Florin Alin SAVA is a professor of Psychology at the Western University of Timișoara, where he has been teaching since 1999. He completed his doctorate at the Babeș-Bolyai University (2005) and his undergraduate studies at the Western University of Timișoara (1998). His research interests are in personality psychology, clinical psychology and psychometrics.
In his professional life, he prefers to do research. He has successfully developed new psychological tools that are now used in widespread psychological practice. At a more fundamental level, he is interested in several aspects such as (i) investigating the cognitive mechanisms behind emotional vulnerability and its associated learning processes, with a focus on trait neuroticism; (ii) the interaction between beliefs and (dysfunctional) personality traits; (iii) the interplay between control and automaticity in our behaviors; (d) using new technologies (eg e-health) to change the way we assess and assist people psychologically. His passion for research has been rewarded with good national and international visibility, managing to attract for UVT grants totaling around 3.000.000 euros so far.
In his personal life, he enjoys cycling (off-road), mountain trips, watching sci-fi movies, traveling with his family and being a proud father. He also enjoys debating (as a former debater) and occasionally practices mindfulness.

Full CV

Fields of scientific interest
Personality psychology; Experimental social psychology; Experimental psychopathology; Clinical psychology; psychometrics

Research directions:
(a) neuroticism and the emergence of mental disorders – a functional-cognitive approach 
(b) cognitive/information processing distortions specific to personality traits or personality disorders
(d) scientifically validated behavioral interventions (preferably delivered online)

Web of Science or Scopus articles (+60)

* Corresponding author and/or first author

Early Access (In Press & Accepted Manuscripts)

Crișan, I., & Sava, F.A.. (in press). Validity assessment in Eastern Europe: cross-validation of the Dot Counting Test and MODEMM against the TOMM-1 and Rey-15 in a Romanian mixed clinical sample. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acad085

Dudău, D.P., Chitez, M., & Sava, F.A.. (accepted). Elucidating the emotional persona in the Romanian university students' academic discourse: A corpus-based exploration. Frontiers in Psychology https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1514795

2024

Avram, L. Ciumăgeanu, M., Sava, F.A. (2024). Written language: a promising gateway to anxiety disorders assessment. Sage Open, 14(2) https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241241420

Baranski, E., Gardiner, G., Shaman, N., Shagen, J., Lee, D., … Sava, F.A.., …. & Funder, D. (2024). Personality and conceptions of religiosity across the world's religions. Journal of Research in Personality, 110, e104496 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2024.104496

Bunghez, C., De Houwer, J., Rusu, A., & Sava, FA (2024). Exploring the association between neuroticism and negativity bias in evaluative counterconditioning. Learning and Motivation, 88, e102039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102039

*Bunghez, C., Rusu, A., De Houwer, J., Perugini, M., Boddez, Y., & Sava, F. A.. (2024). The moderating role of neuroticism on evaluative conditioning: evidence from ambiguous learning situations. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 15 https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506231191861

*Isbășoiu, A.B., Sava, F.A.., Larsen, TMB, Anderssen, N., Rotaru, T.Ș., Rusu, A., Sălăgean, N., Tulbure, BT (in press). An Internet-based Intervention to increase the ability of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual people to cope with adverse events: Single-group feasibility study. JMIR Formative Research, 8, e56198,  https://doi.org/10.2196/56198

*Lupuleac, C., & Sava, F.A. (2024). Romanian Version of the Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS). A preliminary validation on a non-clinical sample. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 42, 544-557  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-023-00531-0

Latu, I., Sălăgean, N., Larsen, T., Isbășoiu, A., Sava, F.A.. (2024). Testing the effectiveness of an intervention to improve Romanian teachers' LGBT+ related attitudes, cognitions, behaviors, and affect: A randomized control trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 13, e54254, https://doi.org/10.2196/54254

