Computational models are powerful tools for understanding human cognition, and their use has led to new, often counterintuitive, theoretical insights. Projects are available that combine computational modelling with behavioural experimentation to investigate the relation between explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) memory. Although the traditional view of explicit and implicit memory is that they are driven by distinct memory systems in the brain, numerous lines of research have converged on the view that memory systems may not divide so sharply on consciousness. Indeed, computational modelling approaches have shown that an alternative, single-system model explains numerous key findings thought to be indicative of distinct systems; it also makes predictions that can be verified empirically. This type of project would suit someone who has experience or interest in programming and has strong statistical/research methods skills. Applicants are advised to make contact to discuss the specific direction of the project before applying.
Humans and other animals readily learn about the co-occurrence of events, such as when an allergic reaction happens after eating a particular food. We often think of this as learning about causes and effects, so we might infer that the food caused the allergic reaction. How exactly we learn these associations between events and infer cause-effect relationships has been the subject of much research over the last hundred years (or more!). A common assumption is that this learning is caused by prediction error, which roughly translates as how surprised we are by an event. More prediction error is proposed to lead to more learning, as it’s that surprise that tells us that we need to update our knowledge about the world. However, recent data from experiments conducted in our lab cast doubt on this idea. In our experiments we asked participants to learn a set of cue-outcome relationships, before changing the outcomes for some combinations of cues. According to prediction error theories, learning should be greatest for cues whose outcomes changed the most. However, we observed the opposite result. Our results are more consistent with the idea that people learn most when incoming information is consistent with what they already know. We propose that, once participants learn what a cue means, they are resistant to changing their beliefs. They therefore attribute unexpected outcomes to the cues that are most consistent with those outcomes, even though these will often be the cues that have the smallest prediction errors. This project will explore when and why this happens. This work is expected to have implications for a wide range of fields that use prediction error to explain how we understand the world.
Climate change is an unprecedented global threat and understanding the dynamics involved in climate change is cognitively challenging. This project sets out to explore climate change cognition such as understanding exponential dynamics, social dilemmas, and their interplay using a game-based approach. It focuses on how people make decisions in a complex environment and which interventions can support mitigating actions. We have recently used a similar game-based approach to study decision making in a pandemic-like simulation (
Woike et al., 2022). This project is ideal for someone who enjoys the conceptual and technical development of online games and has experience with statistical analyses.
Exploring human spatial behaviours using immersive virtual reality (
Dr Alastair Smith
)
Virtual Reality (VR) offers a unique blend of realism and experimental control, making it a powerful tool for studying and training human skills across various domains. Our research group harnesses VR to investigate how people navigate spaces, search for objects, and even engage in playful activities like hide-and-seek. As a PhD student in our lab, you will have the opportunity to build on our existing work and explore exciting new questions, such as: 1) Can differences in search and foraging behaviours serve as early markers for dementia? 2) How do navigational behaviours differ in autism and related developmental conditions? 3) What is the connection between spatial behaviour and mental health conditions like anxiety and schizophrenia? We are particularly interested in understanding why experiences with VR differ between people, and how factors like immersion, presence, and engagement shape its effectiveness in wellbeing applications. Your research could contribute to a more systematic understanding of these dynamics and help refine VR as a tool for both research and intervention. Our lab is equipped with cutting-edge technology, including real-world environmental scanning, in-headset eye tracking, and omnidirectional treadmills, providing a rich environment for studying a variety of human behaviours. However, whilst VR is a springboard for some of these questions, your research can extend to a range of experimental settings, from small-scale 2D displays to large-scale real-world environments.
In psychology, we typically assume that the average behaviour of a group of people is representative of a common set of underlying cognitive processes. In reality, we’ve known for some time that the group average can be unrepresentative of the vast majority of individuals that make it up. In a recent experiment, Lenard Dome (one of my current PhD students) found only 3% of participants showed the group-level result! How can we build better theories of human learning, memory, and decision-making that capture the variety of behaviours exhibited within a group (and only the range observed)? Such would be the topic of your PhD. Some experience with, or at least strong willingness to learn, computer programming (e.g. R, Python, or C++) is essential for this project. Use of neuroscience methodologies (e.g. eye-tracking, EEG, fMRI) may be possible, depending on your interests.
