Dr. Ionela Bara

Dr. Ionela Bara is a postdoctoral researcher in the Social Brain Sciences lab. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Bangor University/UK, following an MA in Art Image Studies from Bucharest University/Romania and a BA in Art History from Babes-Bolyai University/Romania. Ionela’s work sits at the  intersection of social cognition, empirical aesthetics, and human–AI interaction, aiming to understand how people perceive, evaluate, and emotionally engage with complex visual stimuli, such as artworks. To investigate these topics, Ionela uses behavioural methods, eye-tracking, and neuroimaging techniques.

Her research addresses questions such as:

• How does affective touch in images guide evaluative judgement, and how can responses from people with unilateral amputation and able-bodied individuals shed light on underlying embodied mechanisms?
• How does contextual knowledge about AI systems shape moral judgements and the aesthetic value of AI-generated art?
• How do perspective-taking and body orientation guide gaze behaviour and aesthetic judgements in social and aesthetic contexts?

In her free time, Ionela enjoys visiting museums, reading, and travelling.