The Project

Psychology has long occupied a position between the natural sciences and the humanities, within a debate that remains unresolved. Throughout the twentieth century, behaviourism adopted the methods of the natural sciences. Cognitive psychology later made a similar, though less radical, choice. This orientation strengthened empirical research in psychology by fostering the development of rigorous methodologies, quantitative measurement tools, and – beginning with the cognitive revolution – a more systematic approach to the study of mental functions and the processes underlying them.

However, this methodological commitment has not been without consequences. On the one hand, it has distanced psychology from the humanities and from its broader aim of describing the human condition in all its complexity and diversity. On the other hand, it has encouraged an increasing fragmentation of psychological theories, driven by the need to design experiments that are as precise, controlled, and replicable as possible, often at the expense of developing broad and integrative explanatory frameworks.

The research carried out by the PsyHuman Research Group seeks to bridge this divide by identifying new thematic and methodological connections between psychology and the humanities. Its aim is to counteract the fragmentation of psychological knowledge, foster a deeper historical and epistemological awareness of the discipline, and, above all, open up new avenues of research for understanding and addressing the human condition in all its complexity.

Through research projects, conferences, seminars, public events, summer schools, and educational initiatives, the PsyHuman Research Group aims to serve as a reference point for research, education, and public engagement in the interdisciplinary dialogue between the psychological sciences and the humanities.

Research Tracks

The group conducts interdisciplinary research with a particular focus on advancing scholarship in the fields of Psychological Humanities, the epistemology of psychology, and, more broadly, approaches that foster dialogue between the psychological sciences and the humanities.

Psychological Humanities and Narrative Medicine: Literature, Culture, and Mental Health

The humanities, literature, and the arts constitute an essential resource for understanding subjective experience in all its complexity and for promoting a person-centred approach to mental health. Beyond providing interpretative tools for the study of the mind, they offer rich and nuanced accounts of experiences of illness, care, and well-being, highlighting the narrative, relational, and cultural dimensions of human experience.

From this perspective, the Psychological Humanities and Narrative Medicine provide a theoretical and methodological framework for the study of the mind as well as strategies for the development of narrative and communicative competence, understood as the ability to listen to, interpret, and make sense of stories of illness and care. Through the dialogue between the humanities and psychological and health sciences, this approach fosters individual and collective empowerment, promotes more participatory and inclusive care relationships, and contributes to strengthening affiliation, social and cultural participation, and epistemic justice by valuing the plurality of experiences and voices involved.

Philosophy of Psychology

As understood here, the epistemology of psychology encompasses two closely related areas of inquiry. On the one hand, it refers to the more traditional philosophical investigation of psychology as a science – its methods, theories, and conceptual foundations – with the aim of identifying both the strengths and the limitations of the discipline. On the other hand, it includes a field often referred to as philosophical psychology or theoretical psychology, whose purpose is to reflect on the empirical evidence already available – both observational and experimental – in order to develop new syntheses within broader theoretical frameworks and to identify contradictions that reveal limitations or unresolved problems in existing models. Both lines of research are also concerned with finding an appropriate balance between nomothetic and idiographic approaches to psychology, one that accounts not only for the universal dimensions of the mind but also for the irreducible specificity of individuals and groups.

Activities and Funding

The PsyHuman Research Group organises debates, conferences, seminars, public events, and summer schools, while also promoting the publication of academic research. Through these activities, it aims to provide a platform for the development of new research networks and for the presentation and advancement of scientific projects.

Since 2021, PsyHuman has organised the PsyHuman International Summer School, dedicated to the development and dissemination of multidisciplinary approaches to psychology. The fifth edition (2026) of the PsyHuman International Summer School received funding from the Euregio Mobility Fund.

Since 2024, the PsyHuman Research Group has also been involved in narrative medicine workshops in collaboration with the Adolescent Crisis Centre and at the Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment Service in Arco (Trento, Italy) and, since 2026, with the SERD (Addiction Services) in Rovereto (Trento, Italy). It also organises workshops on narrative competence in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Gender Studies Centre (CSG) and the Language Centre (CLA) of the University of Trento.

