Meet the research:
The project investigates how beliefs in miracles influence emotional, physiological, and neural experiences. By comparing stimuli associated with unlikely positive outcomes of a religious and non-religious nature, the study seeks to understand how different forms of belief modulate affective responses. The research will be conducted in stages that include the validation of audiovisual stimuli, measurement of physiological responses (such as electrodermal activity – EDA), and analysis of brain activity through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The expected results will contribute to a better understanding of the emotional, physiological, and neural mechanisms associated with beliefs in miracles.
Awards and titles:
Awarded the Best Lightning Talk Award at the 2025 International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR) Conference, held at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom), for the presentation of the work “A Comparative Study of Emotion Regulation Strategies Used and Affective States in Religious and Non-Religious People”.
Honorable Mention for the presentation of the panel STRATEGIES FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION: MODIFYING FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION INTENTIONS USING REGULATORY FIT, IX Health Psychology Exhibition held by the Methodist University of São Paulo.
Selected publications:
Sugano, V. T., da Silva Costa, A., Rizzo, M. B., & Junior, C. E. B. (2025). Laughter as a Subject and a Tool for Interdisciplinary Investigations in Philosophy and Neuroscience. European Journal of Neuroscience, 62(4), e70242. DE OLIVEIRA MARALDI, EVERTON ; COSTA, ADRIANO ; CUNHA, ALEXANDRE ; HAMAZAKI, EDSON ; FLORES, DOUGLAS ; DE QUEIROZ, GREGÓRIO PEREIRA ; REICHOW, JEVERSON ; MARTINEZ, MATEUS ; RIBEIRO, RICARDO ; SIQUEIRA, SILVANA ; REZINOVSKY, DANIEL ; FARIAS, MIGUEL .
Social Support, Help-Seeking Behaviors, and Positive/Negative Affect Among Individuals Reporting Mediumship Experiences. International Journal Of Latin American Religions, v. 7, p. 1-16, 2023. Citations:1 MARALDI, E. O. ; COSTA, A. S. ; CUNHA, A. ; RIZZI, A. R. ; OLIVEIRA, D. F. ; HAMAZAKI, E. ; MACHADO, F. R. ; ZANGARI, W. ; MEDEIROS, G. ; MARTINEZ, M. ; QUEIROZ, G. P. ; ARAUJO, P. ; SANTOS, R. A. ; LOBATO, R. M. ; SIQUEIRA, S.
Anomalous and Dissociative Experiences in a Religious Context: An Autoethnographic Approach. GESTALT APPROACH JOURNAL (PRINT), v. 26, p. 147-161, 2020. DE OLIVEIRA MARALDI, EVERTON ; COSTA, ADRIANO ; CUNHA, ALEXANDRE ; FLORES, DOUGLAS ; HAMAZAKI, EDSON ; DE QUEIROZ, GREGÓRIO PEREIRA ; MARTINEZ, MATEUS ; SIQUEIRA, SILVANA ; REICHOW, JEVERSON.
Cultural Presentations of Dissociation: The Case of Possession Trance Experiences. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, v. 21, p. 1-6, 2020. DA SILVA COSTA, ADRIANO; GASPAR, RUI . Two Sizes May Fit All: Promoting Healthier Choices Through Regulatory Fit in Risk Communications. Recent Patents on Food, Nutrition & Agriculture, v. 9, p. 97-103, 2018.
