Interdisciplinary dialogues on comparative methods Empirical Methods - Bridging Legal Psychology and Law

Interview with Deborah Goldfarb and Sidnei R. Priolo-Filho

Comparative approaches are widely pursued in legal and non-legal disciplines. But how do they
differ? Do they have something in common? 

These questions will be explored through interviews
with prestigious scholars from several non-legal disciplines. The transcripts of the interviews will
be published in a Special Issue of the Comparative Law Review, edited by Giuseppe Bellantuono,
Valentina Cuocci and Alessandro Palmieri. The Special Issue is one of the initiatives organized by
the section of Law and Economics, established by the Italian Association of Comparative Law in
2025.

This webinar focuses on empirical or “extrinsic” methodologies—such as experiments, surveys,
longitudinal and observational designs—offering new avenues for legal scholarship. Dr. Vanessa
Villanueva Collao (Bocconi University) interviews prof. Deborah Goldfarb (Florida International
University) and prof.  Sidnei R. Priolo-Filho (Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná). The two guests bring
complementary expertise: Professor Goldfarb, renowned for her innovations in legal psychology,
and Professor PrioloFilho, leader of empirical forensic research in Brazil, explore how cognitive
processes and legal systems intersect across cultural and jurisdictional divides.

The interview/webinar will cover their comparative research project in Brazil, co-teaching
experiences across legal cultures, and the methodological challenges of integrating psychological
methods into law. It promises rich insights for scholars interested in bridging disciplines and
embracing methodological pluralism.

We invite students, researchers, and institutional partners to join us for this timely dialogue, which
advances the ways law can learn from other sciences and how comparative law can deepen its
empirical foundations.

For Zoom credentials send a mail to giuseppe.bellantuono@unitn.it 

Scientific coordinator: prof. Giuseppe Bellantuono (University of Trento)