Specificity of Esthetic Experience for Artworks: An fMRI Study

In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, where we investigated the neural correlates of esthetic experience, we found that observing canonical sculptures, relative to sculptures whose proportions had been modified, produced the activation of a network that included the lateral occipital gyrus, precuneus, prefrontal areas, and, most interestingly, the right anterior insula. We interpreted this latter activation as the neural signature underpinning hedonic response during esthetic experience. With the aim of exploring whether this specific hedonic response is also present during the observation of non-art biological stimuli, in the present fMRI study we compared the activations associated with viewing masterpieces of classical sculpture with those produced by the observation of pictures of young athletes. The two stimulus-categories were matched on various factors, including body postures, proportion, and expressed dynamism. The stimuli were presented in two conditions: observation and esthetic judgment. The two stimulus-categories produced a rather similar global activation pattern. Direct comparisons between sculpture and real-body images revealed, however, relevant differences, among which the activation of right antero-dorsal insula during sculptures viewing only. Along with our previous data, this finding suggests that the hedonic state associated with activation of right dorsal anterior insula underpins esthetic experience for artworks

The Effect of Simple Melodic Lines on Aesthetic Experience: Brain Response to Structural Manipulations

This fMRI study investigates the effect of melody on aesthetic experience in listeners naïve to formal musical knowledge. Using simple melodic lines, whose syntactic structure was manipulated, we created systematic acoustic dissonance. Two stimulus categories were created: canonical (syntactically “correct,” in the Western culture) and modified (made of an altered version of the canonical melodies). The stimuli were presented under two tasks: listening and aesthetic judgment. Data were analyzed as a function of stimulus structure (canonical and modified) and stimulus aesthetics, as appraised by each participant during scanning. The critical contrast modified versus canonical stimuli produced enhanced activation of deep temporal regions, including the parahippocampus, suggesting that melody manipulation induced feelings of unpleasantness in the listeners. This was supported by our behavioral data indicating decreased aesthetic preference for the modified melodies. Medial temporal activation could also have been evoked by stimulus structural novelty determining increased memory load for the modified stimuli. The analysis of melodies judged as beautiful revealed that aesthetic judgment of simple melodies relied on a fine-structural analysis of the stimuli subserved by a left frontal activation and, possibly, on meaning attribution at the charge of right superior temporal sulcus for increasingly pleasurable stimuli.</jats:p

Psychometric Properties of Mind-reading Belief Scale on an Italian Sample and Correlation with the Self-Construal

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the lifespan developing ability to attribute mental states. This ability enables the individual to predict and interpret one's own and others' behavior. In this respect, beliefs about one's own capacity to attribute mental states represent a fundamental component of this construct. The present study aims to compare the unidimensional structure of the Mindreading Belief Scale, evaluating beliefs about personal ToM skills, with an alternative two-factor model, which could better explain the latent structure of the scale outlining the relational nature of the construct through the articulation self-other. Moreover, the relations with self-construal, as a pivotal element for subjective differentiation, were also investigated. Our data support the two-factor model as a better structuring of the pool of original items. Finally, the correlations found with self-construal scales indicate that self-construal is involved in defining beliefs about one's own meta-representational skills

Transdisciplinarietà

Con questo contributo, si tenda di dare una visione trasversale del concetto di transdisciplinarietà, ponendo un particolare accento sull'importanza e la necessità di costruire un dialogo tra diverse discipline che possa permettere, attraverso uno sforzo di integrazione, apertura e umiltà, di osservare i fenomeni umani attraverso molteplici lenti con l'obiettivo di costruire un'unica immagine integrata, quanto più completa e verosimile della realtà

Exploring Responses to Art in Adolescence: A Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Study

Adolescence is a peculiar age mainly characterized by physical and psychological changes that may affect the perception of one's own and others' body. This perceptual peculiarity may influence the way in which bottom-up and top-down processes interact and, consequently, the perception and evaluation of art. This study is aimed at investigating, by means of the eye-tracking technique, the visual explorative behavior of adolescents while looking at paintings. Sixteen color paintings, categorized as dynamic and static, were presented to twenty adolescents; half of the images represented natural environments and half human individuals; all stimuli were displayed under aesthetic and movement judgment tasks. Participants' ratings revealed that, generally, nature images are explicitly evaluated as more appealing than human images. Eye movement data, on the other hand, showed that the human body exerts a strong power in orienting and attracting visual attention and that, in adolescence, it plays a fundamental role during aesthetic experience. In particular, adolescents seem to approach human-content images by giving priority to elements calling forth movement and action, supporting the embodiment theory of aesthetic perception

Decoding Trust in Artificial Intelligence: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Measures and Related Variables

