Paolo Cherubini

I graduated in Psychology in 1991 at the University of Padua. I obtained a PhD in Experimental Psychology in 1997 from the University of Padua, after some periods spent abroad (UK and US). I study human thinking and reasoning since my graduation (under supervision by  the late prof. Alberto Mazzocco). In the first years I used only behavioral methods; more recently, my studies involve also neurotechniques (my citations).  My theoretical perspective is close to the most recent versions of mental models theory by  P.N. Johnson-Laird. My specific research interests are: deductive reasoning (with a slant on iterative reasoning), hypothesis-testing (in general, in social cognition, in medicine, and in the forensic domain), decision-making (in general, in medicine, and in the forensic domain), and the orienting of attention (both in perception and in thinking). When I’m off duty, I love biking, wargaming, playing tennis and guitar, reading and writing novels.

Selected publications (per topics)

Deduction

• Mazzocco, K., Cherubini, A. M., & Cherubini, P. (2013). On the short horizon of spontaneous iterative reasoning in logical puzzles and games. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121(1), 24–40.
• Reverberi, C., Pischedda, D., Burigo, M., & Cherubini, P. (2012a). Deduction without awareness. Acta psychologica, 139(1), 244–253.
• Reverberi, C., Bonatti, L. L., Frackowiak, R. S., Paulesu, E., Cherubini, P., & Macaluso, E. (2012b). Large scale brain activations predict reasoning profiles. NeuroImage, 59(2), 1752–1764.
• Reverberi, C., Cherubini, P., Frackowiak, R. S., Caltagirone, C., Paulesu, E., & Macaluso, E. (2010). Conditional and syllogistic deductive tasks dissociate functionally during premise integration. Human brain mapping, 31(9), 1430–1445.
• Reverberi, C., Rusconi, P., Paulesu, E., & Cherubini, P. (2009). Response demands and the recruitment of heuristic strategies in syllogistic reasoning. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 62(3), 513–530.
• Cherubini, P., Mazzocco, A., & Minelli, S. (2007). Facilitation and inhibition caused by the orienting of attention in propositional reasoning tasks. The quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 60(11), 1496–1523.
• Cherubini, P., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2004). Does everyone love everyone? The psychology of iterative reasoning. Thinking & reasoning, 10(1), 31–53.

Hypothesis Testing & Induction

• Cherubini, P., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., & Crippa, F. (2013). Missing the dog that failed to bark in the nighttime: on the overestimation of occurrences over non-occurrences in hypothesis testing. Psychological research, 77, 348–370.
• Rusconi, P., Crippa, F., Russo, S., & Cherubini, P. (2012). Moderators of the feature-positive effect in abstract hypothesis-evaluation tasks.
• Cherubini, P., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., Di Bari, S., & Sacchi, S. (2010). Preferences for different questions when testing hypotheses in an abstract task: Positivity does play a role, asymmetry does not. Acta psychologica, 134(2), 162–174.
• Cherubini, P., Castelvecchio, E., & Cherubini, A. M. (2005). Generation of hypotheses in Wason’s 2–4–6 task: An information theory approach. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 58(2), 309–332.

Social Cognition

• Sacchi, S., Rusconi, P., Bonomi, M., & Cherubini, P. (2013). Effects of asymmetric questions on impression formation: A trade-off between evidence diagnosticity and frequency. Social psychology.
• Rusconi, P., Sacchi, S., Toscano, A., & Cherubini, P. (2012). Confirming expectations in asymmetric and symmetric social hypothesis testing. Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie), 59(5), 243–250.
• Sacchi, S., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., Bettiga, R., & Cherubini, P. (2012). New knowledge for old credences: Asymmetric information search about in‐group and out‐group members. British journal of social psychology, 51(4), 606–625.

Medical Judgment

• Riva, P., Rusconi, P., Montali, L., & Cherubini, P. (2011). The influence of anchoring on pain judgment. Journal of pain and symptom management, 42(2), 265–277.
• Mazzocco, K., & Cherubini, P. (2010). The effect of outcome information on health professionals’ spontaneous learning. Medical education, 44(10), 962–968.
• Cherubini, P., Rumiati, R., Rossi, D., Nigro, F., & Calabrò, A. (2005). Improving Attitudes Toward Prostate Examinations by Loss‐Framed Appeals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(4), 732–742.
• Sacchi, S., & Cherubini, P. (2004). The effect of outcome information on doctors’ evaluations of their own diagnostic decisions. Medical education, 38(10), 1028–1034.

Orienting of attention

• Vallesi, A., Mapelli, D., & Cherubini, P. (2009). Neural correlates of inference-driven attention in perceptual and symbolic tasks: An event-related potential study. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 62(9), 1805–1831.
• Cherubini, P., Mazzocco, A., & Minelli, S. (2007). Facilitation and inhibition caused by the orienting of attention in propositional reasoning tasks. The quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 60(11), 1496–1523.
• Cherubini, P., Burigo, M., & Bricolo, E. (2006). Inference-driven attention in symbolic and perceptual tasks: Biases toward expected and unexpected inputs. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 59(3), 597–624.

