Leverhulme Trust PhD Studentship 2016

Applications are invited for a Leverhulme Trust 3 year PhD studentship, on the project: Imagining the self in fictional worlds: evidence from Autism Spectrum Disorder (see also www.kent.ac.uk/psychology/research/ark/). The studentship will be undertaken under the supervision of Dr Heather Ferguson and Dr David Williams at the University of Kent’s School of Psychology, starting in September 2016. 

The PhD studentship will explore how imagination and self-representation- both of which are impaired in ASD- influence peoples’ ability to think counterfactually (i.e. To think about hypothetical alternatives to reality; e.g. ‘If I had won the lottery’). Specifically, the project will establish whether individuals with ASD, like typically developing controls, experience stronger mental simulations of events when they are described using personal perspective pronouns (‘I’/’you’) compared to third person perspective pronouns (‘he’/’she’ or a proper name). We will examine how self-representation and imaginability (I.e. increasing difference from reality) interact to influence understanding of a counterfactual event. 

The project links theory and practice from cognitive, developmental, and clinical (neuro)psychology. It will employ cognitive techniques (reaction times, eye-tracking and EEG) and paradigms, alongside sophisticated statistical methods as well as assessments of general cognitive and social skills. The student will receive training in experimental research techniques (eye-tracking and ERPs), advanced statistics, developing language stimuli, conducting assessments (including IQ and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), and other transferable skills. They will be encouraged and supported to present papers at academic conferences, engage with potential users of the research, and to publish findings. The student is also expected to contribute to the development of the research programme and there will be flexibility for them to develop their own research ideas across the PhD.

For more details and information about eligibility and how to apply, please see the full advertisement.

Enquiries and requests for further information should be directed to:

Dr Heather Ferguson, School of Psychology, University of Kent
(email: H.Ferguson@kent.ac.uk) Tel, +44 1227 827120.
Dr David Williams, School of Psychology, University of Kent
(email: D.M.Williams@kent.ac.uk) Tel, +44 1227 827652.