Cracking the heterogeneity of pragmatic skills across typical and atypical profiles and real-world contexts (CHEOPS)
Cracking the heterogeneity of pragmatic skills across typical and atypical profiles and real-world contexts (CHEOPS)
Funded by Compagnia San Paolo
Call: Trapezio
The project aims to strengthen the research activity of excellence, focusing on communicative-pragmatic ability, which will be studied in a multimodal perspective and in relation to other cognitive abilities, such as Executive Functions (EF) - attention, planning, inhibition - and Theory of Mind (ToM) - the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others in order to predict behaviour. Pragmatics is the use of language and other means of expression, non-verbal (gestures) and paralinguistic (prosody), to convey meaning in a given context. It is a crucial skill in everyday life that is necessary for full social integration. It is also closely linked to other cognitive abilities, particularly EF and ToM, which develop and change throughout life. It can decline as a consequence of ageing, even when healthy, and be deficient in people with acquired brain lesions (ABL), e.g. traumatic brain injury, brain injury affecting the left or right hemisphere, which negatively impacts autonomy and quality of life.
The project aims to identify profiles of pragmatic function across the lifespan (typical development and physiological senescence) and its deficit in people with ABL, also in relation to other cognitive functions, e.g. EF and ToM.
Assessment (EF, ToM and pragmatic ability) of typically developing children
Use of Machine Learning techniques for the analysis of already acquired data, to determine the functioning profiles (EF, ToM and pragmatic ability) in patients with ABL.
Assessment (EF, ToM and pragmatic ability) of normotypical adults and the elderly
Gabbatore, I., Marchetti Guerrini, A., & Bosco, F. M. (2025). Looking for social pragmatic communication disorder in the complex world of Italian special needs: an exploratory study. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 348.
Bosco, F. M., Colle, L., Salvini, R., & Gabbatore, I. (2024). A machine-learning approach to investigating the complexity of theory of mind in individuals with schizophrenia. Heliyon, 10(9).Gabbatore, I., Dindar, K., Pirinen, V., Vähänikkilä, H., Mämmelä, L., Kotila, A., Bosco F.M & Loukusa, S. (2023). Silent Finns and talkative Italians? An investigation of communicative differences and similarities as perceived by parents in typically developing children. First Language, 43(3), 313-335.
Loukusa, S., Gabbatore, I., Kotila, A. R., Dindar, K., Mäkinen, L., Leinonen, E., Bosco F.M. & Mattila, M. L. (2023). Non‐linguistic comprehension, social inference and empathizing skills in autistic young adults, young adults with autistic traits and control young adults: group differences and interrelatedness of skills. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 58(4), 1133-1147.
Gabbatore I., Leinonen E., Mäkinen L., Bosco F. M., Loukusa S. (2025) Does Cultural Context matter? Comparison of Finnish and Italian Children’s Socio-Pragmatic Comprehension. Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica, submitted
Gabbatore, I., Salvini, R., Parola, A., Angeleri, R., Zettin M, Bosco, F.M. (2025). Analyzing pragmatic ability with Machine Learning: Strengths and weaknesses in different profiles of Acquired Brain Injury. Journal of Communication disorders, submitted
Marchetti Guerrini A., Gabbatore I., Bosco M. F. (2022). Pragmatic abilities in children with Acquired Brain Injury: Assessment and analysis using the Assessment Battery for Communication, International meeting of Experimental Pragmatics XPRAG.it 2022. In Bischetti, L., Bambini V., Giunta, G., Domaneschi, F., & Arcara, G, Book of Abstract, Pavia 22-23 September, pp 1-5
Marchetti Guerrini A., Gabbatore I., Bosco M. F. (2023). Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo): searching for Social (pragmatic) Communication Disorder (SPCD) in the complex world of Special Needs. BCCCD - Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development Budapest, BCCCD 2023 Program and Abstracts, 5-7 January
Marchetti Guerrini A., Gabbatore I., Bosco M. F. (2023). Profiles of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder among children with special needs: A study with the Assessment Battery for Communication. The 10th biennial meeting of Experimental Pragmatics, XPRAGX -Book of Abstracts, Paris, 20-22 September
Marchetti Guerrini, A. Gabbatore I., Strazzer S., Poggi G., Bardoni A., Bosco F. M. (2024). Pragmatic abilities in children with Brain Neoplasm: Assessment and analysis using the Assessment Battery for Communication (2024). International meeting of Experimental Pragmatics. In Bischetti, L., Bambini V., Giunta, G., Domaneschi, F., & Arcara, G., XPRAG.it 2024- Book of Abstract, Venice 26-27 September, pp. 1-4
Traetta, I., Gabbatore, I., Aimar, A., Chiavazza, G., Gonella, E., Giuseppe, M. A., Bosco, F. M. (2024). Cognitive Pragmatic Treatment for autistic adolescents in telepractice (@ CPT): A Pilot Study. In BCCCD 2024 Budapest CEU Conference on Cognitive Development Program and Abstracts (pp. 126-127).
Gabbatore I., Conterio R., Vegna G., Hilviu D., Colombo P., Gallo D., Conte A.M. Bosco F. M. (2024). Not specific social activities do not improve pragmatic ability in healthy aging: Preliminary data on the distinct efficacy of the Advanced Cognitive Pragmatic Treatment, International meeting of Experimental Pragmatics XPRAG.it 2024. In Bischetti, L., Bambini V., Giunta, G., Domaneschi, F., & Arcara, G., Book of Abstracts - Venice 26-27 September, pp. 1-4.
Marchetti Guerrini A., Gabbatore I., Bosco M. F. (2024). Profili di Disturbo Socio-Pragmatico della Comunicazione all’interno tra i bambini con Bisogni Educativi Speciali (BES): uno studio esplorativo XXXII CONGRESSO NAZIONALE AIRIPA, Book of abstracts, pp 1-2 Reggio Emilia, 19-21 September
Marchetti Guerrini A., Gabbatore I., Strazzer S., Poggi G., Bardoni A., Bosco F. M. (2024). Pragmatic abilities in children with Brain Neoplasm: Assessment and analysis using the Assessment Battery for Communication. Giornate CLASTA, in volume degli abstracts, pp 1-2 Milano, 17-18 May 2024