Contact Information

Medical and Clinical Psychology: Faculty


Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Medical and Clinical Psychology
4301 Jones Bridge Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4799
Phone: (301) 295-9675
FAX: (301) 295-3034
Email: andrew.waters@usuhs.edu
Curriculum Vitae

Waters Lab


Andrew J. Waters, Medical and Clinical Psychology

Andrew J. Waters, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medical & Clinical Psychology
Director, Graduate Studies
Education: B.A. (1989), M.A. (2003) University of Cambridge (Natural Sciences); Ph.D. (1995) Nottingham University (Psychology)

Research and Teaching

Research Topics: Andrew J. Waters, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in experimental cognitive psychology. He has subsequently focused on the area of cognition and psychopathology, with a special emphasis on the addictions. 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). For example, he has shown that measures derived from computerized tasks administered in laboratory settings tell us information about addiction over and above the information derived from questionnaires. A second theme is to administer cognitive tasks on hand-held computers in an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) setting. 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. Cognitive retraining interventions can be delivered in a laboratory or on a PDA. Currently the laboratory is examining the efficacy of a cognitive retraining intervention delivered on a PDA. Ultimately, cognitive and other interventions might be delivered on a PDA when the individual is most in need of the intervention (EMI, Ecological Momentary Intervention). Other research interests include: unconscious cognition; smoking and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder); psychology of terrorism; cognitive expertise; and the psychology of music.

Methods and Approach: Field-based studies using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA); laboratory-based experiments using a mobile eye tracker; smoking cessation studies; cognitive retraining delivered using PDAs.

Current Grant Support: Currently Dr. Waters is Principal Investigator on a NIH-funded RO1 grant to study cognitive processes in smoking cessation using both laboratory and EMA methods. He is also a Co-Investigator or Consultant on a number of NIH R01 grants that are examining the effects of behavioral and pharmacological interventions on implicit cognition.

Medical Student Teaching: Lecture on Medical Decision Making in Introduction to Medical Psychology (MPO501).

Graduate Student Teaching: Cognitive Psychology (MPO539); Experimental Statistics I (IDO502); lecture on EMA in Research Methods II (MPO902); lecture on the Cognitive Revolution in History & Systems in Psychology (MPO519).

Mentoring: Dr. Waters currently supervises 5 Ph.D. students. He has also mentored, or is mentoring, pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows.

Selected Recent Publications

Waters, A. J., & Li, Y. (2008). Evaluating the utility of administering a reaction time task on a handheld computer in an Ecological Momentary Assessment study. Psychopharmacology, 197, 25-35.

Waters, A. J. & Gobet, F. (2008). Mental imagery and chunks: Empirical and computational findings. Memory & Cognition, 36, 505-517.

Leventhal, A. M., Waters, A. J., Breitmeyer, B. G., Miller, E. K., Tapia, E., & Li , Y. (2008). Subliminal processing of smoking-related and affective stimuli in tobacco addiction. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16, 301-312.

Waters, A. J., Carter, B. L., Robinson, J. D., Wetter, D. W., Lam, C. Y., Kerst, W., & Cinciripini, P. M. (2009). Attentional bias is associated with incentive-related physiological and subjective measures. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 17, 247-257.

Waters, A. J., Reitzel, L. R., Cinciripini, P. M., Li, Y., Marcus, M., Irvin Vidrine, J., & Wetter, D. W. (2009). Associations between mindfulness and implicit cognition and self-reported affect. Substance Abuse, 30, 328-337.

Waters, A. J., Miller, E. K., & Li, Y. (2010). Effect of extensive testing on the IAT effect assessed in an Ecological Momentary Assessment study. Psychological Reports, 106, 31-43.

Professional Activities

Selected Awards and Honors: Dr. Waters is a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the British Psychological Society, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.