Cognition, Clinic and Behavior

I am a professor of psychology at the University of Poitiers. My research lies at the intersection of social and clinical psychology and explores how automatic cognitive processes—such as implicit biases—shape both normal and pathological human functioning. I am particularly interested in the role of implicit biases in destructive behaviors, whether directed toward oneself (such as suicidal and addictive behaviors) or others (such as stereotyping, prejudice, and dehumanization).

In my recent work, conducted in collaboration with Alexia Delbreil (PhD student), I study the implicit dehumanization of intimate partner violence victims, considering both the perpetrators’ and victims’ perspectives. Additionally, in collaboration with Lila Barillot and Marc Besnier (PhD students), I explore, through virtual reality-based research protocols, how enriched environments can mitigate implicit biases and related behaviors in addiction.

Keywords:
Social cognition (social comparison, stigma); Implicit cognition (implicit associations, automatic biases); Clinical applications (suicide, addiction).

• Alexia Delbreil (Co-supervision with Dr N. Jaafari) PhD thesis: Dehumanization and violent behaviors in intimate partner relations (3rd year)
• Lila Barillo (Co-supervision with Dr N. Jaafari and Dr M. Solinas) PhD thesis: Effect of enriched environment on relapse prevention: a randomized clinical trial combining physical activity with mindfulness in virtual reality (2nd year)
• Marc Besnier (Co-supervision with Dr N. Jaafari) PhD thesis: Effects of mindfulness meditation in multisensory virtual reality on craving and prevention of smoking relapse (2nd year)

• Associate Editor of the European Journal of Social Psychology
• Head of the Cognition and Clinical Behavior (CoCliCo) research team

Selimbegović, L., & Chatard, A. (2025). The drive to escape: Uncovering the motivational dynamics of suicide-related cognitive accessibility in everyday life. Advances in Motivation Science.

Chatard, A., Zerhouni, O., Solinas, M., & Noël, X. (2024). The role of implicit associations in alcohol and substance use disorders. In Habits: Their Definition, Neurobiology, and Role in Addiction (pp. 273-299) Ed. Y. Vandaele. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Arnoult, M*., Selimbegovic, L., Hirschberger, G., Pyszczynski, T., & Chatard, A. (2023). Under the veil of tolerance: A justification-suppression approach to anti-Islamic implicit bias in reaction to terrorist attacks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 125, 237-258.

Monéger, J*., Chatard, A., & Selimbegović, L. (2022). (Eye-)tracking the escape from the self: guilt proneness moderates the effect of failure on self-avoidance. Cognition & Emotion, 1-15.

Tello, N*., Harika-Germaneau, G., Serra, W., Jaafari, N., & Chatard, A. (2020). Forecasting a fatal decision: Direct replication of the predictive validity of the suicide-implicit association test. Psychological Science, 31, 65–74.

Dandaba, M*., Serra, W., Harika-Germaneau, G., Silvain, C. Langbour, N., Solinas, M., Noël, X., Jaafari, N., & Chatard, A. (2020). Predicting relapse in patients with severe alcohol use disorder: The role of alcohol insight and implicit alcohol associations. Addictive Behaviors, 107, 106433.