Alexandra Zaharia
PhD student
Directory details
E-mail
Institution : University of Fribourg & University of Geneva & Swiss Distance Learning University
Department : Institute of Special Education (UNIFR), Swiss Center for Affective Sciences (UNIGE)
Discipline : Psychology, Special Education
Research field : emotion regulation, emotional competences, board games, neurodevelopmental disorders, eye-tracking
Supervisor : Prof. Andrea Samson; Prof. David Sander
I obtained my Master's degree in Affective and Clinical Psychology at University of Geneva in 2014. My MA thesis, "Emotion recognition and perspective-taking was co-supervised by Prof. Tobias Brosch and Prof. Martin Debbané. During my Bachelor and Master studies, I was an inter in the Research Unit of Adolescence Clinical Psychology at University of Geneva (currently the Developmental and Clinical Psychology Research Unit), where I worked on various topics such as alexithymia, body modification and self-harm behavior, mentalization, delinquency, and agressive behavior in adolescence and young adults.
From 2014 to 2016, I worked as a research assistant at the Developmental Imaging and Psychopathology Lab (Research Unit of Office Médico-Pédagogique), Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, under the supervision of Prof. Stephan Eliez and Dr. Maude Schneider. My research project focused on an eye-tracking study exploring configural and featural face procecssing in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
In 2016, I started working in the Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation Group led by Prof. Andrea Samson, affiliated to Swiss Center for Affective Sciences.
In 2018, I obtained a research and teaching assistant position at Swiss Distance Learning University for two MA courses in Psychology: Psychology of Socio-Emotional Processes and Positive Psychology. I am also enrolled as a PhD student at Special Education Department of University of Fribourg. My PhD project is co-directed by Prof. Samson and Prof. David Sander.
Currently, my main research topic focuses on positive emotion regulation interventions. I therefore coordinate a psycho-educational program implemented in schools and with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which aims to improve socio-emotional competences. I am further interested to develop and upgrade the current training into an interactive tool adapted for adolescents.
In addition, I investigate the sensitivity to cuteness in children with ASD using eye-tracking technology.
Scientific Articles
- Dell'Angela, L., Zaharia, A., Lobel, A. Vico Begara, O., Sander, D., & Samson, A.C. (2020). Board Games on Emotional Competences for School-Age Children. Games for Health Journal, 9(3). DOI: 10.1089/g4h.2019.0050
- Zaharia, A., Schneider, M., Glaser, B., Franchini, M., Menghetti, S., Schaer, M., Debbané, M., & Eliez, S. (2018). Face processing in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: atypical development and visual scanning alterations. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 10(26), DOI: 10.1186/s11689-018-9245-x.
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Bostelmann, M., Glaser, B., Zaharia, A., Eliez, S., & Schneider, M. (2017). Does differential visual exploration contribute to visual memory impairments in 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome? Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 61(12), 1174-1184.
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Morosan, L., Badoud, D. M., Zaharia, A., Brosch, T., Eliez, S., Bateman, A., Heller, P., et al. (2017). Emotion Recognition and Perspective Taking: A Comparison between Typical and Incarcerated Male Adolescents. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0170646.
Masters
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Zaharia, A. (2014). Emotion recognition and perspective-talking in a sample of detained adolescents. Université de Genève. Maîtrise.
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
Swiss Emotion Experience, Regulation and Support Lab (chEERS Lab)