Birth: Genova (Italy), 16th January 1963
Citizenship: Italian
Home: Via Mestrina, 68 - 35035, Mestrino (PD), Italy; tel. +39 49 9001798
University: Department of Human Studies, University of Ferrara, via Paradiso 12, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; tel. +39 532 293523
Email address: alessandra.tasso@unife.it
Orcid 0000-0002-3401-9952
Website https://docente.unife.it/alessandra.tasso
Education
1989: Degree in Psychology with honors, University of Padova, Italy.
Thesis title: Generalized phrase structure grammars: A model of language as a model of mind.
1995: Ph.D. in Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
Dissertation title: The representation of counterfactual conditionals.
Postgraduate training
1991: "Unification Categorial Grammars", San Marino, 26-28 March.
1991: "Nijmegen Lectures. The mechanisms of language and cognition: a parallel distributed processing approach", Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen, 9-11 December.
1992: "Brain and Cognitive Processes", University of the Republic of San Marino, 14-15 December.
1993: visiting Ph.D. student, Department of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, June-December.
1995: "European Summer School on Reasoning and Decision Making", Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, 26 June-1 July.
2001: EAESP Small Meeting on Counterfactual Thinking, Aix-en-Provence, France, 16-18 May.
Current and Previous positions
Tenured Researcher (Assistant Professor equivalent) in General Psychology (PSIC-01/A; formerly M-PSI/01), University of Ferrara, Department of Human Studies (December 2009–present)
Tenured Researcher (Assistant Professor equivalent) in General Psychology (PSIC-01/A; formerly M-PSI/01), University of Valle d’Aosta, Aosta, Italy (October 2003–November 2009)
Prizes and awards
2010 and 2017
Reviewer for National Competitive Research Project (PRIN) – Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)
Visiting academic positions
Visiting PhD student and research collaborator at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Byrne (1993–1994). Visiting Fellow at the Ruth Byrne’s lab in Trinity College (Dublin) since 1995.
Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA (September–December 1997).
Teaching activities and PhD supervision
2021–present
Disinformation Psychology, Master’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2024–present
General Psychology, Postgraduate School of Occupational Medicine, University of Ferrara
2024–present
Teaching activities within Teacher Training Pathways (PF), University of Ferrara
2010–2023
General Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2012–2021
Psychology of Communication, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2019–2023
General Psychology (module), Bachelor’s Degrees in Nursing and Dietetics, University of Ferrara
2005–2009
Cognitive Psychology, Master’s Degree, University of Valle d’Aosta
2003–2009
General Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Valle d’Aosta
Additional teaching activities
2003-2005: Adjunct Professor of General Psychology, Degree Programme in Education Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Valle d’Aosta.
2002 and 2005: Lecturer in General Psychology in the two-year training course in Music Therapy, Fondazione Istituto Musicale della Valle d’Aosta, Aosta.
1999: teaching activities for the Psychometrics course, University of Padova.
1997: Lecturer in Psychology, Master in Decision Theory, LIUC University, Castellanza, Varese.
2013: teaching activity on counterfactual thinking, CISST - Centro Integrato Servizi Scuola Territorio, Imola
Supervisor of over 200 undergraduate and master’s theses in psychology and cognitive science.
External Examiner Ph.D. thesis
2009 School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin
2018 School of Psychology, University of Torino
Administrative role and position responsibility
Founding member of a Departmental Ethics Committee for research (2024–present), established to review research projects in psychology, sociology, and education
Over several years, up to 2022, Internship Tutor within undergraduate degree programmes
Faculty member involved in programme-level quality assurance and curriculum review processes (annual and periodic cycles), up to 2022
1993: professional qualification to practise as a psychologist in Italy.
Research training and activity
1990-1994: Doctoral Research Scholarship in Psychology, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova.
1996-1998: postdoctoral research activity in Psychological and Educational Sciences, Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova.
1997: Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, September-December.
1999: research contract at the Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova, involving preparation of coding tables, coding of videotaped material, data revision and statistical analyses concerning newborn visual behaviour, within the CEE BIOMED project BHH4-CT 97 2032, coordinated by Prof. F. Simion.
2000: research contract at the Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, assisting Prof. R. Rumiati in data collection and statistical analyses for the project "Representation of uncertainty and decision-making activities in risky situations", funded by CNR 1999.
2000-2002: Research Fellowship, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova.
2002-2003: Research Fellowship, Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova.
Research projects Scientific organisations/Coordination of academic activities
Principal Investigator of:
"The effect of disjunctive information on deductive reasoning with conditionals". University of Valle d’Aosta-funded research fellowship. Research fellow: Dr. Andrea Manfrinati. Duration: December 2007-November 2008; renewal: March 2009-August 2009.
