Lucia Mason


Lucia Mason
Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Padua, Italy. 

Bio and Research Interests

Lucia Mason has been the chair of the master program in Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Padua where she previously was the coordinator of a doctoral program in developmental and socialization processes. She was Fulbright scholar at the University of Georgia (US) and the recipient of the EARLI publication award. Past editor-in-chief of Learning and Instruction, she currently is a member of the editorial board of several high-ranking journals. She has carried out studies on conceptual change; learning from text; epistemic beliefs; evaluation and comprehension of online information on controversial issues; digital reading, text comprehension and metacomprehension. Her methodological interests focus on process-data, in particular eye-tracking data and physiological indices, to study cognitive processing in school tasks, as well as the connections between cognition and affect in learning. Her current research interest also regards the role of the school physical environment ‒ indoor classroom and outdoor green areas ‒ on cognitive functioning, academic performance and affect. She has widely published internationally and nationally. 

 

Recent Position and Honors

Past-President of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI).

Fellow of the Society for Text and Discourse (ST&D).

 

PhD

University of Padua, 1987

Selected Publications

Mason, L., Mastromatteo L. Y., Rocchi, C., & Scrimin, S. (2025). Examining the learning benefits of school lessons in green spaces. International Journal of Educational Research, 134, 102770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102770

Mason, L., Ronconi, A., Carretti, B., Ronconi, A., Pizzigallo, E., Haverkamp. Y. E., & Bråten, I. (2025). “Should you really chat while reading?” effects of on-screen multitasking and text disfluency on integrated understanding. Computers & Education, 224, 105172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105172

Mason, L., Ronconi, A., Carretti, B., Nardin, S., & Tarchi, C. (2023). Highlighting and highlighted information in text comprehension and learning from digital reading. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 1‒17. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12903

Mason, L., Ronconi, A., Scrimin, S., & Pazzaglia, F. (2022). Short-term exposure to nature and benefits for students’ cognitive performance: A review. Educational Psychology Review, 34, 609–647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09631-8

Mason, L., & Zaccoletti, S. (2021). Inhibition and conceptual learning in science: A review of studies. Educational Psychology Review, 33(1), 181-212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09529-x

Mason, L., Zaccoletti, S., Scrimin, S., Tornatora, M. C., Florit, E., & Goetz, T. (2020). Reading with the eyes and under the skin: Comprehending conflicting digital texts. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 36, 89‒101. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12399

Mason, L., Scrimin, S., Tornatora, M. C., Zaccoletti, S., & Goetz, T. (2018). Webpage reading: Psychophysiological correlates of emotional arousal and regulation predict multiple-text comprehension. Computers in Human Behavior, 87, 217−326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.05.020

Mason, L., Baldi, R., Di Ronco, S., Scrimin, S., Danielson, R. W., & Sinatra, G. M. (2017). Refutation text and graphics: Effects on conceptual change learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 49, 275-288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.03.007

Mason, L., Pluchino, P., & Tornatora, M. C. (2016). Using eye-tracking technology as an indirect instruction tool to improve text and picture processing and learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 47(6), 1083-1095. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12271

Mason, L., Pluchino, P., & Tornatora, M. C. (2015). Eye-movement modeling of text and picture integration during reading: effects on processing and learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 172-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2015.01.004

Contact Information

University of Padua
Via Venezia, 8
35135 Padua
Mobile phone: +393478109554

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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