Experience refines sensory impressions. The tenth viewing of an image often reveals details that went unnoticed at first. Trained viewers can see at a glance what novices take time to examine. Such phenomena demonstrate that perception is active, malleable, and based in flexible brain representations. I study perceptual learning – the discovery of stimulus features through repeated exposure – and other instances of plasticity in human vision. For example, what do skilled observers focus on when detecting patterns in complex images? Does expertise in interpreting an X-ray sharpen unrelated perceptual judgements? Could lifelong habits such as reading from left to right influence how we identify faces? And can training overcome disruptions in perception caused by abnormal visual development? If you’re interested in questions like these, please get in touch with me.
Effective learning through testing: the testing effect in basic and applied research (
Dr Michael Verde
)
A great deal of recent interest has focused on the role of testing in learning. Both basic and applied research suggests that revising information through active retrieval is one of the most effective ways to promote long term retention (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006; Roediger & Pyc, 2012). This research project has two goals. The first is to investigate the factors that make testing such an effective method of revision. We will consider theories of associative strengthening, information integration, and contextual reinstatement. The second goal is to apply our findings to ecologically valid materials and settings such as science education. This project has strong potential for interdisciplinary work with researchers in education and biology.
Enhancing creativity with placebo techniques inspired by magic (
Dr Gustav Kuhn
)
In times of uncertainty, creative thinking plays a vital role in promoting economic growth, improving living standards, and enhancing overall wellbeing. While research shows that certain instructions and mindsets can temporarily boost creativity, these effects vary significantly between individuals and tasks. This project explores a unique placebo approach by combining techniques from magic with a sham neuroscientific device to enhance creativity and cognitive performance. We aim to understand the nature of this placebo effect, how it might enhance creativity. The device also allows us to examine if other cognitive functions – like attention and cognitive control – can be influenced by similar methods. This interdisciplinary project will involve a variety of research methodologies, including cognitive tests, eye tracking, and EEG. Prior experience in magic is not necessary, as experienced magicians will be available to support the project.
Many of the decisions we make and the actions we take or fail to take impact others directly or indirectly. Whether intended or not, our actions may help or harm others and have the potential for shaping reactions and even complex chain reactions. How do we navigate complex social environments, how do we motivate and justify decisions with consequences for others? Experimental ethics in this project combines empirical methods from experimental economics and experimental philosophy to study decision making and interaction with moral implications. Possible topics include: consequences of cooperation and competition, distributive justice, honesty and cheating, promises and threats, social dilemmas, collective action, rivalry, negotiation and conflict escalation. Programming skills would be an asset, and the project would be ideal for students with an interest in (1) developing and analysing interactive online games and experiments and (2) engaging with literature across different disciplines (psychology, philosophy, and economics).
Disguising yourself: face recognition under imperfect conditions and the implications to eyewitness reliability (
Dr Charles Or
)
The pandemic and social unrest around the globe in recent years have seen people increasingly covering up their faces to avoid being identified. This has met with responses from some jurisdictions that passed laws to ban face coverings, particularly surgical face masks. However, concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of improving identification accuracy, because covering up the nose and mouth may not impair face recognition too much. In this project, we explore factors that affect face recognition accuracy, focusing on practical uses like eyewitness reliability when suspects are to be identified. We will go beyond the facial features (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth) and seek to understand other factors (e.g., lighting) that affect face recognition. We will apply a range of tools including psychophysics, eye tracking, virtual reality, AI and electrophysiology to understand these underlying factors crucial for face recognition and its applications.
A new look on racial bias in face perception (
Dr Charles Or
)
People appear to recognise and remember faces better when these faces belong to their own race than faces from other races. This phenomenon is known as “the other-race effect” or “own-race bias”. With increasing interracial contacts in the ever more globalised world, we are getting more opportunities to see faces from other cultures, not only from in-person contacts but also through the Internet. This might have brought profound changes to one’s face perception abilities across different races. In multiracial societies, for example, we are already having evidence of a reduced own-race bias. In this project, we set out to have a new look on people’s cross-race face recognition abilities and compare their performance with people from 30 years ago. We will apply a range of tools including psychophysics, eye tracking, virtual reality, AI and electrophysiology to understand the underlying factors influencing the effect of race on face perception. Importantly, we also seek ways to reduce any racial bias in order to bring more equality to the society.