Participation in national and international funded research projects
PRIN 2022: "Developing inclusive societies: The role of valence and intensity of offline and online interethnic contact".
CARIPARO 2021: "Why does it keep going up? The psychology of why people fail at managing debt".
PRIN 2005: "Early diagnosis of autistic disorder: comparison among different psychological tests". Local unit coordinator: Dr. G. Balboni. National scientific coordinator: Prof. P. Venuti. National project title: "Early indicators and functional diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders".
PRIN 2004: "Models and practices of alcohol consumption in an Alpine context: representations, norms and feelings among young people in Valle d’Aosta". Scientific coordinator: Prof. M. G. Monaci. National coordinator: Prof. R. Trentin.
PRIN 2002: "Health education and change in risky behaviours among young people: self-responsibility, cognitive distortions and affective motivations". Scientific coordinator: Prof. R. Trentin. National coordinator: Prof. F. Emiliani.
MURST-COFIN 1999: "Intentional and decision processes and ergonomic aspects in message comprehension". Coordinator: Prof. A. Mazzocco.
Bilateral research project 1996-1999: "Cognitive processes in reasoning and counterfactual thinking". Participants: Prof. A. Mazzocco, Dr. A. Tasso, Dr. P. Cherubini, Prof. R. M. J. Byrne.
Research interests
Misconceptions in psychology students.
Psychology of disinformation.
Risk perception and climate change.
Judgment and decision-making processes in health-related contexts, with particular reference to BRCA and vaccinations.
Risk perception and framing effects.
Reasoning with factual and counterfactual conditionals.
Counterfactual thinking, moral judgments, emotions, and guilt.
Early diagnosis of autistic disorder.
Conceptual knowledge and semantic memory models.
Implicit causality in interpersonal and perception verbs.
Mental models and deductive reasoning.
Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar.
Ad hoc reviewer for scientific journals (Editorial Activity)
Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, The European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Memory & Cognition, Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Journal of Learning and Instruction, Science Communication, BMJ Open, Atlantic Journal of Communication, Vaccines, Social Science & Medicine, Scientific Reports, Thinking & Reasoning, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Journal of Approximate Reasoning
Membership of scientific societies
ICOPE (2025-present)
Citizenship: Italian
Home: Via Mestrina, 68 - 35035, Mestrino (PD), Italy; tel. +39 49 9001798
University: Department of Human Studies, University of Ferrara, via Paradiso 12, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; tel. +39 532 293523
Email address: alessandra.tasso@unife.it
Orcid 0000-0002-3401-9952
Website https://docente.unife.it/alessandra.tasso
Education
1989: Degree in Psychology with honors, University of Padova, Italy.
Thesis title: Generalized phrase structure grammars: A model of language as a model of mind.
1995: Ph.D. in Psychology, University of Padova, Italy.
Dissertation title: The representation of counterfactual conditionals.
Postgraduate training
1991: "Unification Categorial Grammars", San Marino, 26-28 March.
1991: "Nijmegen Lectures. The mechanisms of language and cognition: a parallel distributed processing approach", Max Planck Institute, Nijmegen, 9-11 December.
1992: "Brain and Cognitive Processes", University of the Republic of San Marino, 14-15 December.
1993: visiting Ph.D. student, Department of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, June-December.
1995: "European Summer School on Reasoning and Decision Making", Certosa di Pontignano, Siena, 26 June-1 July.
2001: EAESP Small Meeting on Counterfactual Thinking, Aix-en-Provence, France, 16-18 May.
Current and Previous positions
Tenured Researcher (Assistant Professor equivalent) in General Psychology (PSIC-01/A; formerly M-PSI/01), University of Ferrara, Department of Human Studies (December 2009–present)
Tenured Researcher (Assistant Professor equivalent) in General Psychology (PSIC-01/A; formerly M-PSI/01), University of Valle d’Aosta, Aosta, Italy (October 2003–November 2009)
Prizes and awards
2010 and 2017
Reviewer for National Competitive Research Project (PRIN) – Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)
Visiting academic positions
Visiting PhD student and research collaborator at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Byrne (1993–1994). Visiting Fellow at the Ruth Byrne’s lab in Trinity College (Dublin) since 1995.
Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA (September–December 1997).
Teaching activities and PhD supervision
2021–present
Disinformation Psychology, Master’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2024–present
General Psychology, Postgraduate School of Occupational Medicine, University of Ferrara
2024–present
Teaching activities within Teacher Training Pathways (PF), University of Ferrara
2010–2023
General Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2012–2021
Psychology of Communication, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Ferrara
2019–2023
General Psychology (module), Bachelor’s Degrees in Nursing and Dietetics, University of Ferrara
2005–2009
Cognitive Psychology, Master’s Degree, University of Valle d’Aosta
2003–2009
General Psychology, Bachelor’s Degree, University of Valle d’Aosta
Additional teaching activities
2003-2005: Adjunct Professor of General Psychology, Degree Programme in Education Sciences and Early Childhood Education, University of Valle d’Aosta.
