Chiara Maffi, Siyuan Huang, Serena Graziosi, Francesco Ferrise, Andrea Gaggioli. Designing virtual environments for attitudes and behavioral change in plastic consumption: a comparison between concrete and numerical information. Virtual Reality. 2020; 25 (1):107-121.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Giulia Wally Scurati; Chiara Maffi; Siyuan Huang; Serena Graziosi; Francesco Ferrise; Andrea Gaggioli. 2020. "Designing virtual environments for attitudes and behavioral change in plastic consumption: a comparison between concrete and numerical information." Virtual Reality 25, no. 1: 107-121.
Our aim was to explore emotions in Instagram images marked with hashtags referring to body image–related components using an artificial intelligence–based discrete emotional analysis. A total of 500 Instagram photos marked by specific hashtags related to body image components were analyzed and specific discrete emotions expressed in each picture were detected using the Emotion application program interface API from Microsoft Azure Cognitive Service. Results showed that happiness and neutrality were the most intense and recognizable emotions expressed in all images. Happiness intensity was significantly higher in images with #bodyimage and #bodyconfidence and higher levels of neutral emotion were found in images tagged with #body, #bodyfitness, and #thininspirational. This study integrated a discrete emotional model with the conventional dimensional one, and offered a higher degree of granularity in the analysis of emotions–body link on Instagram through an artificial intelligence technology. Future research should deepen the use of discrete emotions on Instagram and the role of neutrality in body image representation.
Clelia Malighetti; Simona Sciara; Alice Chirico; Giuseppe Riva. Emotional Expression of #body on Instagram. Social Media + Society 2020, 6, 1 .
AMA StyleClelia Malighetti, Simona Sciara, Alice Chirico, Giuseppe Riva. Emotional Expression of #body on Instagram. Social Media + Society. 2020; 6 (2):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleClelia Malighetti; Simona Sciara; Alice Chirico; Giuseppe Riva. 2020. "Emotional Expression of #body on Instagram." Social Media + Society 6, no. 2: 1.
If experiences of profound transformation have a core moment, that can be awe, an emotion able to maximize the possibility to change especially through its self-transcendent nature. Awe arises from stimuli so vast to prompt people to go beyond their current schema. Awe would drag people into a deep moment of uncertainty in which assimilation process fails, but accommodation has not successfully taken place yet. In this middle-suspended moment of extreme potential, everything might occur. This entry started with the current psychological definition of awe; then, it summarizes main researches in this field. Finally, I outlined the transformative nature of this phenomenon – as a self-transcendent emotion – and a new perspective to frame it in relation to a sense of possibility to change.
Alice Chirico. Awe. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible 2020, 1 -9.
AMA StyleAlice Chirico. Awe. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. 2020; ():1-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico. 2020. "Awe." The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible , no. : 1-9.
The recent model of Networked flow (NF) mapped out factors underlying optimal creative collaboration in blended spaces (physical and digital). NF conceives creativity as an evolving network bridging material and symbolic resources of the creative collaboration process at both inter and the intra-group levels. First, this model posits that optimal group creativity is characterized by highest levels of the experiences of flow and social presence. Secondly, these experiences should stem from a peculiar group communicative structure. Therefore, group creativity should be studied through a mixed-method approach focusing on experiential and structural features of group collaboration, on their evolution, and on group artifacts. Here, we measured the evolution of 10 groups’ structural dynamics by means of Social Network Analysis (SNA), and we assessed group experience through group flow experience (Flow State Scale) and social presence (NMSPI). Moreover, four independent raters evaluated the creative products through a domain-based approach, that is the Consensual Assessment Technique. Finally, we deepened the analysis of the highest creative group’ micro-interaction through the qualitative approach of Interlocutory Logic. Group flow and social presence were positively related. Both experiential dimensions and creative outcomes were predicted by specific SNA indexes. Qualitative approach of Interlocutory Logic and an analysis of most and least creative groups’ sociograms, suggested two structural patterns underlying optimal group creativity instances. Specifically, even a few but well-aimed interactions could facilitate the emergence of higher creativity levels, which could emerge silently, with few but effective interactions, or explicitly, with several (mostly) democratic exchanges among members.
