Open International Scholarships

PhD position in The early development of action understanding: Brain and behaviour - Radboud University Nijmegen

PhD candidate The early development of action understanding: Brain and behaviour
Nijmegen, (Gelderland), 40 hours per week Radboud University Nijmegen

Job description
The Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information (NICI) currently has an opening for a PhD student within the project “The early development of action understanding: Brain and behaviour”. This project will focus on the emergence of infants’ understanding of others’ actions. Within the project, behavioural and neuroimaging experiments are planned with infants and young children. Methods available are eye-tracking and EEG. The PhD student will work within a young, interdisciplinary team investigating action semantics in adults and infants, which is embedded in an internationally well-established research unit.

We offer a unique, multidisciplinary working and learning environment with possibilities to develop expertise in a diversity of research areas and techniques. Short summary of the project: From early in life, infants watch other people and show clear indications of understanding others’ actions and intentions. However, how young infants come to make sense of actions they observe is still only fragmentarily understood. In a series of EEG and eye-tracking experiments, the current PhD project will explore the role of different mechanisms which might play a role in the development of action understanding.

Results of the proposed research will increase our insight into the emergence of intersubjectivity and might, in the long term, also contribute to our understanding of disorders characterized by atypical social-cognitive development.

Requirements
University Graduate
university graduate with a (master’s) degree in experimental/cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, or related cognitive neuroscience fields - demonstrated interest in and qualification for scientific research - experience with behavioural experiments and/or experience with EEG methods is a plus - the ability to work in an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, linguists, and cognitive neuroscientists in an international context - proficiency in English - excellent writing skills

Organization
Radboud University Nijmegen Faculty of Social Sciences
Strategically located in Europe, Radboud University Nijmegen is one of the leading academic communities in the Netherlands. A place with a personal touch, where top-flight education and research take place on a beautiful green campus in modern buildings with state-of-art facilities.

The NICI is affiliated with the Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Social Sciences. The NICI conducts interdisciplinary research and provides training in cognitive psychology and its neighbouring disciplines. Psychological and neuro-biological principles of information processing are jointly studied by scientists from various disciplines. The main host of this PhD project will be the NICI (affiliation within the Action, Intention & Motor control section); close cooperation is planned with the Baby Research Centre Nijmegen and the FC Donders Centre (Infant EEG lab).

Conditions of employment

• Estimated maximum salary per month: eur 2500 - 3000
• Maximum salary amount in Euro’s a month 2558
• Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
• Duration of the contract Maximum hours per week: 40

Additional conditions of employment:
The candidate will be appointed as a PhD student (1,0 fte) for a period of four years. After 1½ years, the candidate will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be prolonged for 2½ years. Salary: PhD scale

Additional Information
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:
dr. Sabine Hunnius
Telephone number: +31 (0)24 3612648
E-mail address: s.hunnius@nici.ru.nl
prof. dr. Harold Bekkering
Telephone number: +31 (0)24 3612632
E-mail address: h.bekkering@nici.ru.nl

Or additional information can be obtained through one of the following links.

• About the organization ( http://www.ru.nl/)
• About the department (http://www.ru.nl/fsw)
• About the function (http://www.ru.nl/fsw)
• Radboud University Nijmegen (http://www.ru.nl/)

Application
You can apply for this job before 15 March 2008 by sending your application to:
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
Faculty of Social Sciences/P en O
Postbus 9104, 6500 HE NIJMEGEN
E-mail address: vacancies@socsci.ru.nl

When applying for this job always mention the vacancy number 24.05.08.

Category: Netherlands, Postgraduate-PhD