Sciara Simona Ricercatore a tempo determinatoPsychologyM-PSI/05 - Psicologia Sociale

Dr. Sciara graduated in Psychology with honors from the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan and earned her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. Since 2017, she has been actively involved in various academic, teaching, and research activities related to Social Psychology, the Science of Motivation, and Psychosocial Research Methodology. Since 2015, she has served as the Research Director of the Social Psychology Research Laboratory (UniSR-Social.Lab) at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University of Milan, under the supervision of Professor Giuseppe Pantaleo. In 2020, she became an official member (Lab Affiliate) of the Motivation Lab at New York University (NYU), USA, under the direction of Professor Peter M. Gollwitzer and Professor Gabriele Oettingen. Starting from April 1, 2023, she holds the position of Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato (RTD-A) in Social Psychology (M-PSI/05) at the Faculty of Psychology of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University.

Her research activities are centered on the systematic study of emotional and motivational processes underlying behavior and social interaction. She primarily conducts theory-driven experiments, both in laboratory and field settings, using innovative paradigms. Her current research focuses on the examination of self-completion processes underpinning the use of social media, including the posting of identity symbols on platforms like Instagram and the use of Twitter and Facebook for purposes related to online activism and political action. She is also interested in studying emotions as goal-oriented states, with a particular emphasis on predicting the effects of emotions on behavior or how obstacles and barriers may affect emotional intensity (e.g., romantic feelings). Her research interests extend to empathic responses, social intelligence, and science and health communication.

The scientific outcomes of her research have been published in high-profile international journals such as Motivation Science (APA) and Motivation and Emotion (Springer). Several of her works have received official recognition in the form of awards and funding from significant scientific and professional associations, including the Society for the Science of Motivation (SSM), the Psychology of Technology Institute of Los Angeles, USA, and the Italian Psychological Association (AIP). Her research has also received media coverage, both nationally and internationally.

Scopus Author ID: 57193450440 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57193450440
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/SimonaSciara2
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8368-6877