{"id":23,"date":"2026-09-15T13:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/?page_id=23"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:45:13","slug":"technology-humans-environments-lab","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/span>
\n
\n

Bridging Cognitive Theory and Emerging Technologies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE Lab studies how people interact with technological systems in increasingly complex environments. By integrating cognitive theory with advanced techniques such as eye tracking, virtual reality, and computational modeling, we investigate the mechanisms that drive human performance in the modern world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
ABOUT THE LAB \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

ABOUT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring the human side of technological innovation<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Our research addresses challenges at the intersection of technology, humans and their environments, spanning domains such as digital exploitation, healthcare, and virtual reality. We aim to provide evidence-based insights that can help develop systems that are more intuitive, effective, and safer for humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our philosophy is that humans should be at the center of technological innovation, and that systems should be designed with human capabilities and limitations, in mind.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

RESEARCH<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we study<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"A<\/span>
\n

Digital
Exploitation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With AI making scams more convincing than ever, our research focuses on understanding vulnerability to digital exploitation and developing tools to help people recognize and avoid scams.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/span>
\n

Healthcare
& Imaging<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research examines how people search for and interpret complex medical information with the goal of improving diagnostic decision-making and patient outcomes. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/span>
\n

Virtual Environments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We investigate how virtual environments influence visual cognition, exploring topics including spatial navigation, cybersickness, and memory to improve the design of immersive technologies.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

PEOPLE<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet our team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Nine<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From left to right: Xavier Pham, Angelica Busciglio, Lillie del Real, Mark Neider, Jessica Goetz, Sean Hinkle, Katharine Sabo, Maria Levanidova, Dawn Sarno<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lab Directors<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Dr. Mark Neider<\/a>
EMAIL: MARK.NEIDER@UCF.EDU<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Woman<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Dr. Dawn Sarno<\/a>
EMAIL: DAWN.SARNO@UCF.EDU<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Postdoctoral Researchers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. jessica goetz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduate Students<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Sean hinkle
6th year graduate student<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Lillie del Real
4th year graduate student<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


katharine sabo
5th year graduate student<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Xavier pham
3rd year graduate student<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


angelicA busciglio
4th year graduate student<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Maria levanidova
2nd year graduate student<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

RECENT PUBLICATIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to see more of our research? Browse our publications here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

MATCH: A toolbox to assess the primary color of real-world objects and generate color-matching stimuli goes here<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Behavior Research Methods<\/em> (2025) \ud83d\udd17<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Exploring shared cognitive mechanisms underlying susceptibility to and reporting of deception across digital domains<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Applied Ergonomics<\/em> (2026) \ud83d\udd17<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Untangling the Web of Deceit: Examining Shared User Susceptibility Across Five Types of Digital Deceptions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Human Factors <\/em>(2026) \ud83d\udd17<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

JOIN THE LAB<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interested in working with us?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Apply for an Undergraduate Research Assistant Position Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRADUATE STUDENT APPLICATIONS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Interested in the Human Factors and Cognitive Psychology PhD Program?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Neider and Dr. Sarno are both considering PhD applicants for the 2027\u20132028 academic year. Prospective students whose research interests align with THE lab are encouraged to reach out via email.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABOUT Exploring the human side of technological innovation Our research addresses challenges at the intersection of technology, humans and their environments, spanning domains such as digital exploitation, healthcare, and virtual reality. We aim to provide evidence-based insights that can help develop systems that are more intuitive, effective, and safer for humans. Our philosophy is that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-23","page","type-page","status-publish"],"yoast_head":"\nTechnology, Humans & Environments Lab -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ABOUT Exploring the human side of technological innovation Our research addresses challenges at the intersection of technology, humans and their environments, spanning domains such as digital exploitation, healthcare, and virtual reality. We aim to provide evidence-based insights that can help develop systems that are more intuitive, effective, and safer for humans. Our philosophy is that ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-06T18:45:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/09\/THELabBackground.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/THELabBackground.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-15T17:30:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-06T18:45:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/THELabBackground.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/53\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/THELabBackground.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":768,\"caption\":\"A glowing brain floats in space beside the text \u201cTechnology Humans & Environments Lab\u2014Exploring the human side of technological innovation.\u201d Stars scatter across the dark background.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/technology-humans-environments-lab\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sciences.ucf.edu\\\/psychology\\\/thelab\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab -","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab -","og_description":"ABOUT Exploring the human side of technological innovation Our research addresses challenges at the intersection of technology, humans and their environments, spanning domains such as digital exploitation, healthcare, and virtual reality. We aim to provide evidence-based insights that can help develop systems that are more intuitive, effective, and safer for humans. Our philosophy is that ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/","article_modified_time":"2026-10-06T18:45:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/09\/THELabBackground.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/","name":"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/09\/THELabBackground.png","datePublished":"2026-09-15T17:30:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-06T18:45:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/09\/THELabBackground.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/53\/2026\/09\/THELabBackground.png","width":1920,"height":768,"caption":"A glowing brain floats in space beside the text \u201cTechnology Humans & Environments Lab\u2014Exploring the human side of technological innovation.\u201d Stars scatter across the dark background."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/technology-humans-environments-lab\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Technology, Humans & Environments Lab"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23\/revisions\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/psychology\/thelab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}