2002 and 2005: Lecturer in General Psychology in the two-year training course in Music Therapy, Fondazione Istituto Musicale della Valle d’Aosta, Aosta.
1999: teaching activities for the Psychometrics course, University of Padova.
1997: Lecturer in Psychology, Master in Decision Theory, LIUC University, Castellanza, Varese.
2013: teaching activity on counterfactual thinking, CISST - Centro Integrato Servizi Scuola Territorio, Imola
Supervisor of over 200 undergraduate and master’s theses in psychology and cognitive science.
External Examiner Ph.D. thesis
2009 School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin
2018 School of Psychology, University of Torino
Administrative role and position responsibility
Founding member of a Departmental Ethics Committee for research (2024–present), established to review research projects in psychology, sociology, and education
Over several years, up to 2022, Internship Tutor within undergraduate degree programmes
Faculty member involved in programme-level quality assurance and curriculum review processes (annual and periodic cycles), up to 2022
1993: professional qualification to practise as a psychologist in Italy.
Research training and activity
1990-1994: Doctoral Research Scholarship in Psychology, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova.
1996-1998: postdoctoral research activity in Psychological and Educational Sciences, Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova.
1997: Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Princeton University, September-December.
1999: research contract at the Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova, involving preparation of coding tables, coding of videotaped material, data revision and statistical analyses concerning newborn visual behaviour, within the CEE BIOMED project BHH4-CT 97 2032, coordinated by Prof. F. Simion.
2000: research contract at the Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, assisting Prof. R. Rumiati in data collection and statistical analyses for the project "Representation of uncertainty and decision-making activities in risky situations", funded by CNR 1999.
2000-2002: Research Fellowship, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova.
2002-2003: Research Fellowship, Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization Processes, University of Padova.
Research projects Scientific organisations/Coordination of academic activities
Principal Investigator of:
"The effect of disjunctive information on deductive reasoning with conditionals". University of Valle d’Aosta-funded research fellowship. Research fellow: Dr. Andrea Manfrinati. Duration: December 2007-November 2008; renewal: March 2009-August 2009.
Participation in national and international funded research projects
PRIN 2022: "Developing inclusive societies: The role of valence and intensity of offline and online interethnic contact".
CARIPARO 2021: "Why does it keep going up? The psychology of why people fail at managing debt".
PRIN 2005: "Early diagnosis of autistic disorder: comparison among different psychological tests". Local unit coordinator: Dr. G. Balboni. National scientific coordinator: Prof. P. Venuti. National project title: "Early indicators and functional diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders".
PRIN 2004: "Models and practices of alcohol consumption in an Alpine context: representations, norms and feelings among young people in Valle d’Aosta". Scientific coordinator: Prof. M. G. Monaci. National coordinator: Prof. R. Trentin.
PRIN 2002: "Health education and change in risky behaviours among young people: self-responsibility, cognitive distortions and affective motivations". Scientific coordinator: Prof. R. Trentin. National coordinator: Prof. F. Emiliani.
MURST-COFIN 1999: "Intentional and decision processes and ergonomic aspects in message comprehension". Coordinator: Prof. A. Mazzocco.
Bilateral research project 1996-1999: "Cognitive processes in reasoning and counterfactual thinking". Participants: Prof. A. Mazzocco, Dr. A. Tasso, Dr. P. Cherubini, Prof. R. M. J. Byrne.
Research interests
Misconceptions in psychology students.
Psychology of disinformation.
Risk perception and climate change.
Judgment and decision-making processes in health-related contexts, with particular reference to BRCA and vaccinations.
Risk perception and framing effects.
Reasoning with factual and counterfactual conditionals.
Counterfactual thinking, moral judgments, emotions, and guilt.
Early diagnosis of autistic disorder.
Conceptual knowledge and semantic memory models.
Implicit causality in interpersonal and perception verbs.
Mental models and deductive reasoning.
Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar.
Ad hoc reviewer for scientific journals (Editorial Activity)
Giornale Italiano di Psicologia, The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, The European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Memory & Cognition, Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Journal of Learning and Instruction, Science Communication, BMJ Open, Atlantic Journal of Communication, Vaccines, Social Science & Medicine, Scientific Reports, Thinking & Reasoning, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Journal of Approximate Reasoning
Membership of scientific societies
ICOPE (2025-present)