2023

Crişan, I., Maricuţoiu, LP, & Sava, F. A.. (2023). Strategies to detect invalid performance in cognitive testing: An updated and extended meta-analysis. Current psychology, 42 (4), 3236-3257 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01659-x

Crisan, I., Sava, F. A.., & Maricutoiu, LP (2023). Strategies of feigning mild head injuries related to validity indicators and types of coaching: Results of two experimental studies. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 30(6), 705-715  https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2021.1973004

Casini, E., Richetin, J., Sava, F.A.., Perugini, M. (2023). The moderating role of neuroticism on evaluative conditioning: New insights on the processes underlying this relationship. Collaborate: Psychology, 9(1), e: 74820 https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.74820

De Houwer, J., Perugini, M., Boddez, Y., Sava, F. (2023). A roadmap for future interactions between research on personality and learning.  Collaborate: Psychology, 9(1), e: 88334 https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.88334

Gwendolyn, G., Lee, D.I.,…Sava, F.A.., Thi Thu Bui, H. (2023). The economic well-being of nations is associated with positive daily situational experiences. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 4, is: 100088 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100088

Marian, S., Costantini, G., Macsinga, I., Sava, F.A.. (2023). The dynamic interplay between anxious and depressive symptoms in a sample of undergraduate students. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45 (1), 150-159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-022-10014-8

Marian, S., & Sava, F.A. (2023). Identifying central negative thoughts using experience sampling and network analysis. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 47(5), 707-719 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10400-w

*Samphire, EM, & Sava, F.A.. (2023). The effectiveness of a rational-emotive intervention on teachers' unconditional self-acceptance, perfectionism, and pupil control ideology. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, is: 1240269 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1240269

2022

Imhoff, R., Zimmer, F., …Sava, F.A.…. & van Prooijen (2022). Conspiracy mentality and political orientation in 26 countries. Human Nature Behaviour, 6(3), 392-403, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01258-7

Crisan, I., Sava, F. A.., Maricuţoiu, LP, Ciumăgeanu, MD, Axinia, O., Gîrniceanu, L., & Ciotlăuş, L. (2022). Evaluation of various detection strategies in the assessment of non-credible memory performance: Results of two experimental studies. Assessment, 29(8), 1973-1984, https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211040105

Dudau, DP, & Sava, F. A.. (2022). The development and validation of the Romanian version of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 (Ro-LIWC2015). Current psychology, 41 (6), 3597-3614 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00872-4

Marian, S., Sava, F.A.., Dindelegan, C. (2022). A network analysis of DSM-5 avoidant personality diagnostic criteria. Personality and Individual Differences, 188, it is 111454, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111454

Popa, CO, Sava, F. A.., Muresan, S., Schenk, A., Cojocaru, CM, Muntean, LM, & Olah, P. (2022). Standard CBT versus integrative and multimodal CBT assisted by virtual reality for generalized anxiety disorder. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1008981

2021

* Samphire, EM, & Sava, F.A. (2021). Cognitive-behavioral correlates of pupil control ideology. PloS One, 16(2), and 0246787.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246787

* Dudau, DP, & Sava, F. A.. (2021). Performing multilingual analysis with Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 (LIWC2015). An equivalence study of four languages. Frontiers in Psychology, 12: 570568. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.570568

* Isbășoiu, A.B., Tulbure, B.T., Rusu, A., Sava, F.A.. (2021). Can we boost treatment adherence to an online transdiagnostic intervention by adding self-enhancement strategies? Results from a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. Frontiers in Psychology https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.752249

Tripa, L., Sava, F. A.., Paloș, R., Măgurean, S., & Macsinga, I. (2021). Evaluating the outcomes of "Resilient left behind children"–A social-emotional learning and mindfulness group counseling program. Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 25  https://doi.org/10.24193/cbb.2021.25.03

Petrisor, A., Maricutoiu, L., & Sava, F. A.. (2021). The do's and don'ts of supervisor behavior. Supervisor personality as predictor for subordinate's job insecurity and citizenship behaviors. Human Resources Psychology, 19  https://doi.org/10.24837/pru.v19i1.478

