Valeria Vitale, PhD
Valeria is a post-doctoral researcher contributing to two Horizon Europe projects that examine public perceptions of environmental risks.
In the GOLIAT project, she focuses on investigating pluralistic ignorance regarding the perceived prevalence of electromagnetic hypersensitivity across 11 countries. In the SOS-ZEROPOL project, her work explores predictors of behavioral mitigation strategies for environmental pollution, examining four types of pollutants across five countries.
Prior to her current role, Valeria completed her PhD at Sapienza University of Rome, where her research centered on how natural environments influence emotions and emotion regulation processes.
Earlier in her career, she had already joined the Environmental Psychology group at the University of Vienna as a predoctoral researcher, where she investigated the long-term benefits of childhood exposure to natural outdoor environments using data from the BlueHealth international project.
Valeria holds a BSc in Psychological Sciences and Techniques from the University of Naples Federico II and an MSc in Applied Cognitive Psychology from the University of Padua.
Valeria's recent publications
Vitale, V., & Bonaiuto, M. (2024). The role of nature in emotion regulation processes: An evidence-based rapid review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 102325.
Stehl, P., White, M. P., Vitale, V., Pahl, S., Elliott, L. R., Fian, L., & van den Bosch, M. (2024). From childhood blue space exposure to adult environmentalism: The role of nature connectedness and nature contact. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 93, 102225.
Sun, R., Balabanova, A., Bajada, C. J., Liu, Y., Kriuchok, M., Voolma, S-R., Đurić, M., Mayer, C-H., Constantinou, M., Chichua, M., Li, C., Foster-Estwick, A., Borg, K., Hill, C., Kaushal, R., Diwan, K., Vitale, V., … & Sauter, D. (2023). Emotional experiences and psychological well-being in 51 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotion, 24 (2), 397-411.
Vitale, V., Martin, L., White, M.P., Elliot, L., Wyles, K.J., Browning, M.E.H.M., Pahl, S., Stehl, P., Bell, S., Bratman, G.N., Gascon, M., Grellier, J., Lima, M.L., Lõhmus, M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Ojala, A., Roiko, A., van den Bosch, M., Weinstein, N., Fleming, L.E. (2022). Mechanisms underlying childhood exposure to blue spaces and adult subjective well-being: An 18-country analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84(4): 101876.