Since 2025, PsyHuman has also collaborated on the GeAr – Gender and Art in the Community project, promoted by the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of Trento and the Municipality of Rovereto.

Seminars and Conferences (2026):

  •  27 and 29 May 2026, 10:00 a.m., seminar Room, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento – “Epistemic injustice: Reconstructing and deconstructing problematizations in psychological research”, lecture by Professor Thomas Teo (York University, Toronto, Canada), editor of “Theory & Psychology”, editor of the “Encyclopedia of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology”, and former President of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24 of the American Psychological Association).
     
  • 14 September 2026, 10:30 a.m. – Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento. Lecture by Professor Lisa Osbeck (University of West Georgia, USA), a leading scholar in the field of the psychological humanities and author/editor of, among other works, “Interdisciplinary Lives: A Multi-dimensional Study of Navigating Boundaries” e “Person-Centered Studies in Psychology of Science”.
     
  •  PsyHuman International Summer School of Psychology and the Humanities, 5th edition, “From Tension to Transformation: Narrative and Participatory Approaches to Interpersonal, Ideological and Socio-cultural Clashes”, Rovereto (Trento, Italy), 14-23 September 2026. More information: https://eventi.unitn.it/en/international-summer-school-psychology-and-hu....

Members of the PsyHuman Research Group

Coordinators

  • Maria Coppola Micaela (Psychological Humanities, University of Trento)
    Sara Dellantonio (Philosophy of Psychology, University of Trento)

Collaborators

  • Andrea Binelli (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Maria Menendez Blanco (Free University of Bozen)
  • Angelo Brandelli Costa (Pontificía Universidade Católicas do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasile, e John Cabot University, Italia)
  • Paolo Caponi (Università Milano Statale, Italia)
  • Rodolfo D’Agostini (Azienda Sanitaria Integrata del Trentino – ASUIT, Italia)
  • Francesca Di Blasio (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Sabrina Francesconi (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Tobias Greitemeyer (University of Innsbruck)
  • Carla Gubert (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Alessandro Grecucci (Università di Bari)
  • Jean Philippe Imbert (Dublin City University, Irlanda)
  • Luigi Pastore (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Greta Perletti (Università di Trento, Italia)
  • Chiara Polli (Università di Perugia, Italia)
  • Alessia Tuselli (Centro Studi Interdisciplinari di Genere – CSG, Trento)

Selected publications

Lasalvia Antonio, Bodini Luca, D’Agostini Rodolfo, Coppola Maria Micaela, “La Medicina Narrativa in salute mentale: fondamenti teorici, evidenze empiriche e declinazioni applicative”, Rivista Sperimentale di Freniatria. The Italian Journal of Mental Health, n. 1, 2026, pp. 25-48. ISSN 1129-6437, ISSNe 1972-5582.

Coppola, M.M., Il fiume carsico della dimenticanza: amnesie individuali, silenzi collettivi e cure im/possibili nelle narrazioni cinematografiche della demenza”, Altre Modernità, n. 24, 11/2020, pp. 153-167. ISSN 2035-7680. 

Coppola, M.M., “Il fiume carsico della dimenticanza: amnesie individuali, silenzi collettivi e cure im/possibili nelle narrazioni cinematografiche della demenza”, in Altre Modernità, n. 24, 11/2020, ISSN 2035-7680, in corso di stampa.

Coppola, M.M., “La mente in chiaroscuro: Note per una definizione delle psychological humanities”, Elephant & Castle. Laboratorio dell’immaginario, n. 22, giugno 2020, ISSN 1826-6118, pp. 4-22. 

Coppola, M.M., “The Quest for Insight and Empathy in Alice Munro’s Stories of Dementia”, Le Simplegadi (rivista fascia A ANVUR), vol. XVII, no. 19, novembre 2019, pp. 128-138. ISSN 1824-5226. 

Coppola, M.M., “Psychiatric Fictional Pathography: The Alzheimer’s Brain in Lisa Genova’s Still Alice and Samantha Harvey’s The Wilderness”, Textus. English Studies in Italy, vol. XXXII (2019), no. 2 (May August), pp. 61-76. ISBN: 978-88-430-9562-9 – ISSN: 1824-3967.

Caponi Paolo, Coppola Maria Micaela, Di Blasio Francesca, “Toward Intercultural Narrative Competence: Cultural Studies and Narrative Medicine for Affective Engagement and Care. A Higher-Education Pilot Project”, Other Modernities/Altre Modernità, 2, 2026, pp. 142-164. ISSN 2035-7680. https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/30972/25754.

“Into the Land of Wonder: The Narrative Life of Dying Neural Cells in Dementia Stories”, Other Modernities/Altre Modernità, n. 32 (November), 2024, pp. 1-16. ISSN 2035-7680. https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/27240.

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Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L., Radden, J., (2024). The Anorexia Enigma at the Interface between Philosophy and Psychology. Special issue of Review of Philosophy and Psychology, vol. 15.

Dellantonio, S. (2024). Internal perception: some facets of an open problem. AphEx 29, 120-141. DOI 10.13137/2036-9972/36155.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L. (2024). Constructs and Operational Definitions in Psychology When Assessment Misrepresents the Phenomenon: ‘Alexithymia’ as a Case Study. In: Ippoliti, E., Magnani, L., Arfini, S. (eds) Model-Based Reasoning, Abductive Cognition, Creativity. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, vol 70. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69300-7_22.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L. (2023). What future for cognitive science(s)?" in Rivista internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia vol. 14, 2023, p. 1-10. DOI: 10.4453/rifp.2023.0001.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L. (2020). Ignorance, misconceptions and critical thinking. In Synthese, Online First, pp. 1-29. DOI: 10.1007/s11229-019-02529-7.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L., S., Mulatti (2020). Credenze paranormali: un’ipotesi cognitiva. Sistemi intelligenti, 2(3), 317-339.

Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S., Job. R. (2019). Il critical thinking e l’arte di ragionare bene. Giornale italiano di psicologia, XLVI, n. 4, pp. 877-885.

Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S. (2019) L’identificazione percettiva e la consapevolezza delle emozioni: alessitimia, agnosia e il ruolo delle sensazioni qualitative. Sistemi intelligenti, XXXI/1.

Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S., Mulatti, C., Esposito, G. (2019). To be or not to be emotionally aware and socially motivated: How alexithymia impacts autism spectrum disorders. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, n. e106.

Dellantonio, S. Pastore, L. (2019). How can you be sure? Epistemic feelings as a monitoring system for cognitive contents. In: Á. Nepomuceno-Fernández, L. Magnani, F. Salguero-Lamillar, C. Barés-Gómez, M. Fontaine (edited by), Model-Based Reasoning in Science and Technology. Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics, Spinger: Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 407-426.

Dellantonio, S. (2019). La filosofia della psicologia [Philosophy of Psychology], in: Barrotta, P., Montuschi, E. (a cura di). La Filosofia della scienza in Italia, Armando editore: Roma.

Poquérusse, J., Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S. & Esposito, G. (2018). Alexithymia and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Complex Relationship." in Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1196, pp. 1-10.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L. (2017). Internal Perception. The Role of Bodily Information in Concepts and Word Mastery, Springer, ISBN 978-3-662-55761-7.

Dellantonio, S., Pastore, L., Esposito, G. (2017). Above and Below the Surface: Genetic and Cultural Factors in the Development of Values. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. doi:10.1017/S0140525X16000741, e235, pp. 26-28.

Dellantonio, S., Job, R. (2017). La concretezza del corpo. Una revisione della concezione classica di astratto e concreto. Sistemi intelligenti, XXIX, n. 1, aprile 2017, pp. 9-32; DOI: 10.1422/86616.

Esposito, G., Dellantonio S., Mulatti C., Job R. (2016). Axiom, anguish and amazement: How Autistic Traits Modulate Emotional and Proprioceptive Mental Imagery. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 7:757. DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00757.

Dellantonio, S., Job, R. (2015) La natura della spiegazione scientifica. Alcune riflessioni su neurocentrismo, meccanicismo, riduzionismo e determinismo. Giornale italiano di psicologia, XLII, n. 1-2, pp. 117-122. DOI: 10.1421/79834.