Crișan, I., Maricuţoiu, LP, & Sava, F. A. (2021). Effectiveness of immediate vs. delayed recall in detecting invalid performance in coached and uncoached simulators: Results of two experimental studies. Romanian Journal of Applied psychology, 23 (2), 32-39. https://doi.org/10.24913/rjap.23.2.02

Baranski, E., Sweeny, K., Gardiner, G., Guan, Y., … Sava, F.A. ... & Funder, DC (2021). Who in the World is Trying to Change Their Personality Traits? Volitional Personality Change Among College Students in 56 Countries. Journal of Ppersonality and Social Ppsychology, 121(5), 1140-1156  https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000389

Baranski, E., Sweeny, K., Gardiner, G., … Sava, F.A. ... & Funder, DC (2021). International optimism: Correlates and consequences of dispositional optimism across 61 countries. Journal of Ppersonality, 89 https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12582

2020

* Sava, F.A., Payne, BK, Magurean, S., Iancu, DE, & Rusu, A. (2020). Beyond contingency awareness: the role of influence awareness in resisting conditioned attitudes. Cognition and emotion, 34 https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2019.1652146

* Sava, FA, Dindelegan, C., & Sălăgean, N. (2020). The utility of the Personality Clinical Form Indicators of Response Distortion: Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis. Romanian Journal of Psychology, 22 https://doi.org/10.24913/rjap.22.1.01

Dudau, DP, Sava, F.A., Rusu, A., Cervicescu, V. (2020). Detecting Individuals High in Neuroticism based on the Color Features of the Facebook Profile Picture. 22nd International Symposium on Symbolic and Numeric Algorithms for Scientific Computing (SYNASC), 286-293, https://doi.org/10.1109/SYNASC51798.2020.00053

Tripa, L., Sava, F. A.., Palos, R., Măgurean, S., & Macsinga, I. (2020). Adult psychological outcomes of former left behind children in Romania. Romanian Journal of Psychology, 22 https://doi.org/10.24913/rjap.22.2.04

Gardiner, G., Lee, D., Baranski, E., Funder, D., & International Situations Project. (2020). Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries. PloS One, 15(12), and 0242718. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0242718

Lee, DI, Gardiner, G., Baranski, E., International Situations Project, & Funder, DC (2020). Situational experience around the world: A replication and extension in 62 countries. Journal of personality, 88 https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12558

2019

Curşeu, P. L., Ilies, R., Vîrgă, D., Maricuţoiu, L., & Sava, F. A.. (2019). Personality characteristics that are valued in teams: Not always "more is better"?. International Journal of Psychology, 54 https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12511

2018

Tulbure, B.T., Rusu, A., Sava, F. A.., Sălăgean, N., & Farchione, TJ (2018). A web-based transdiagnostic intervention for affective and mood disorders: randomized controlled trial. JMIR mental health, 5(2), and 8901. https://doi.org/10.2196/mental.8901

2016

Negut, A., Matu, S.A., Sava, F.A., & David, D. (2016). Task difficulty of virtual reality-based assessment tools compared to classical paper-and-pencil or computerized measures: A meta-analytic approach. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 414-424. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016.1144793

David, O., Ionicioiu, I., Imbarus, A., Sava, F.A. (2016). Coaching banking managers through the financial crisis: effects on stress, resilience, and performance. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 34 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-016-0244-0

Măroiu, C., Maricuțoiu, L.P., Sava, F.A. (2016). Explicit self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth: The moderating role of implicit self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 99, 235-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.022 

Negut, A., Matu, S.A., Sava, F.A.., David, D. (2016): Virtual reality measures in neuropsychological assessment: a meta-analytic review, The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 30 (2), 165-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016.1144793