Examining cohesion and authoritarianism through synchronised VR interactions (
Dr Liam Cross
)
This project seeks to explore how moving in synchrony with others within a virtual reality (VR) environment influences social behaviour, enhancing cohesion and potentially promoting obedient tendencies. The research will employ VR to simulate scenarios where participants can engage in synchronised activities, studying the psychological effects of these interactions. These effects have historical significance in contexts such as war, riots, an other scenarios. The project will manipulate environmental factors, virtual agents, and reward systems to observe how these controlled variables influence behaviours related to conformity and personal control.
We are looking for a PhD candidate with a good experience in VR programming, tools and platforms, interested in using this technology to probe the complex dynamics of human behaviour and applying their technical skills to investigate social psychological phenomena. This interdisciplinary initiative provides a unique opportunity to explore how synchronized movements in virtual environments can shape social behaviours and influence group dynamics, enhancing our understanding of technology's role in social cohesion and control.
Online fraud and deception present significant risks to society, especially in the realm of cybersecurity. This project investigates how principles of magic can inform new strategies for countering cyber deception. Both magicians and hackers use social engineering to influence people’s actions, often leading individuals to reveal sensitive information or act against their own interests. Working with the Cyber-SHIP Lab – a cutting-edge facility designed to test the security of modern ships – this project will examine how complex systems can be vulnerable to cyber attacks. This lab provides an ideal setting to identify security gaps and develop defences against cyber threats. Through this collaboration, we’ll explore questions like: What parallels exist between the art of magic and cyber deception? How can magic offer insights into cyber security, specifically regarding human susceptibility to manipulation? Why are people prone to deception, and how can magic make us more resilient to social engineering tactics? This interdisciplinary project will use a mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research. It’s ideal for anyone interested in exploring intersections between magic, cyber security and human behaviour. No prior experience in magic is required, as experienced magicians will be involved to support the research.
Arthur C Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This insight highlights how innovations like AI and robotics can feel miraculous because they often go beyond everyday understanding. Historically, magicians have challenged perceptions of the possible. For example, the “Mechanical Turk,” a chess-playing automaton created in the 1780s, seemed to play against human opponents unaided. The Mechanical Turk was an elaborate magical illusion that transfixed the world for nearly 80 years and pushed the boundaries of what people imagined could be possible. At the MAGIC Lab, we’re expanding on this idea by programming a state-of-the-art robot to perform mind-reading tricks, testing the limits of AI’s capabilities. This project examines how these magical experiences influence people’s beliefs and trust in AI. Using a mixed-methods approach (both qualitative and quantitative), this interdisciplinary research is open to anyone interested in exploring the intersection of magic, AI and human perception. No prior experience in magic is needed, as experienced magicians will be on hand to support the work.
Humans make countless decisions daily and often take pride in being in control of these choices. However, our thoughts are easily influenced by external and internal factors, making us largely unaware of how effortlessly these thought processes can be shaped by others. This illusion of control is a crucial aspect of human cognition and has significant implications for everyday decision making. Magicians have perfected techniques that exploit our cognitive biases and vulnerabilities in decision making, particularly through “forcing” methods, which create the illusion of free choice. This project will investigate the psychological mechanisms that make such forces effective and the cognitive factors that leave us open to these subtle forms of influence. Research methodologies may include cognitive testing, eye tracking, and more. No prior experience in magic is necessary, as skilled magicians will be available to support the project.
When we think about past events, we often reflect on how things might have happened differently, for example, if I had left home earlier, I might have caught the train. This mental simulation of alternatives to the past is known as counterfactual thinking. The aim of this project is to examine the idea that this process may also be an important part of how people generate lies. Like counterfactual thinking, lying involves making minimal changes to past events and these changes should be consistent with other events that have happened. Lying therefore also requires keeping in mind what the listener knows to be true. The project will examine the processes underlying the generation of lies and whether as a result, some lies are easier than others to generate.
