Andrew J Waters
Ph.D.
Education
University of Cambridge, England, B.A., 1989, Natural Sciences (Part II Psychology), Class 2(i); (M.A. 2003, Natural Sciences)University of Nottingham, England, Ph.D., 1995, Psychology
Biography
Andrew J. Waters, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in experimental cognitive psychology. His doctoral dissertation research was on the topic of human expertise. One of Dr. Waters’s current interests is the relationship between human expertise and artificial intelligence (AI). AI continues to improve across a wide range of cognitive tasks, and many researchers believe that AI will transform research and education in the near future. In some domains, superhuman AI (e.g., AlphaZero) is available, and has the potential to enhance human expert performance. This has important implications for the study of expertise from both psychological and philosophical perspectives (Waters & Gobet, 2023), as well as from the perspective of research and training in the psychological and medical sciences.Dr. Waters has also conducted research on the area of cognition and psychopathology, with a special emphasis on the addictions. Here, Dr. Waters's research involves three intersecting themes. One theme is to use tasks derived from human experimental cognitive psychology to help us measure the cognitive processes - implicit and explicit - that underlie addiction (and other psychopathologies). A second theme is to administer cognitive tasks on personal digital assistants (PDAs) or Smartphones using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). This affords the collection of rich datasets on cognitive processes in a real world setting. A third theme is to use modified cognitive tasks as interventions to change cognition and behavior. Dr. Waters directs the Laboratory of Cognitive Interventions (LOCI). Cognitive retraining interventions can be delivered in a laboratory or on a mobile device such as a PDA or a Smartphone. Ultimately, cognitive and other interventions might be delivered on a Smartphone when the individual is most in need of the intervention (EMI, Ecological Momentary Intervention). Other research interests include: unconscious cognition; decision making; psychology of music.
In MPS, Dr. Waters teaches courses in Cognitive Psychology (MPO539), Statistics (IDO592, IDO508, IDO520), and Introduction to AI in Psychological Science (IDO521).
Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications
Professor, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 07/2016-present
Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 12/2007-8/2018
Associate Professor, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 10/2007-7/2016
Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), Houston, TX, 10/2002-10/2007
Representative Bibliography
Waters, A, J., & Gobet, F. (2023). Trustworthy experts and untrustworthy experts: Insights from the cognitive psychology of expertise. In Farina, M., & Lavazza, A., Philosophy, Expertise, and the Myth of Neutrality, Routledge
Waters, A. J., & Sofuoglu, M. (2024). Cognitive models of addiction. In I. H. A. Franken, R. Wiers, & K. Witkiewitz (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Addiction Psychology. SAGE Publications.
Waters, A. J., Marhe, R., & Franken, I. H. A. (2012). Attentional bias to drug cues is elevated before and during temptations to use heroin and cocaine. Psychopharmacology, 219, 909-921.