Mr. Nicola Chinchella | Rewards and Recognition | Best Researcher Award

PhD at University of Bologna | Italy

Nicola Chinchella is a PhD candidate in cognitive science and psychology at the University of Bologna, focusing on cognitive modeling, advanced data analysis methods, and neuroimaging. His research explores moral perception and emotional reactivity in digital contexts, virtual reality applications in cognitive behavioral therapy for depression, and multisensory processing related to depersonalization. He has also investigated substance addiction from both phenomenological and cognitive science perspectives. Nicola has professional experience as a scientific editor and laboratory assistant manager, developing strong organizational, project management, and communication skills. His technical expertise spans statistics, computational modeling, machine learning, deep learning, and proficiency in R, Python, Matlab, and data analysis libraries, complemented by project management and public speaking abilities. He has a master’s degree in cognitive science and psychology and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, providing an interdisciplinary foundation for his work. Nicola has published multiple studies, including six cited documents, contributing to research on moral desensitization, virtual reality therapy, substance addiction, and multisensory perception, reflecting a growing scholarly impact. With an h-index of two, his research demonstrates both influence and the potential for future contributions to cognitive science, psychology, and interdisciplinary approaches that integrate neuroscience, philosophy, and computational modeling.

Profile: Scopus | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Chinchella, N., & Hipólito, I. (2023). Substance addiction: Cure or care? Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 1–20.

Ferroni, F., Arcuri, E., Ardizzi, M., Chinchella, N., Gallese, V., & Ciaunica, A. (2025). Lost in time and space? Multisensory processing of peripersonal space and time perception in people with frequent experiences of depersonalisation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 78(6), 1177–1194.

Ferroni, F., Arcuri, E., Ardizzi, M., Chinchella, N., Gallese, V., & Ciaunica, A. (2023). Lost in time and space? Multisensory processing of peripersonal space and time perception in depersonalisation. PsyArXiv.

Chinchella, N., & White, B. (2025). Enacting recovery: Virtual reality, active inference, and cognitive behavioural therapy for depression. Philosophical Psychology, 1–36.