Amanda Ferguson

Dr. Amanda Ferguson is a Programme Leader at the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU) at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on understanding cognitive and behavioral mechanisms in digital environments, particularly social media's impact on mental health and decision-making processes.

• Key areas: Empathy avoidance, reinforcement learning, digital parenting, and mindfulness-based interventions.
• Recent work: Investigates how adolescents adapt to digital environments and the cognitive costs associated with empathy.

Notable contributions: Development of the Empathy Selection Task for behavioral assessment, validation of digital parenting scales, and exploration of open science challenges in educational technology. Her publications reflect interdisciplinary collaborations bridging psychology, neuroscience, and technology.