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Dr Amy Orben

University Position
Programme Leader

Interests

Amy?s research uses large-scale data to examine how digital technologies affect adolescent psychological well-being and mental health. She uses innovative and rigorous statistical methodology to shed new light on pressing questions debated in policy, parenting and mental health. She also campaigns for better communication of trends in data and the wider adoption of Open Science. Amy is a College Research Fellow at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge. She completed an MA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge before joining the University of Oxford to obtain her DPhil in Experimental Psychology, for which she was award the BPS Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research, the Understanding Society Young Researcher Prize and the SIPS Mission Award. During her time at Oxford she was also nominated for the ?Best Tutor? award at the Oxford Student Union?s Teaching Awards.

Key Publications

Does social media use show established neurocognitive signatures of addiction?

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2eqs8_v1
Journal:
E-pub date: 1 May 2026
Authors: LJ Gunschera, SZ Mehrhof, C Veith, E Ong, BC Davidson, M Vuorre, C Nord, A Orben

Publications

A computational model of reward learning and habits on social media.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73547-6
Journal: Nat Commun
E-pub date: 4 Jun 2026
Authors: G Turner, LJ Gunschera, S Subrahmanya, A Salecha, JC Eichstaedt, S Palminteri, A Orben

Increased Behavioural Sensitivity to ‘Likes’ During COVID-19 Social Distancing

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/65tdz_v2
Journal:
E-pub date: 3 May 2026
Authors: BC Davidson, G Turner, S Palminteri, L Tomova, J Eichstaedt, A Salecha, S Subrahmanya, LJ Gunschera, A Orben

Social Media Reward Sensitivity and Depressive Symptoms Over Time

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/8e3ar_v1
Journal:
E-pub date: 26 Apr 2026
Authors: BC Davidson, G Turner, LJ Gunschera, A Orben

Towards identifying cognitive phenotypes of risk and resilience for social media and mental health

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bgqyj_v3
Journal:
E-pub date: 9 Mar 2026
Authors: LJ Gunschera, M Achterberg, LG Speyer, T Wise, A Orben

Relating smartphone ‘App-journeys’ to mental health: A novel network analysis approach

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/uytfr_v1
Journal:
E-pub date: 25 Feb 2026
Authors: G Turner, MCV Gastelum, IA Anderson, Z Brufal, S Dillmann, L Fassi, LJ Gunschera, I Monarca, OP Ramirez, M Tentori, A Orben

Cognitive phenotypes of risk and resilience for the relationship between social media and mental health

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/bgqyj_v1
Journal:
E-pub date: 20 Oct 2025
Authors: LJ Gunschera, M Achterberg, LG Speyer, T Wise, A Orben

Digital parenting in the 21st century: Development and validation of a new digital parenting scale

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/rk6p8_v1
Journal:
E-pub date: 27 Feb 2025
Authors: AM Ferguson, M Richards, L Gunschera, A Mutak, R Goldberg, K Modecki, A Orben