When we reflect on past events, we frequently reflect on how things might have happened differently. We might imagine that things could have turned out better, for example, if I had been paying attention, I wouldn’t have tripped or instead that they could have turned out worse, e.g. I am lucky that I didn’t break my arm. These alternatives shape how we feel about events that have happened and the judgements that we make about them, for example, where we place responsibility or blame. They can also influence decisions about how to behave in the future. This project will therefore examine the types of thoughts that people imagine and their consequences.
Exploration and discovery push the boundaries of human capability, yet the psychological factors that drive and sustain such endeavors remain underexplored. This PhD will investigate the cognitive, emotional and motivational processes that enable individuals to thrive in extreme environments; polar, space, sea and jungle. Working within
PEDRU’s interdisciplinary team, the candidate will contribute to pioneering research on resilience, adaptability and decision making in high pressure environments. The ideal applicant has a passion for exploration and is eager to bridge psychology with real-world challenges. It is aimed that the findings from this research will promote the wider profile of the University’s research initiative in this area and contribute substantially to how we prepare explorers from diverse backgrounds to work together on challenging tasks.
The human face is an extremely rich source of information – just by looking at someone’s face, we can extract information about their age, gender, mood and even their personality. More importantly, we use faces to recognise the people we know as well as to prove our own identity to unfamiliar observers (such as passport control officers at airports). Research has demonstrated that familiar and unfamiliar face recognition are fundamentally different processes – while we can recognise familiar identities somewhat automatically and with no effort whatsoever, unfamiliar face recognition is a surprisingly error-prone task. There have been many attempts to find ways to improve unfamiliar face recognition accuracy by providing feedback, targeted training or by using multiple images of the same person. While successful, to an extent, these approaches have important limitations. Previously, I have identified an easy and consistent route to recognition accuracy improvement – to simply smile. When we compare two smiling images, compared to two neutral images, we are more likely to accurately determine whether they belong to the same person or to two different people. This project aims to explore this smiling effect further by identifying the reasons why we find smiles so beneficial – this might be because when we smile, further idiosyncratic information is available, because a smile increases motivation to perform well or because we spend more time looking at smiling rather than neutral images. The project will also focus on the extent of the smiling advantage by increasing the difficulty of the task, introducing an age gap between the images or with other-race faces.
Since around 2014, there have been substantial advances in artificial intelligence, with cutting-edge machines now able to classify objects with a level of accuracy that some engineers describe as 'human like'. How well founded are these claims of human-level performance on such tasks? And to what extent are these machines – whose designs are often inspired by neuroscience – good models of human behaviour? Some experience with, or at least strong willingness to learn, computer programming (e.g. R, Python, or C++) is essential for this project. Use of neuroscience methodologies (e.g. eye-tracking, EEG, fMRI) may be possible, depending on your interests.
This project takes a learning perspective to look at how we come to trust and connect with other people. Trust and connection are partly determined by our first impressions of others. However, there is also a role for learning; when we observe the behaviour of a person, our impression of them may change. In other words, we learn to associate people with the behaviours in which they engage. There are many phenomena that are well established in the associative learning realm. Some have been applied to the analysis of attitude and impression formation (see e.g., FeldmanHall & Dunsmoor, 2019). However, there is huge scope to develop this work further. The student will be free to determine the specific direction of the project. But I am particularly interested in three things: 1. The interaction between first impressions (based on the appearance of a face) and impressions learnt through experience of a person’s behaviour; 2. The malleability of impressions – the extent to which an impression of a person can change as a consequence of a change in their behaviour; 3. The use of AI in creating stimuli, such that the participant can form an impression of a ‘partner’ in a conversation (an AI chatbot) whose style of interaction can be manipulated by the experimenter.
Theories of memory have traditionally viewed forgetting as a negative consequence of limitations of the memory system. Anderson’s (2003) retrieval inhibition theory proposes that, on the contrary, forgetting is adaptive and the ability to suppress certain memories is beneficial to the normal function of the memory system. This research will use a range of empirical paradigms and quantitative modelling techniques to investigate the factors that contribute to forgetting, including interference from other memories, conscious inhibition, and context change. Although the focus is on basic research, there is scope for investigating the implications of inhibition and forgetting in applied areas. For example, are emotional or traumatic memories more difficult or easy to suppress? Does suppressing irrelevant information facilitate problem-solving? In revising educational materials, does the strategic inhibition of knowledge actually, improve long-term learning?
