Prof. Alessandro Gabbiadini

Lab director

Alessandro Gabbiadini is an Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca. His research focuses on cyberpsychology, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and human–technology interaction, with particular attention to how digital technologies shape behavior, cognition, emotions, identity, and social relationships.

His work investigates virtual embodiment, avatars, social categorization, intergroup relations, and prejudice reduction in immersive environments, as well as the social perception of AI systems, digital humans, chatbots, and artificial social agents. A further line of research examines the use of immersive technologies to promote sustainable behavior and environmental engagement, including psychological distance from climate change, connectedness with nature, and pro-environmental responses.

Across these areas, he develops technology-mediated experimental paradigms designed to combine experimental control with high ecological validity, using virtual environments, digital platforms, immersive applications, and sensing technologies.

He is Deputy Director of MiBTec – Mind and Behavior Technological Center and Scientific Director of BiHOME – Bicocca House of Multidimensional Ecological Experience. Since 2022, he has taught Cyberpsychology and Principles of Social Psychology for the Web. He is also the author of the Manuale di Cyberpsicologia, published by Laterza.

Dott.ssa Manfredi Anna

Phd student

Anna Manfredi is currently a graduate student at the Department of Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca. Her main research interests lie at the intersection of social psychology and cyberpsychology, with a particular focus on intergroup relations and the psychosocial processes involved in interactions with emerging technologies.

Her primary line of research investigates social categorization in virtual environments, examining the conditions under which avatars and other digital agents are perceived as members of different social groups. A further area of interest concerns the development and evaluation of virtual reality interventions aimed at reducing prejudice, with particular attention to the application of intergroup contact theory in digital environments. Within this framework, she also explores how principles derived from contact theory can inform the design and use of digital humans and artificial intelligence systems, investigating their potential to foster more positive intergroup attitudes and interactions.

Her research interests also include gender identity and identity exploration in virtual environments, as well as the design of psychosocial interventions mediated by digital technologies.

As a complementary line of research, she investigates the psychological processes involved in promoting pro-environmental behavioral intentions and behaviors, with particular attention to the role of cognitive alternatives, social identity, and identification processes in shaping how individuals interpret environmental issues and develop motivations toward sustainability.

Dr. Serrao Fabrizio

PhD student

Fabrizio Serrao is a PhD researcher in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca. He holds a degree in Neuroscience and has a background in biology. His research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying creativity, cognitive flexibility, and aesthetic experience, with particular attention to how these processes are shaped by emerging technologies.

A central line of his research investigates the use of virtual reality as a tool to study cognitive plasticity and creative thinking. Through immersive environments that challenge ordinary perceptual and physical rules, including scenarios based on non-Euclidean or otherwise impossible physics, his work examines how exposure to unusual, unexpected, and diversifying experiences may influence cognitive processes associated with creativity. The broader aim is to test whether experiences that violate everyday expectations and conventional representations of reality can act as a cognitive boost for creative thinking, promoting more flexible and original ways of processing information.

His research also extends beyond virtual reality to examine the relationship between creativity and other emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. In this context, he investigates how interaction with AI-based systems may affect creative processes, creative performance, and the way individuals generate and evaluate novel ideas.

Overall, his work combines experimental cognitive research with technologically mediated environments to better understand how novel and unconventional experiences can reshape cognition and foster creativity.

Dott. Giulio Puzella

PhD student

Giulio Puzella is currently a PhD researcher at the Department of Psychology at the University of Milano-Bicocca, where he investigates the use of emerging technologies, particularly virtual reality, to study psychosocial processes related to gender identity and prejudice reduction.

A central focus of his research is the use of virtual reality as a tool for exploring gender identity among transgender individuals. In particular, his work examines the relationship between the actual self and the ideal self within gender transition processes, investigating how embodied experiences in virtual environments may provide new ways to explore self-perception, identity development, and the psychological dimensions associated with gender affirmation.

His research also examines the potential of virtual reality as an intervention tool for reducing prejudice toward transgender people. Through immersive embodiment paradigms, cisgender participants can experience virtual scenarios from the perspective of a transgender avatar, allowing him to investigate whether this form of perspective-taking and embodied experience can reduce transphobia, negative attitudes, and prejudice toward transgender individuals.

To address these topics, his work combines quantitative and qualitative research methods, integrating experimental designs and psychometric measures with participants’ subjective accounts and lived experiences. This mixed-methods approach allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how virtual embodiment can influence identity-related processes, attitudes, and intergroup perceptions.

Vittorio Guerrieri

PhD candidate

Vittorio Guerrieri is a PhD candidate in Psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca. His research focuses on the use of digital sensing systems, physiological sensors, and emerging technologies for the study and measurement of human behavior, with particular attention to methodological approaches that maximize ecological validity while preserving experimental control.

A central aspect of his work concerns the integration of sensor-based technologies and behavioral measurement tools into experimental and semi-naturalistic settings. His research explores how physiological, behavioral, and contextual data can be combined to investigate human responses in environments that are closer to everyday experience, while still allowing for rigorous and controlled scientific investigation.

His research interests also include human–robot interaction and the perception of artificial social agents, as well as the methodological development and validation of tools for assessing human interaction with emerging technologies. More broadly, he is interested in how digital technologies can expand the possibilities of psychological research by enabling the continuous and multimodal assessment of behavior beyond traditional laboratory paradigms.

Alongside these activities, he contributes to research projects addressing methodological and applied topics, including the detection of inattentive responding in survey research, the psychological implications of generative artificial intelligence, and the study of tabletop games as tools for research and intervention.

Vittorio also leads Wanderer’s Quest, a research and intervention project focused on tabletop games and supported by Fondazione Cariplo through the BiUniCrowd 2024 initiative. He is President of NexLudica APS, a non-profit organization devoted to research on tabletop games, and serves on the psychology research committee of the Game Science Research Center.