Magurean, S., Constantin, T., & Sava, F.A. (2016). The indirect effect of evaluative conditioning on smoking. Journal of Substance Use, 21 (2), 198-203. https://doi.org/10.3109/14659891.2015.1005183

Maricutoiu, LP, Sava, F. A.., & Butta, O. (2016). The effectiveness of controlled interventions on employees' burnout: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89 (1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12099

2014

Vîrgă, D., Curșeu, P., Maricuțoiu, L., Sava, F.A., Macsinga, I., Magurean, S. (2014). Personality, relationship conflict, and teamwork-related mental models. PLoS One, 9(11), e110223, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110223

2013

Sulea, C., Fine, S., Fischmann, G., Sava, F.A., Dumitru, C. (2013). Abusive supervision and counterproductive work behaviors. The moderating effects of personality. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 12 https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000097

Crașovan, D., Sava, F.A. (2013). Translation, adaptation, and validation on the Romanian population of the COPE questionnaire for coping mechanisms analysis. Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 17(1), 61-76

2012

* Sava, F.A., Maricutoiu, LP, Rusu, S., Macsinga, I., Vîrga, D., Cheng, CM, & Payne, BK (2012). An Inkblot for the implicit assessment of personality: The Semantic Misattribution Procedure. European Journal of Personalities, 26 https://doi.org/10.1002/per.1861

Sulea, C., Virga, D., Maricutoiu, L.P., Schaufeli, W., Zaborila Dumitru, C., Sava, F.A. (2012). Work engagement as mediator between job characteristics and positive and negative extra-role behaviors. Career Development International, 17 (3), 188-207. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620431211241054

Maricuțoiu, L.P., Rusu, S., Vîrgă, D., Macsinga, I., & Sava, F.A. (2012). Images of the self: Prediction of peer-evaluations of one's personality, using implicit and explicit self-assessments. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 33, 682-686. https://doi.org/j.sbspro.2012.01.208

Gavița, OA, Freeman, A., Sava, F.A. (2012). The development and validation of Freeman-Gavita Prescriptive Executive Coaching (PEC) multi-rater assessment. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 12 (2), 159-174.

Maricutoiu, LP, Macsinga, I., Sava, F.A., Rusu, S., Vîrga, D. (2012). Adaptation and validation of Self-Worth Scale on a Romanian sample. Cognition, Brain, Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16 (1), 121-138

2011

* Sava, F.A., Maricuțoiu, LP, Rusu, S., Macsinga, I., Vîrgă, D. (2011). Implicit and explicit self-esteem and irrational beliefs. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 11 (1), 97-111.

2009

* Sava, F.A., Yates, BT, Lupu, V., Szentagotai, A. & David, D. (2009). Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of cognitive therapy, rational emotive behavioral therapy, and fluoxetine (Prozac) in treating depression: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65 (1), 36-52. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20550

* Sava, F.A. (2009). Maladaptive schemas, irrational beliefs, and their relationship with the five-factor personality model. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 9 (2), 135-147.

2006

* Sava, F.A.., Sperneac, AM (2006). Sensitivity to reward and sensitivity to punishment rating scales: A validation study on the Romanian population. Personality and Individual Differences, 41(8), 1445-1456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.04.024

2002

* Sava, F.A. (2002). Causes and effects of teacher conflict-inducing attitudes towards pupils: a path analysis model. Teaching and teacher education, 18, 1007-1021, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(02)00056-2

2000

* Sava, F.A.. (2000). Is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder an exonerating construct? Strategies for school inclusion. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 15(2), 149-157, https://doi.org/10.1080/088562500361583

• 2017, Best researcher in social and political sciences, West University of Timișoara, Award value – 5000 lei
• 2009, Second Prize, “University Professor of the Year” category, Education Awards Gala, Dinu Patriciu Foundation, Prize value – 5000 Euros
• 2009, Best young researcher at the West University of Timișoara

Contact

Office: 155
Email: florin.sava@e-uvt.ro