School of Psychology

The School of Psychology is offering three PhD Anniversary Research Studentships.

Studentship 1

Supervisor:

Project Details:

A left-handed complement (sic)?: Predicting unusual hemispheric asymmetries in the left-handed.

For over a century, scientists have known that the left hemisphere of the brain plays a crucial role in the perception and production of speech, in people who are right-handed. In early days, neurologists like Paul Broca assumed that left-handed people would show the same kind of relationship and would therefore have right hemispheric dominance. In fact we now know that they don’t: approximately 65% of left-handers are left hemisphere dominance for speech and language. This mystery has led to the exclusion of 10% of the population from virtually every kind of experiment in cognitive neuroscience and linguistics, given that as a group they are “complicated”. On the contrary, a complement of left handed people represent a unique opportunity for further study of language processing, as they represent a natural experiment in cerebral organization. Are right-brained left-handers the mirror opposite of the more numerous right-handed, left-brained people? Are there costs or benefits to having truly bilateral brains, where neither hemisphere dominates?

The challenge of this PhD will be to investigate possible ways for identifying likely language lateralization in left and right-handed individuals. Possible projects include examining asymmetries in manual behaviours (other than handwriting) as possible predictors of hemispheric dominance. Other projects would include capitalizing on lateralized brain activation as measured by EEG and related techniques. Finally, the project would require testing the possible predictors by examining asymmetrical brain activity while subjects perform language tasks in the fMRI scanner.

Candidate Requirements

Applicants must have a first or upper second-class honours degree in Psychology or equivalent and we would normally expect applicants to have completed an appropriate Masters degree.

Applications are accepted from UK/EU and International scholars.

Enquiries

Informal enquiries should be directed to David Carey: d.carey@bangor.ac.uk

Application Procedure

For details on how to apply, please see below.

Studentship 2

Supervisor:

Dr. Patricia Bestelmeyer

Project Details:

Social Cognitive Neuroscience

The specific research area of this project will be social cognitive neuroscience, but can be tailored to the interests of the successful applicant and the supervisory team. Possible projects could explore the influence of social context on the perception of emotional expressions in the face and voice; how do emotional expressions of the face influence emotional expressions of the voice and vice versa? Do the two senses ‘talk’ to each other and interact? Is one sense dominant in the perception of emotions?

Another possible project could look at the social perception of native English accents. Accents provide valuable information about a person’s socio-economic background, social identity and group membership. Behavioural and market research has shown that we tend to prefer our own accent to that of other native English varieties to the extent that we find individual’s speaking with our accent more trustworthy and likable. This project will explore the neural mechanisms of this bias using fMRI or EEG.

Candidate Requirements

Applicants must have a first or upper second-class honours degree in Psychology or equivalent and we would normally expect applicants to have completed an appropriate Masters degree. The successful candidate should have good writing and technical skills. Experience with Matlab or other programming environments are not essential but would be an advantage.

Applications are accepted from UK/EU and International scholars.

Enquiries

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Bestelmeyer: p.bestelmeyer@bangor.ac.uk

Application Procedure

For details on how to apply, please see below.

Studentship 3

Supervisor:

Dr. Richard Ramsey

Project Details:

Social / Cognitive Neuroscience

A highly-motivated and creative student with strong written and oral communication skills, and preferably experience with human neuroscience techniques (fMRI, TMS, EEG) is required for this position. The project is part of ongoing research in the Social Brain in Action Laboratory (SoBA Lab), which explores the cognitive and brain systems that underpin our ability to understand the actions and mental states of other people.

A key aim of the project will be to address novel questions in social neuroscience using a combination of behavioural measures (e.g., reaction times and error rates) and state-of-the-art functional brain imaging techniques (e.g., repetition suppression, multi-voxel pattern analysis and connectivity analysis). Using these methods, the successful candidate will be encouraged to develop a theme of research that examines how neural circuits in the human brain make sense of the dynamic and complex social information that we experience in everyday life. Example research topics include: action / gaze perception, person identity, perspective taking, theory-of-mind, imitation and mimicry. Applicants with research interests in other areas of social neuroscience are also strongly encouraged to apply.

The SoBA Lab is an international research group housed in the School of Psychology at Bangor University, which offers access to outstanding facilities for Social / Cognitive Neuroscience. Furthermore, Bangor is situated in a beautiful region of North Wales close to Snowdonia National Park, which provides a wonderful natural backdrop to professional activities.

Further information about the SoBA Lab is available at:
www.soba-lab.com

Candidate Requirements

Applicants must have a first or upper second-class honours degree in Psychology or equivalent and we would normally expect applicants to have completed an appropriate Masters degree.

Applications are accepted from UK/EU and International scholars.

Enquiries

Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Ramsey: r.ramsey@bangor.ac.uk

Application Procedure

For details on how to apply, please see below.

Value and Requirements

For details of the studentships, value and requirements, please visit here.

Anniversary Scholarships Application Procedure

The application deadline is 16 March 2012.

To apply, please complete an on-line University Postgraduate Application Form available here.

In addition to the application form and its requirements, applicants applying for a School of Psychology studentship are required to provide:

A statement (100-500 words) on your relevant research skills (listing all your relevant skills, such as computer skills, relevant prior experience, the title and a brief description of your graduate study).
A statement (250-1000 words) of your main research focus of research interest, potentially describing some research you have done in the past. Indicate clearly how you think this research interest would fit with the supervisor and with the research environment of the School of Psychology, Bangor.
The proposal should seek to set out:
- the proposed research topic
- the aims of the research and the research questions being asked
- background to the research
- how the project will be approached, with particular reference to the methodologies/techniques which might be employed and the sources that might be consulted
- relevant disciplinary insights
- the anticipated outcomes from the project
- how any ethical issues arising from the design or conduct of the research will be addressed

The on-line application form and accompanying documents must be submitted by 16 March 2012.

* YOU MUST MAKE CLEAR that you are applying for a Bangor University Anniversary Scholarship. In Section 6 ('Proposed Course of Study') of the on-line application form, in answer to Question 3 ('Are you applying for a Bangor University advertised Research Project or Studentship?') please write 'ANNIVERSARY SCHOLARSHIP' then THE PROJECT TITLE. If possible, please also state where you heard about the Research Project or Studentship.