Micah Goldwater

Dr. Micah Goldwater is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney, affiliated with the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, Brain and Mind Centre, and Charles Perkins Centre. His research focuses on cognitive development, decision-making, and the application of cognitive science to education and public health. He holds a BA in Linguistics from the University of Rochester (2003), a PhD in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin (2009), and joined the University of Sydney in 2013 following a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University.

His research explores how individuals recognize structural commonalities across situations, with a focus on learning transfer, prefrontal cortex function, and evidence-based decision-making. Key themes include causal reasoning, expert-novice differences, and language acquisition. Current research students are investigating topics like systemic racism education, misinformation detection, and diagnostic accuracy in ADHD/Autism.

Recent articles (2023–2025) address intergenerational programs, medical decision-making biases, and the cognitive foundations of combating misinformation. Grants include projects on psychological warfare resilience and the ontogeny of cumulative culture. Dr. Goldwater collaborates across disciplines, integrating cognitive science with educational design and public health policy.