Steven Davis

Steven Davis

Higher Degree by Research Candidate

School of Psychology

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

I am a behavioural scientist working at the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and a PhD student at the University of Adelaide. My PhD research is focused on developing and evaluating interventions to enhance individuals' resistance to misinformation. I am interested in understanding the psychological mechanisms of misinformation spread and susceptibility, and leveraging technology to design and implement tailored and scalable resilience-building interventions.

I also have research experience on the human aspects of command and control in areas like judgement and decision making, command intent formulation, effective cognitive performance, attaining and sustaining situational awareness, and human-autonomy interactions (particularly trust). This work included the development of practical tools to provide formative education opportunities to future commanders undergoing professional military education.

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2019 Davis, S. E., & Smith, G. A. (2019). Transcranial direct current stimulation use in warfighting: Benefits, risks, and future prospects. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 18 pages.
    DOI Scopus25

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2024 Davis, S. E., Stjelja, M., & Calic, D. (2024). A Systematic Review of Persuasive Technology in Defence and National Security: Extended Abstract. In K. Oyibo, W. Xu, & E. Vlahu-Gjorgievska (Eds.), Persuasive 2024 Adjunct Proceedings Vol. 3728 (pp. 96). Wollongong, Australia: CEUR Workshop Proceedings.
    2024 Edwards, L., Stjelja, M., Calic, D., & Davis, S. E. (2024). Exploring Persuasive Tools to Enhance Digital Resilience to Misinformation - Extended Abstract. In K. Oyibo, W. Xu, & E. Vlahu-Gjorgievska (Eds.), Persuasive 2024 Adjunct Proceedings Vol. 3728 (pp. 97). Wollongong, Australia: CEUR Workshop Proceedings.

  • Conference Items
    Year Citation
    2018 Davis, S. E. (2018). Benefits and Risks of a Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Technique for Defence. Poster session presented at the meeting of Defence Human Sciences Symposium. Perth: Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2018 Davis, S. E. (2018). Development of a Psychometric Instrument Measuring Individuals’ Propensity to Trust Autonomous Systems – Research Overview. Poster session presented at the meeting of Defence Human Sciences Symposium. Perth: Defence Science and Technology Group.

  • Report for External Bodies
    Year Citation
    2021 Davis, S. E. (2021). Establishing the Validity of the Propensity to Trust Autonomous Systems Instrument: Technological Familiarity and Cross Cultural Trust in Autonomy Across Domains (DSTG-TR-3821). Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2020 Davis, S. E., & Hansen, J. (2020). Replication and Refinement of the Propensity to Trust Autonomous Systems (PTAS) Instrument (DSTG-TN-2071). Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2020 Davis, S. E. (2020). Measuring Individuals’ Propensity to Trust Autonomous Systems: Construction of a Short Psychometric Instrument (DST-Group-TR-3696). Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2019 Davis, S. E. (2019). Individual Differences in Operators’ Trust in Autonomous Systems: A Review of the Literature (DST-Group-TR-3587). Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2019 Davis, S. E. (2019). Investigation of the Potential for a Psychometric Scale Measuring Propensity to Trust in Autonomous Systems (DST-Group-TN-1957). Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Group.
    2017 Davis, S., Davis, S. E., Dobson-Keeffe, N., Goodburn, D., Hansen, J., Jeremic, N., . . . Willans-Price, J. (2017). Military Meta-Cognitive Profiles (DST-Group-CR-2017-0169). Canberra: Defence Science and Technology Group.

  • Theses
    Year Citation
    2010 Davis, S. E. (2010). The role of diurnal orientation and optimal testing time on spatial working memory. (Undergraduate Dissertation, Deakin University).

  • Working Paper
    Year Citation
    2014 Davis, S. E., & Smith, G. A. (2014). Ethical and Safety Considerations of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Use in the Military. Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
    2014 Davis, S. E., & Smith, G. A. (2014). The Current Status of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) as a Technique to Modulate Aspects of Cognition. Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
    2013 Davis, S. E., & Goodburn, D. (2013). Thinking with Models: Explorations and Insights from an Online Course. Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
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