L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano A s we look at the history of humanity, we often focus on the individuals who made fundamental discoveries and enabled us to advance our know ledge, by challenging directly the system of beliefs they lived in. A remarkable example of that, is represented by the Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei (Pisa 1564 – 1642), who championed the Copernican heliocentric model in opposition to the geo- centric and geoheliocentric mod- els officially supported by the Church and most of educated people at the time. To date, despite living in the twenty-first century, lots of peo- ple still distrust scientific truths deemed controversial, the likes of biological evolution and cli- mate change. That tells us once more how, centuries and millen- nials go by, but human psycholo- gy stays the same. Gale Sinatra, professor of Education and Psychology at U niv ers ity of S outhern California ( U SC), in Los Angeles, has shared with us the way emotional and motivational resistance comes into play. Please introduce yourself. How did your upbringing in an Italian-American household inform your education? I am a professor of Education and Psychology at USC. I cur- rently teach doctoral students and enjoy fostering a love for research in them and helping them to become scholars in their own right. I grew up in the Boston area and my grandparents, on my father's side, emigrated from Agrigento (on the southern coast of Sicily) to Ellis Island, NY, around 1908. In itially, my grandfather worked as a tailor in the New York area, before relocating with his family around Boston, where I was raised. My Italian heritage certainly played a significant part in my upbringing. Humanity and care for others were highly valued in my household. To date, the cen- trality of family remains one of my main values, along with a love for food and cooking. What captivated you about the role played by psychology in the process of learning sci- entific subjects? I believe it's very important to consider the psychology of learning. I've always been drawn to s cience. I've been to the University of Padua and have seen Galileo's chair. In early seventeenth century, this Italian astronomer had such a controversial notion about the role of the Earth in the Solar System, thus contrasting the common beliefs endorsed by the majority of educated people and the Church. We all know how this story ended, but that's also the kind of challenge I am inspired with. How do people understand the natural world and reconcile that scientific understanding with their own personal and religious beliefs? Your recent research has focused on the role of motiva- tion and emotion in teaching and learning about controver- sial topics, such as biological evolution and climate change. Please, elaborate. I've been investigating how people's motivations and emo- tions interact with scientific information and how conscience process the latter. In the US, there is a great deal of resistance to science, particularly in the areas of biological evolution and climate change. The reasons are mainly psy- chological and related to how people feel about their identities and the communities they belong to, including the political parties they are affiliated with. Time ago, Pope Francis him- self wrote about evolution, stat- ing that it doesn't contradict mat- ters of faith. The current pope also invited to take action on cli- mate change, with the promulga- tion of the encyclical, Laudato si'. Lots of people do understand that religious issues are different and separate from issues of sci- ence. Aside from groups who believe in the Bible literally, and some fringes of extremists, most of the world religions, including Catholicism, has no significant problem recognizing the scientif- ic impact of the evolutionary views. You recently served as Co- Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on National Science Foundation grant, which resulted in a co- ed ited volu me, Evolu tion Challenges: Integrating research and practice in teaching and lear n in g abou t evolu tion (Oxford U n ivers ity Pres s ). What could you tell us about this experience? This grant, funded by the National Science Foundation, put together a number of schol- ars in different areas, such as mind psychology, right educa- tion and evolutionary biology. We examined w hat thos e "evolution challenges" are. For example, on the one hand, the complexity for people who don't study the subject directly, in understanding scientific con- cepts , that involve genetics , anthropology and so many other components. On the other, the above-men- tioned emotional issues related to people's sense of identity, were thoroughly investigated. Looking at both biological evolution and climate change, it looks like one of the main challenges in the acceptance of t h e t w o p h e n o m e n a i s t h e dilated times and slow pace by which changes occur. Is that a cognitive factor in play? Certainly, they play their part in people's cognitive/conceptual acceptance of the two phenome- na, but, in addition, there is the m o t i v a t i o n a l a n d e m o t i o n a l resistance, along with prior and contradictory beliefs. Sometimes, people may even be mistaken about the positions held by the religious groups they belong to. They think there is a conflict with their articles of faith, when there is not any in fact. In the US, there is a big issue o f i d e n t i t y a s f a r a s c l i m a t e change. In the current divisive political situation, people feel, more than ever, they must align themselves to their political par- ties' perspectives. Thus, politics e x t e n d s o v e r a m a t t e r t h a t should remain a dominion of science. It's difficult for people to have direct access to scientific data and grapple with that infor- mation. So, it's not surprising they use other parameters to decide what to believe in, often adopting their communities', religious and political groups' perspectives. Do you have professional and/or emotional bonds with Italy? I have a collaborator, Italian psychologist Lucia Mason, pro- fessor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Padua. We con- ducted research and published together and I've had the oppor- tunity to visit her in a number of occasions. Despite several trips to Italy, I've never been to Sicily and I wish one day to go to Agrigento, a n d s e e t h e p l a c e w h e r e m y grandparents grew up, before migrating to the US. Gale Sinatra, professor of Education and Psychology at University of Southern California (USC) Prof. Sinatra talk to us about people's emotional resistance to scientific truths LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY VALERIO VIALE March 25th, Sat. - 59th Annual Swallow's Day Parade – Mark your calendar to be a part of our award winning Italian entry. There is no better way to show your Italian pride than by marching along a parade route lined with over 30,000 spectators, filmed on TV and broadcast live on several radio stations. To be a part of the Italian entry and the post parade party at Zoomar's contact me at vcarabini@cox.net. March 26th, Sun. - Rosario a Padre Pio 10:30 am at St Peter's Church 1039 N Broadway L.A 90012 per informazioni riguardo il gruppo di Preghiera telefonate Maria D Bruno, Figlia Spirituale di Padre Pio 818 2414672 March 31st, Fri. - Italian Film Festival USA Held in 12 cities throughout the US, For more details http://www.iiclosangeles.esteri.it April 2nd, Sun. - Meeting Santo Padre Pio Society vi invita a partecipare a una serata piacevole con amici, cena e riunione, 6:30 pm Casa Italiana, 1039 N. Broadway LA 90012. Costo $15 a persona - tele- fonate Maria D Bruno presidente 818 2414672 or Angela Gallidoro seg- retaria 323 2552163 PATRONS OF ITALIAN CULTURE TO AWARD "2017 CASOLA PRIZE" the Patrons of Italian Culture are pleased to announce that the 2017 "Albert J. Casola Prize" for $3,500, will be awarded at their annual Ferragosto event. Eligible students are encour- aged to visit the Patron's website: Picla.org., download the entry form and submit their application letter and other required documentation prior to the April 30, 2017 deadline. Inquiries or other information may be obtained by writing the Patrons thru their website http://www.picla.org/

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