Andrea Gaggioli; Elvis Mazzoni; Martina Benvenuti; Carlo Galimberti; Antonio Bova; Eleonora Brivio; Pietro Cipresso; Giuseppe Riva; Alice Chirico. Networked Flow in Creative Collaboration: A Mixed Method Study. Creativity Research Journal 2020, 32, 41 -54.
AMA StyleAndrea Gaggioli, Elvis Mazzoni, Martina Benvenuti, Carlo Galimberti, Antonio Bova, Eleonora Brivio, Pietro Cipresso, Giuseppe Riva, Alice Chirico. Networked Flow in Creative Collaboration: A Mixed Method Study. Creativity Research Journal. 2020; 32 (1):41-54.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Gaggioli; Elvis Mazzoni; Martina Benvenuti; Carlo Galimberti; Antonio Bova; Eleonora Brivio; Pietro Cipresso; Giuseppe Riva; Alice Chirico. 2020. "Networked Flow in Creative Collaboration: A Mixed Method Study." Creativity Research Journal 32, no. 1: 41-54.
The spread of cobots working side-by-side to humans has recently drawn attention to the psychological aspects of human-robot interaction. We propose an exploratory study that investigates whether and how the role taken on by the robot during a collaborative task influences the human’s psycho-physiological response and production rate. We assume the cobot can either take the lead with respect to the human operator or comply with the partner’s decision; namely, being the leader or the follower within the dyad. Against this background, we examined the effects of the leader-follower paradigm on a collaborative tower-building task. We evaluated the stress induced on the subject by the cooperation with the robot, based on both the ECG measurements and on PANAS and STAI questionnaires. Moreover, based on the measured cycle-time, we estimated the user’s production rate. The results highlighted that when the human takes the lead, he/she is subject to a lower physiological stress and is less productive compared to the case where he/she follows the robot strategy.
Costanza Messeri; Andrea Maria Zanchettin; Paolo Rocco; Elena Gianotti; Alice Chirico; Stefano Magoni; Andrea Gaggioli. On the effects of leader-follower roles in dyadic human-robot synchronisation. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems 2020, 1 -1.
AMA StyleCostanza Messeri, Andrea Maria Zanchettin, Paolo Rocco, Elena Gianotti, Alice Chirico, Stefano Magoni, Andrea Gaggioli. On the effects of leader-follower roles in dyadic human-robot synchronisation. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems. 2020; (99):1-1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCostanza Messeri; Andrea Maria Zanchettin; Paolo Rocco; Elena Gianotti; Alice Chirico; Stefano Magoni; Andrea Gaggioli. 2020. "On the effects of leader-follower roles in dyadic human-robot synchronisation." IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems , no. 99: 1-1.
Background. The effective illusory ownership over an artificial body in modulating body representations in healthy and eating disorders population has been repeatedly reported in recent literature. In this study, we extended this research in the field of obesity: specifically, we investigated whether ownership over a virtual body with a skinny abdomen might be successfully experienced by participants affected by obesity. Methods. Fifteen participants with obesity and fifteen healthy-weight participants took part at this study in which the VR-Full-Body Illusion was adopted. The strength of illusion was investigated through the traditional Embodiment Questionnaire, while changes in bodily experience were measured through a body size estimation task. Results. Participants with obesity as well as healthy-weight participants reported to experience the illusion. About the body size estimation task, both groups reported changes only in the estimation of the abdomen's circumference after the experimental condition, in absence of any another difference. Discussion. Participants with obesity reported to experience the illusion over a skinny avatar, but the modulation of the bodily experience seems controversial. Future lines of research exploiting this technique for modulating body representations in obesity, specifically in terms of potential therapeutic use, were discussed.