Full list of publications

On a bike tour through Austria and Slovenia, with my bro, 2011

Mi sono laureato in Psicologia nel 1991 a Padova, e mi sono dottorato in psicologia sperimentale nel 1997 (sempre a Padova, dopo un periodo speso all’estero). E’ dai tempi della mia tesi di laurea (con il compianto prof. Alberto Mazzocco) che studio il pensiero umano, dapprima con metodi esclusivamente comportamentali, più recentemente anche con tecniche neuro (le mie citazioni). Dal punto di vista teorico, condivido in linea di massima molte delle posizioni sulla natura del ragionamento umano espresse dalle più recenti versioni della teoria dei modelli mentali di  P.N. Johnson-Laird. Tra gli interessi di ricerca specifici prevalgono il ragionamento deduttivo (mi diverte in particolare il ragionamento iterativo), il controllo di ipotesi (in generale, nell’area sociale, nell’area medica, e nell’area giudiziaria), il decision making (in generale, nell’area medica, e nell’area giudiziaria), l’orientamento dell’attenzione (sia nella percezione sia nel pensiero). Come hobby mi piace andare in bici, giocare simulazioni militari, giocare a tennis,  suonare la chitarra, leggere e scrivere romanzi. Pubblicazioni selezionate (per argomenti) Ragionamento deduttivo

• Mazzocco, K., Cherubini, A. M., & Cherubini, P. (2013). On the short horizon of spontaneous iterative reasoning in logical puzzles and games. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121(1), 24–40.
• Reverberi, C., Pischedda, D., Burigo, M., & Cherubini, P. (2012a). Deduction without awareness. Acta psychologica, 139(1), 244–253.
• Reverberi, C., Bonatti, L. L., Frackowiak, R. S., Paulesu, E., Cherubini, P., & Macaluso, E. (2012b). Large scale brain activations predict reasoning profiles. NeuroImage, 59(2), 1752–1764.
• Reverberi, C., Cherubini, P., Frackowiak, R. S., Caltagirone, C., Paulesu, E., & Macaluso, E. (2010). Conditional and syllogistic deductive tasks dissociate functionally during premise integration. Human brain mapping, 31(9), 1430–1445.
• Reverberi, C., Rusconi, P., Paulesu, E., & Cherubini, P. (2009). Response demands and the recruitment of heuristic strategies in syllogistic reasoning. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 62(3), 513–530.
• Cherubini, P., Mazzocco, A., & Minelli, S. (2007). Facilitation and inhibition caused by the orienting of attention in propositional reasoning tasks. The quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 60(11), 1496–1523.
• Cherubini, P., & Johnson-Laird, P. N. (2004). Does everyone love everyone? The psychology of iterative reasoning. Thinking & reasoning, 10(1), 31–53.

Controllo di ipotesi & induzione

• Cherubini, P., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., & Crippa, F. (2013). Missing the dog that failed to bark in the nighttime: on the overestimation of occurrences over non-occurrences in hypothesis testing. Psychological research, 77, 348–370.
• Rusconi, P., Crippa, F., Russo, S., & Cherubini, P. (2012). Moderators of the feature-positive effect in abstract hypothesis-evaluation tasks.
• Cherubini, P., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., Di Bari, S., & Sacchi, S. (2010). Preferences for different questions when testing hypotheses in an abstract task: Positivity does play a role, asymmetry does not. Acta psychologica, 134(2), 162–174.
• Cherubini, P., Castelvecchio, E., & Cherubini, A. M. (2005). Generation of hypotheses in Wason’s 2–4–6 task: An information theory approach. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 58(2), 309–332.

Cognizione sociale

• Sacchi, S., Rusconi, P., Bonomi, M., & Cherubini, P. (2013). Effects of asymmetric questions on impression formation: A trade-off between evidence diagnosticity and frequency. Social psychology.
• Rusconi, P., Sacchi, S., Toscano, A., & Cherubini, P. (2012). Confirming expectations in asymmetric and symmetric social hypothesis testing. Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie), 59(5), 243–250.
• Sacchi, S., Rusconi, P., Russo, S., Bettiga, R., & Cherubini, P. (2012). New knowledge for old credences: Asymmetric information search about in‐group and out‐group members. British journal of social psychology, 51(4), 606–625.

Giudizio medico

• Riva, P., Rusconi, P., Montali, L., & Cherubini, P. (2011). The influence of anchoring on pain judgment. Journal of pain and symptom management, 42(2), 265–277.
• Mazzocco, K., & Cherubini, P. (2010). The effect of outcome information on health professionals’ spontaneous learning. Medical education, 44(10), 962–968.
• Cherubini, P., Rumiati, R., Rossi, D., Nigro, F., & Calabrò, A. (2005). Improving Attitudes Toward Prostate Examinations by Loss‐Framed Appeals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(4), 732–742.
• Sacchi, S., & Cherubini, P. (2004). The effect of outcome information on doctors’ evaluations of their own diagnostic decisions. Medical education, 38(10), 1028–1034.

Orientamento dell’attenzione

• Vallesi, A., Mapelli, D., & Cherubini, P. (2009). Neural correlates of inference-driven attention in perceptual and symbolic tasks: An event-related potential study. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 62(9), 1805–1831.
• Cherubini, P., Mazzocco, A., & Minelli, S. (2007). Facilitation and inhibition caused by the orienting of attention in propositional reasoning tasks. The quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 60(11), 1496–1523.
• Cherubini, P., Burigo, M., & Bricolo, E. (2006). Inference-driven attention in symbolic and perceptual tasks: Biases toward expected and unexpected inputs. The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 59(3), 597–624.

Ragionamento giuridico

• Cherubini, P., Costanzo, A., Petruccelli, F., & Viciconte, G. (2012). Diritto. Giunti.
• Cherubini, P. (2010). Inferenze indiziarie e distorsioni nella valutazione delle assenze. Cassazione Penale, 50(11), 4016–4030.
• Cherubini, P. (2008). Fallacie nel ragionamento probatorio. La prova scientifica nel processo penale, 18, 249. CEDAM.
• Cherubini, P. (2007). Trappole cognitive nel ragionamento giuidiziario. Cassazione penale, 47(3), 1354–1367.

Elenco completo delle pubblicazioni