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes ubiquitous across various fields, understanding people’s acceptance and trust in AI systems becomes essential. This review aims to identify quantitative measures used to measure trust in AI and the associated studied elements. Following the PRISMA guidelines, three databases were consulted, selecting articles published before December 2023. Ultimately, 45 articles out of 1283 were selected. Articles were included if they were peer-reviewed journal publications in English reporting empirical studies measuring trust in AI systems with multi-item questionnaires. Studies were analyzed through the lenses of cognitive and affective trust. We investigated trust definitions, questionnaires employed, types of AI systems, and trust-related constructs. Results reveal diverse trust conceptualizations and measurements. In addition, the studies covered a wide range of AI system types, including virtual assistants, content detection tools, chatbots, medical AI, robots, and educational AI. Overall, the studies show compatibility of cognitive or affective trust focus between theorization, items, experimental stimuli, and level of anthropomorphism of the systems. The review underlines the need to adapt measurement of trust in the specific characteristics of human–AI interaction, accounting for both the cognitive and affective sides. Trust definitions and measurement could be chosen depending also on the level of anthropomorphism of the systems and the context of application

The Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents: Validation of the Italian Version (RTSHIA-I)

The aim of the present paper is to establish the factorial validity and reliability of the Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), proposed by Vrouva and colleagues in 2010, in an Italian sample. The RTSHIA measures both Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behavior in adolescents. We administered the scale to a total of 1292 Italian adolescents from 9th to 12th grade; to verify the validity of the scale, we also assessed emotion regulation and psychopathological traits. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (N = 638) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (N = 660) confirmed the original two-factor structure of the RTSHIA (Risk-Taking and Self-Harm). The only differences in the Italian version of the RTSHIA (RTSHIA-I) were that one item was moved from the original Risk-Taking factor to the Italian Self-Harm factor, and another item that was not included in the original RTSHIA is now part of the Risk-Taking factor in the Italian version. The reliability of the RTSHIA-I is also confirmed, and both factors correlate with emotion regulation and externalizing/internalizing traits. Our results suggest that the RTSHIA-I is a useful tool for assessing Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behaviors in Italian adolescents, and the correlational patterns indicate that these behaviors may be related to difficulties in mentalization skills

Validation Study of the Spanish Version of the Measure of Happiness (MH) Questionnaire

This study aims to validate the Spanish version of the Measure of Happiness (MH), a questionnaire that identifies the specific areas of an individual’s life that are related to experienced happiness. The sample consisted of 458 Spanish native speakers (65.7% women, 34.3% men; mean age = 24.14, SD = 8.45) and was divided into two groups: Sample 1 (N = 226) underwent Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Sample 2 (N = 232) underwent Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The convergent and discriminant validity of the Spanish version of the MH and its subscales was assessed by calculating Pearson correlations between the MH factors and the Subjective Happiness Scale, the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the WHOQOL-BREF. The EFA and CFA confirmed the original five-factor structure of the MH questionnaire. The only difference in the Spanish version of the MH is that Item 4, which was originally assigned to Factor 2 “Financial Status”, was reallocated to Factor 1 “Psychophysical Status”. The reliability of the Spanish version of the MH questionnaire was also confirmed, and the factors correlated in the expected direction with the constructs of quality of life, happiness, anxiety, and depression. The MH questionnaire demonstrated excellent psychometric properties among Spanish respondents

Validation of the general attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence Scale in the Italian context and the role of trust

© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have profoundly impacted various sectors, including healthcare, education, and security, leading to a paradigm shift in the way in which society engages with technology. Considering the increasing integration of AI in these critical areas, it is important to understand people's attitudes towards this technology to understand their acceptance of AI. The present study aimed to validate the General Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence Scale (GAAIS) in the Italian context. The study examined the psychometric properties of the scale and explored the relationship between interpersonal trust and attitudes towards AI. The GAAIS, previously validated in the UK and Turkey, was translated into Italian. The scale was administered to two independent samples of Italian adults (Study 1, N = 205; Study 2, N = 121). Participants varied in age, gender, and self-reported familiarity with AI, offering a culturally specific perspective on attitudes toward AI in the Italian context. The study also investigated potential factors that may influence AI attitudes, including demographic characteristics, computer usage, and knowledge about AI. The findings supported the hypothesized link between positive attitudes with younger male individuals, higher education levels and greater familiarity with AI. Data also showed that epistemic mistrust –i.e. the lack of confidence in the reliability of a source measured through the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ), correlated with skepticism, while epistemic trust –i.e. the willingness to accept information from others as reliable– was linked to forgiving attitudes towards AI drawbacks. These findings underscored the pivotal role that interpersonal trust and cultural context play in shaping public attitudes towards AI.his research and its publication are supported by the research line (funds for research and publication D.1 and D.3.1) of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan