Our faculty
Dr. Soizic Gauthier
Campus: Paris
Academic and personal websites: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xa2JcewAAAAJ&hl=fr&oi=ao
ORCID Number: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1699-8544
Dr. Soizic Gauthier is a clinical psychologist holding a Ph.D. in Psychopathology from the University of Paris, affiliated with the Collège de France.
Prior to joining Forward College, she worked as a funded Ph.D. researcher and later as a Temporary Lecturer and Research Assistant at the University of Paris, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Psychology for several years. Following the completion of her doctorate, she joined the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department at Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris as a postdoctoral research fellow.
She then joined Forward College in 2022 and teaches psychology at the Paris campus. Her research examines how social interactions and physical environments shape subjective experience, with a particular focus on empathy and perspective-taking, and individuals presenting with neurodevelopmental disorders. She also investigates human-robot interaction, using interdisciplinary approaches.
Research
Overview of research interest & accomplishments
Dr. Gauthier is a clinical psychologist and interdisciplinary researcher whose work examines how social interactions and physical environments shape subjective experience, bridging clinical psychology with experimental approaches from cognitive science, environmental psychology, and technology studies.
Her early work focused on empathy and perspective taking, seeking dialogue between psychodynamic theory, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology. Her research trajectory has progressively expanded toward broader social cognition, with a particular focus on children’s interactions with artificial agents and engagement with social technologies. Combining clinical insight with computational and experimental methodologies, her research occupies an interdisciplinary space linking psychology, design, and robotics.
Research interests and expertise
- Empathy and perspective taking
- Social interactions
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- New technologies for diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation
- Neuroarchitecture and Environmental psychology
- Mixed research methods
- Co-development and prototyping
Research Projects
Ongoing research projects
- Supporting empathy Development in psychology students
- NEUROSPACES – Neurocognitive Studies of Architectural Environments
- Adapting the Godspeed questionnaire to younger populations
Past research projects
- iReCheck. The aim of this project was the development of innovative approaches for children with handwriting difficulties (dysgraphia). We combined innovative technologies and social robots to tailor intensive training to the unique characteristics of each child, with a specific focus on social interaction.
Funded by the ANR & FNS.
https://irecheck.github.io/ - Atypical movement in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
- Perspective taking in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders
Selected publications and outputs
Journal articles
- Gauthier, S., Anzalone, S. M., Xavier, J., Boucenna, S., Berthoz, A., Chetouani, M., & Cohen, D. (2025). Is there a specific motor signature of autism? Exploratory studies from human-machine interaction. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems. https://doi.org/10.1109/tcds.2025.3610280
- Zou, J., Gauthier, S., Archambault, D., Chetouani, M., Cohen, D., Anzalone, S. (2025). Robot-assisted handwriting training: An intervention for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 100799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100799
- Zou, J., Gauthier, S., Pellerin, H., Gargot, T., Archambault, D., Chetouani, M., Cohen, D. & Anzalone, S. M. (2024). R2C3, a rehabilitation robotic companion for children and caregivers: the collaborative design of a social robot for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. International Journal of Social Robotics, 16(3), 599-617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-024-01104-6
- Xavier, J., Gauthier, S., Zammouri, I., Anzalone, S. M., & Cohen, D. (2022). Motor Skill Improvement Using Compressive Garments in a Child with Multidimensional Impairments and Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome. Case Reports in Psychiatry, 2022(1), 5819406. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5819406
- Monteleone, V., Presti, L. L., La Cascia, M., Gauthier, S., Xavier, J., Zaoui, M., Berthoz, A, Cohen, D., Chetouani, M. & Anzalone, S. M. (2020). Semiautomatic behavioral change-point detection: A case study analyzing children interactions with a social agent. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, 13(4), 779-790. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCDS.2020.3023196
- Xavier, J., Gauthier, S., Cohen, D., Zahoui, M., Chetouani, M., Villa, F., Berthoz, A. & Anzalone, S. (2018). Interpersonal synchronization, motor coordination, and control are impaired during a dynamic imitation task in children with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1467. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01467
- Gauthier, S., Anzalone, S. M., Cohen, D., Zaoui, M., Chetouani, M., Villa, F., Berthoz,A. & Xavier, J. (2018). Behavioral own-body-transformations in children and adolescents with typical development, autism spectrum disorder, and developmental coordination disorder. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 676. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00676
- Gauthier, S. (2017). À propos des effets de l’empathie sur le vécu du corps et des difficultés éventuelles qui en découlent. Corps & Psychisme, 72(2), 129-142. https://doi.org/10.3917/cpsy2.072.0129
- Xavier, J., Magnat, J., Sherman, A., Gauthier, S., Cohen, D., & Chaby, L. (2016). A developmental and clinical perspective of rhythmic interpersonal coordination: from mimicry toward the interconnection of minds. Journal of Physiology-Paris, 110(4), 420-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphysparis.2017.06.001
Current teaching
- Clinical Psychology
- Health and Addictive Behaviours
- Cognitive Psychology
- Philosophy of Psychology
