Name
ANDERSON, Steven R.
Degree
Ph.D. (Cognitive Neuroscience)
HP (URL)
https://www.stevenranderson.com
Status
Assistant Professor
Research Topic
Optimizing cognitive offloading in safety-critical human performance domains
My research investigates how individuals optimize cognitive offloading with technology in safety-critical environments to reduce workload and improve high stakes decision-making and performance.
Education and Academic Employment
Education
| 2020 | Ph.D. in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience), University of Miami |
| 2018 | M.S. in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience), University of Miami |
| 2011 | A.L.B. in Psychology, Harvard University Extension School |
Academic Employment
| 2022-2026 | Research Psychologist, NASA Johnson Space Center [KBR] |
| 2020-2022 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University |
Fields of Research Interests
cognitive offloading, human performance, cognitive workload, human-technology interaction, social and cultural neuroscience
Academic Publications
- Anderson S. R., Kirkley C., Baughman A. J., Cram C., Andrews E., Kim K. J., DiDomenica R., Stosic M., Hoffmann B., Estep P., Bell S. T., Marshall-Goebel K. and Buckland D. M. (2026). Characterizing cognitive workload during simulated surface extravehicular activity with integrated virtual reality. Frontiers in Psychology, 17:1713354. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1713354
- Anderson, S. R., Jorge, M., & Bell, S. T. (2025). Identifying cognitive capabilities required for optimal surface extravehicular activity (EVA) performance. npj Microgravity, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-025-00545-1
- Anderson, S. R., Gianola, M., Medina, N. A., Perry, J. M., Wager, T. D., & Losin, E. A. R. (2023). Doctor trustworthiness influences pain and its neural correlates in virtual medical interactions. Cerebral Cortex, 33(7), 3421-3436. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhac281
- Anderson, S. R., Li, W., Han, S., & Losin, E. A. R. (2021). Expressive suppression to pain in others reduces negative emotion but not vicarious pain in the observer. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 21(2), 292–310. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-021-00873-1
- Anderson, S. R., Witkin, J. E., Bolt, T., Llabre, M. M., Ashton-James, C. E., & Losin, E. A. R. (2021). Modeling neural and self-reported factors of affective distress in the relationship between pain and working memory in healthy individuals. Neuropsychologia, 153, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107766
- Anderson, S. R., Gianola, M., Perry, J. M., & Losin, E. A. R. (2020). Clinician-patient racial/ethnic concordance influences racial/ethnic minority pain: Evidence from simulated clinical interactions. Pain Medicine, 21(11), 3109-3125. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnaa258
- Anderson, S. R. & Losin, E. A. R. (2017). A sociocultural neuroscience approach to pain. Culture and Brain, 5, 14-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-016-0037-4
- Anderson, S. R. (2015). A world without pain: Therapeutic robots and the analgesic imagination. Mechademia, 10, 179-191. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/mech.10.2015.0179
- Anderson, S. R. (2014). Powers of (dis) ability: Toward a bodily origin in Mushishi. Mechademia, 9, 77-88. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/mech.9.2014.0077
Other Interests
cycling, pottery, bonsai, music production
Affiliated Academic Organizations
Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA)
Social and Affective Neuroscience Society (SANS)
Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)
Awards
2025 NASA Human Health and Performance (HHP) Contract Individual Bravo Award
2024 NASA Silver Group Achievement Award – CHAPEA
2024 KBR One Award
2020 University of Miami Kirk R. Danhour Memorial Award
2019 University of Miami Ironson Distinguished Speakers Student Award
2017 University of Miami Antonio Orlando Neuroscience Award
2017 U.S. National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Fellowship