Federica Scarpina; Silvia Serino; Anouk Keizer; Alice Chirico; Massimo Scacchi; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Alessandro Mauro; Giuseppe Riva; Riva. The Effect of a Virtual-Reality Full-Body Illusion on Body Representation in Obesity. Journal of Clinical Medicine 2019, 8, 1330 .
AMA StyleFederica Scarpina, Silvia Serino, Anouk Keizer, Alice Chirico, Massimo Scacchi, Gianluca Castelnuovo, Alessandro Mauro, Giuseppe Riva, Riva. The Effect of a Virtual-Reality Full-Body Illusion on Body Representation in Obesity. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2019; 8 (9):1330.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFederica Scarpina; Silvia Serino; Anouk Keizer; Alice Chirico; Massimo Scacchi; Gianluca Castelnuovo; Alessandro Mauro; Giuseppe Riva; Riva. 2019. "The Effect of a Virtual-Reality Full-Body Illusion on Body Representation in Obesity." Journal of Clinical Medicine 8, no. 9: 1330.
The use of collaborative robots in the manufacturing industry has widely spread in the last decade. In order to be efficient, the human-robot collaboration needs to be properly designed by also taking into account the operator’s psychophysiological reactions. Virtual Reality can be used as a tool to simulate human-robot collaboration in a safe and cheap way. Here, we present a virtual collaborative platform in which the human operator and a simulated robot coordinate their actions to accomplish a simple assembly task. In this study, the robot moved slowly or more quickly in order to assess the effect of its velocity on the human’s responses. Ten participants tested this application by using an Oculus Rift head-mounted display; ARTracking cameras and a Kinect system were used to track the operator’s right arm movements and hand gestures respectively. Performance, user experience, and physiological responses were recorded. The results showed that while humans’ performances and evaluations varied as a function of the robot’s velocity, no differences were found in the physiological responses. Taken together, these data highlight the relevance of the kinematic aspects of robot’s motion within a human-robot collaboration and provide valuable insights to further develop our virtual human-machine interactive platform.
Roberta Etzi; Siyuan Huang; Giulia Wally Scurati; Shilei Lyu; Francesco Ferrise; Alberto Gallace; Andrea Gaggioli; Alice Chirico; Marina Carulli; Monica Bordegoni. Using Virtual Reality to Test Human-Robot Interaction During a Collaborative Task. Volume 1: 39th Computers and Information in Engineering Conference 2019, 1 .
AMA StyleRoberta Etzi, Siyuan Huang, Giulia Wally Scurati, Shilei Lyu, Francesco Ferrise, Alberto Gallace, Andrea Gaggioli, Alice Chirico, Marina Carulli, Monica Bordegoni. Using Virtual Reality to Test Human-Robot Interaction During a Collaborative Task. Volume 1: 39th Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. 2019; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRoberta Etzi; Siyuan Huang; Giulia Wally Scurati; Shilei Lyu; Francesco Ferrise; Alberto Gallace; Andrea Gaggioli; Alice Chirico; Marina Carulli; Monica Bordegoni. 2019. "Using Virtual Reality to Test Human-Robot Interaction During a Collaborative Task." Volume 1: 39th Computers and Information in Engineering Conference , no. : 1.
Several researches have revealed the potential of awe, a complex emotion arising from vast stimuli able to prompt for a restructuration of people’ mental schema, on wellbeing and health. Despite a lot has been revealed about awe, researchers still face the challenge of eliciting intense instances of awe in a controlled way. A combination of two or more emotion-induction techniques can enhance the intensity of the resulting emotion. VR has resulted as one of the best techniques to elicit awe, but it has never been tested in combination with other effective awe-inducing methods, such as music. Here, we tested the combined effect of VR and music on the resulting awe’s intensity. We randomly assigned 76 healthy participants to one of these four conditions: (i) VR with background sounds (ii) VR and Music, (iii) only Music; (iv) VR without sounds. VR environments and music have been validated in previous studies on awe. Before the exposure to each stimulus, we asked participants to rate the extent to which they felt (i.e., experienced) seven emotions. After the exposure, we measured also how much participants perceived (i.e., they “read” it into the emotional material) each of the seven emotions, as well as their general affect (Positive and Negative Affective Schedule), their sense of presence (i.e., how much participants felt to be “present” within a scene) (ITC-SOPI Inventory), the sense of perceived vastness and need for accommodation associated to the stimulus material (Brief Awe-Scale). We also assessed also participants’ disposition to live seven discrete positive emotions (Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale) and musical preferences (STOMP). “VR with Music” condition elicited a higher (even not significant) sense of ecological validity compared to Music condition. All conditions elicited significantly higher sense of felt awe, joy, and fear compared to the baseline and a significantly lower anger after each condition. Participants in the Music condition felt a lowest sense of amusement after the exposure. We found no effect of condition on felt awe. Conversely, perceived awe was significantly higher in the “VR and Music” condition compared to the Music condition. “VR without sounds” condition elicited significantly higher sense of fear compared to Music condition, and significantly lower sense of pride and sadness compared to Music condition. We found no significant effect for any covariate variable. These results have relevant implications for fundamental research on awe and to design awe-based training enhancing wellbeing health, or targeting severe emotional disorders, such as Depression.
Alice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. Virtual-Reality Music-Based Elicitation of Awe: When Silence Is Better Than Thousands Sounds. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2019, 1 -11.
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Andrea Gaggioli. Virtual-Reality Music-Based Elicitation of Awe: When Silence Is Better Than Thousands Sounds. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering. 2019; ():1-11.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. 2019. "Virtual-Reality Music-Based Elicitation of Awe: When Silence Is Better Than Thousands Sounds." Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering , no. : 1-11.
Alexandra Kitson; Elizabeth Buie; Ekaterina R. Stepanova; Alice Chirico; Bernhard E. Riecke; Andrea Gaggioli. Transformative Experience Design. Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2019, SIG01 .
AMA StyleAlexandra Kitson, Elizabeth Buie, Ekaterina R. Stepanova, Alice Chirico, Bernhard E. Riecke, Andrea Gaggioli. Transformative Experience Design. Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. 2019; ():SIG01.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlexandra Kitson; Elizabeth Buie; Ekaterina R. Stepanova; Alice Chirico; Bernhard E. Riecke; Andrea Gaggioli. 2019. "Transformative Experience Design." Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems , no. : SIG01.
Although virtual reality (VR) is increasingly regarded as an effective emotion induction technique, little research has examined whether and how emotions elicited in VR differ from those evoked in real life. To address this question, 50 participants (25 females and 25 males) were exposed to either a real-life contemplative scenario (a panoramic view of a lake) or to an immersive 360° footage of the same landscape. Next, type and valence of emotions, as well as sense of presence reported by participants, were compared across conditions. Findings showed that emotions elicited by virtual and natural conditions were not significantly different. The only exception was anger, which was significantly higher in the natural condition, and amusement, which was significantly higher in the virtual condition. Sense of physical presence and engagement dimensions of presence did not significantly differ between virtual and real conditions. However, different correlation patterns between emotions and key dimensions of presence were found after in vivo and in virtuo exposure. These findings provide initial evidence that emotions and sense of presence elicited by immersive videos are comparable with those evoked by real-life scenarios and warrant further investigations.
Alice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. When Virtual Feels Real: Comparing Emotional Responses and Presence in Virtual and Natural Environments. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 2019, 22, 220 -226.
AMA StyleAlice Chirico, Andrea Gaggioli. When Virtual Feels Real: Comparing Emotional Responses and Presence in Virtual and Natural Environments. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2019; 22 (3):220-226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlice Chirico; Andrea Gaggioli. 2019. "When Virtual Feels Real: Comparing Emotional Responses and Presence in Virtual and Natural Environments." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 22, no. 3: 220-226.