Congratulations to the 2025 Psychology of Technology Dissertation Award Winners
We are thrilled to now announce this year's award winners and honorable mentions, who were selected from our most competitive pool of applicants ever
Since 2019, the Psychology of Technology Institute has given Dissertation Awards to recognize exceptional doctoral research that advances our understanding of the relationship between human psychology and technology. These awards facilitate the Institute’s mission of supporting and connecting scholars in behavioral science (particularly: psychology, computer science, marketing, organizational behavior, communications, information science, anthropology, etc.) who conduct research on the psychological determinants and consequences of adopting new technologies (e.g., AI assistants, LLMs, social media, algorithmic decision making, robots, smartphones, AR/VR, etc.), including how the adoption and use of these technologies are transforming how people live, work, play, and interact.
The six outstanding scholars we acknowledge below have produced work with significant implications for how we understand technology's impact on human cognition, mental health, and decision-making. Please join us in congratulating them!
Award Winners
Benjamin Lira Luttges, Ph.D., Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
“Empirical Evidence That Using AI Tools Can Enhance Human Cognition”
At a time when concerns about AI making us "cognitively lazy" dominate public discourse, Lira offers evidence to the contrary by demonstrating that AI tools can actually enhance human cognition through two distinct mechanisms: improved information and increased motivation. In so doing, Lira suggests how AI tools, when designed and used in particular ways, can help people learn better and become wiser decision-makers.
Dan-Mircea Mirea, Ph.D., Psychology, Princeton University
“Uncovering Socio-cognitive Mechanisms of Mental Health and Psychotherapy from Digital Behavior”
Mirea’s dissertation leverages real-world digital data and computational approaches to understand how social processes influence mental health. His work reveals that individuals with depression are particularly sensitive to social rewards such as ‘likes’ on social media, challenging lab-based findings, and shows how client-therapist alignment shapes outcomes in digital psychotherapy. Mirea’s research highlights the importance of studying social interactions in digital spaces, with implications for designing healthier social media platforms and effective digital mental health interventions.
Luisa Fassi, Medical Sciences, University of Cambridge
“Toward a Nuanced Understanding of Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health: A Multimethod Investigation”
Fassi's dissertation examines the complex relationship between adolescent mental health and social media, with a particular focus on understudied clinical groups. Using nationally representative UK data with multi-informant diagnostic assessments, she identifies differences in social media use between adolescents with and without mental health conditions. This work is complemented by a comprehensive meta-analysis and an innovative time series modelling approach that explores short-term, bidirectional dynamics between social media activities and wellbeing over time. Overall, Fassi's work provides evidence-based guidance for clinicians and policymakers working to support adolescent well-being in an increasingly digital world.
Honorable Mentions
Claire E. Robertson, Psychology, New York University
“The Overabundance of Extremity in the Online World”
Robertson examines how basic social processes interact with technology to distort our social perceptions, creating a "funhouse mirror" effect that warps our view of reality. Her research reveals how evolutionarily adaptive tendencies become problematic online, including how negativity, moralization, outrage, and users’ politics shape their Internet use.
Thomas Scheurer, Ph.D., Economics and Management, University of Lucerne
“More than Meets the Eye: Value Creation Potentials and Pitfalls of Augmented Reality Product Displays”
While Augmented Reality (AR) shopping experiences are rapidly gaining popularity, Scheurer's research suggests AR can both enhance and unexpectedly undermine consumer decision-making.His dissertation identifies how AR creates value through psychological ownership, mental imagery, and consumer engagement, but also uncovers pitfalls such as the "AR-display bias" where AR increases preferences for products with objectively inferior performance by heightening psychological ownership and reducing focus on value-reducing features.
Michael Geers, Ph.D., Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
“Understanding and Boosting Decision Making in Online Environments”
Geers addresses how contemporary online environments challenge human decision-making through misinformation and microtargeting, while developing practical interventions to boost cognitive resilience. His dissertation presents a comprehensive framework for how people engage with information across four stages: source selection, information selection, evaluation, and reaction.
Congratulations to all our award and honorable mention recipients! Their research exemplifies academic rigor while addressing some of the most pressing challenges at the intersection of technology and human behavior. We look forward to seeing how their research continues to shape understanding and practice related to the psychology of technology for years to come.