AI will revolutionise our lives within the next 20 years – be part of a project to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks! Your specific topic would be by negotiation, but would involve some aspect of the interaction between psychology/neuroscience and AI applications (e.g. ChatGPT, autonomous vehicles, household robots). The project would necessarily involve some aptitude in, or at least a willingness to learn, coding.
The comfort distance between humans and robots is a critical element in human–robot interactions. However, due to theoretical and methodological constraints, there is a lack of systematic research in this area. Although prior studies have examined the human–robot comfort distance using robots, they do not offer a comprehensive and systematic comparison between humans and robots as agents in an ecologically valid setting. This research examines human–robot interactions through virtual reality and investigates how the comfort distance from robots is affected by both robot appearance and individual differences. Additionally, electroencephalography (EEG) will be utilised to measure participants' neural responses during these interactions, providing insights into the cognitive and emotional processes underlying their comfort levels. This approach aims to bridge the gap in understanding the neural correlates of comfort distance in human–robot interactions, enhancing the ecological validity and depth of the research.
While there is a wealth of research on how physical attractiveness influences visual attention to social stimuli among heterosexual individuals, there has been relatively little investigation into how non-heterosexual individuals attend to such stimuli. Eye tracking is a widely recognised method for studying physical attractiveness in humans and it helps establish a behavioural link between evolutionary research on sexual selection and morphology. This project aims to investigate how sexual orientation affects visual attention to social stimuli, including faces and bodies.
While autism and schizophrenia are easily distinguishable, they share remarkable similarities in the social difficulties that they encounter. However, it is not clear if the mechanisms that cause this are the same, or whether there are distinct causes that coincidently elicit the same difficulties. Recent predictive coding accounts of perception, whereby the brain generates predictions of what we will see to compare to what we actually observe, suggest that the predictions made by those with autism and schizophrenia may be different, and help us distinguish between them. Furthermore, making predictions about other people facilitates social interactions, and a different style of prediction may explain why people with autism and schizophrenia feel more comfortable interacting with others with the same condition. The aim of this project is therefore to employ predictive models of social perception to devise a behavioural test that is sensitive enough to easily distinguish between autism and schizophrenia, and to assess their social capacities in a more ecologically valid environment of real-world social situations that takes into account the people they are interacting with.
This PhD project aims to explore the social perception of individuals with tattoos using a multi-methodological approach, including behavioural assessments, eye-tracking technology and virtual reality (VR). Behavioural studies will involve controlled social interaction experiments to observe and measure explicit attitudes and behaviours toward individuals with tattoos. Eye-tracking technology will be employed to capture and analyse participants' visual attention patterns and gaze fixation when viewing tattooed versus non-tattooed individuals, providing insights into implicit biases and attentional differences. Furthermore, VR environments will be utilised to create immersive and ecologically valid social scenarios, allowing participants to interact with virtual avatars with varying tattoo presentations in a controlled yet realistic setting. This research will also examine how individual differences, such as personality traits, prior exposure to tattoos and cultural background, influence perceptions and interactions with tattooed individuals. By integrating these methodologies, the project aims to uncover how tattoos affect various aspects of social interactions, including trustworthiness, professionalism and approachability, thereby contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the social dynamics and potential biases associated with body art.
So what if my mind’s eye is blind? Understanding motivation, judgment and decision-making in aphantasia (
Dr Julie Ji
)
The human capacity to mentally simulate future experiences using the imagination is supposed to be evolutionarily advantageous, because it helps us to predict what might happen, how we might feel about it and how to approach/avoid good/bad outcomes. However, aphantasia, the inability to conjure mental images, challenges conventional understandings of the role of the imagination. Much is unknown about how the absence of mental imagery influences motivational processes, shapes judgmental tendencies, and modulates decision-making strategies. This project would suit a student who is interested in mental imagery and aphantasia.