Sara Garofalo

Sara Garofalo is a Senior Assistant Professor (fixed-term) at the Department of Psychology 'Renzo Canestrari' of the University of Bologna. Her research focuses on psychometrics and advanced statistical methodologies, including Bayesian inference and meta-analysis, addressing challenges in open science and replicability. She investigates neural mechanisms underlying decision-making, particularly how Pavlovian cues influence adaptive and maladaptive behaviors such as addiction. Additionally, she serves as an editor for Collabra Psychology and PCI Registered Reports, and actively engages in science communication through media, books, and public events.

Her work bridges neuroscience and psychology, exploring topics like reinforcement learning, threat conditioning, and the interplay between cognitive functions and psychiatric disorders. She develops innovative tools (e.g., PsycAssist) for neuropsychological assessment and contributes to educational resources for cognitive profile analysis. Her research also addresses gender differences in motivational biases and the neurobiological underpinnings of appetitive/aversive motivation.

Recent articles highlight studies on cortical beta power in decision-making, eye-tracking reliability in behavior classification, and machine learning approaches to cognitive clustering. She advocates for methodological rigor, as seen in her work on Bayesian hypothesis testing and replication studies.

No formal advising or grant details are explicitly listed. She participates in public outreach, discussing irrational choices and media-brain interactions through workshops and media collaborations.