The Department supports applications for studentships via the Economic and Social Research Council’s North West Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP), which include standard studentships and CASE studentships (for collaboration with a non-higher education partner). NWSSDTP studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fees or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status. Within the NWSSDTP, applicants can apply for funding for a master degree in combination with doctoral studies (1+3) or for funding to support their doctoral studies (+3). The NWSSDTP currently supports several studentships ring-fenced for students from a Global Majority background. The ESRC has also awarded the NWSSDTP a number of ‘steered’ studentships in the ‘priority areas’ of advanced quantitative methods, longitudinal studies (using ESRC datasets) and interdisciplinary work. Please visit our ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on how to apply via our Department.
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University regularly has a studentship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council available. This usually is a studentship for PhD funding (+3). It provides full tuition fees, a maintenance stipend (at the general UKRI rate) and access to a research training support grant. These studentships are open to both applicants with a ‘Home’ fee or an ‘International’ fee status. However, across the DTP, no more than 30% of studentships can be allocated to applicants with an ‘International’ fee status. As a department, we particularly encourage applications to work with early career staff. This year these include: Dr Amy Atkinson, Dr Marina Bazhydai, Dr Jaime Benjamin, Dr Mark Hurlstone, Dr Heather Shaw, Dr Hannah Stewart, Dr L-J Stokes, Dr Lydia Speyer, and Dr David Neequaye. Applications to work with these members of staff are weighted preferentially at the short-listing stage for this studentship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process
The Department of Psychology at Lancaster University usually has one or more studentships funded by the Faculty of Science and Technology available. The award is for PhD funding (+3) and provides tuition fees at the ‘Home/UK’ rate, a maintenance stipend in accordance with UKRI rates, and access to a grant towards research training support. Applicants with an ‘International’ fee status must fund the difference between Home/UK and International fees themselves, if successful. As a department, we particularly encourage applications to work with early career staff. This year these include: Dr Amy Atkinson, Dr Jaime Benjamin, Dr Mark Hurlstone, Dr David Neequaye, Dr Heather Shaw, Dr Lydia Speyer, Dr Hannah Stewart, and Dr L-J Stokes. Applications to work with these members of staff are weighted preferentially at the short-listing stage for this studentship. Please see under ‘Current Opportunities’ for information on the application process.
Lancaster University-China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship
The Department of Psychology is happy to support applications to the Lancaster University-China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship. If you would like to apply via the Department of Psychology, please contact postgraduate.psychology@lancaster.ac.uk for information on the application process.
Older adults’ vulnerability to deception in new digital technologies
PhD project
- Background. Older adults (60+ years) often have lower digital skills (Bhattacharjee et al., 2020). They are less accurate than younger adults in discriminating manipulated images from real ones (Nightingale et al., 2022) and they are more vulnerable to fake news (Moore & Hancock, 2022) and online scams (Fraud on the Elderly, 2013). Several social and cognitive factors affect older adults’ vulnerability, including (I) being too trusting, (II) social isolation, (III) psychological vulnerability and (IV) risk taking (Shao et al., 2019). Interventions have been developed to help older adults detect fake news and manipulated images (Moore & Hancock, 2022; Nightingale et al., 2022). Recent technological developments, such as AI, Deepfakes, and immersive virtual & augmented realities may leave older adults more vulnerable than younger adults to deception and manipulation using these technologies.
- Methodology. The PhD will consist of multiple studies, each looking at a specific technological context.
The first study will focus on disinformation and AI-generated images. It will investigate the importance of cognitive biases (including risk-taking, sensory defects and experience with the technology) and social factors (e.g. ethnicity, social networks, social isolation, trust) in accepting disinformation and AI-generated images. It will also study the efficacy of interventions (Nightingale et al. 2022) that intend to help people detect disinformation and image manipulation.
The second study will focus on the detection of manipulated video (both AI-generated “deepfakes” and simpler manipulations, such as false subtitles). The study will investigate participants familiarity with these manipulations, and factors that predict their ability to detect them (including those in work package 1) and test the efficacy of Nightingale et al.’s (2022) intervention in helping participants detect them.
The third study will focus on participants' attitudes to immersive technologies and manipulated content. Do older people perceive immersive technology as ‘real’ and what would they consider ‘fake’ or ‘manipulated’ in such virtual or augmented spaces?
Supervisors
- From Psychology
- Dr Lara Warmelink (Director of Studies)
- Dr Sophie Nightingale
- Professor Trevor Crawford
- From Health Research
- Dr Faraz Ahmed
Candidate requirements
Candidates should have:
- a good undergraduate degree in Psychology, Computer Science, Communication or a cogent discipline
- experience with data collection and/or data analysis.
Desirable:
To have worked with older adults
Studentship start date: October 2024
Funding details: EPSRC stipend plus tuition fees for UK students
How to apply: Submit an application for full-time study here Applying for postgraduate study - Lancaster University and complete the Qualtrics Survey here Qualtrics Survey | Qualtrics Experience Management
Deadline: 31st May 2024
For more information, please contact Dr Lara Warmelink at l.warmelink@lancaster.ac.uk
Developmental Psychology: Impact of Children’s Auditory Technology
Project description: Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship to study the impact of children’s auditory technology on communication in a naturalistic listening environment. The project will be based on the Paediatric Listening, Cognition and Neuroscience (PELiCAN) Lab at the Department of Psychology, Lancaster University.
Children with mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHL) are behind their peers in educational attainment and in language development through to adulthood and do not get as much benefit from auditory technology as adults. We are seeking to recruit a curious and highly motivated PhD student to be part of Hannah Stewart’s UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship ‘Impact of Children’s Auditory Technology (iCAT)’. The overarching aim of iCAT is to provide the evidence base needed to deliver child-appropriate auditory technologies for primary school-aged children with MMHL.
You will work on iCAT’s naturalistic assessment of the listening project. This is a ‘blue skies’ project combining social behavioural (e.g., eye and motion tracking) and behavioural outcomes with mobile neuroimaging, to assess communication between children and a teacher in a naturalistic research classroom. This PhD studentship focuses on the social behavioural side of the project. In particular, you will be trained in hearing sciences, and eye and motion tracking study design and analysis.
You will join a multidisciplinary team of highly driven researchers from experimental psychology, auditory neuroscience, and education. The Psychology Department has a very active auditory group, including six permanent academic staff, postdoctoral researchers, and PhD students. The department is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena Swan Silver Award.
The PhD candidate must have a first or upper-second-class Undergraduate honours degree or Master in a discipline relevant to the project. While we expect that this project would suit graduates from a psychology background, we are also keen to receive applications from a wide range of backgrounds that might enhance the project. The technical demands of the expected work may well suit applicants from a mathematics, computer science, or linguistics background. A demonstrable understanding and passion for psychological research is essential. Experience working with children is highly desirable, but not essential. The successful PhD candidate will need to complete an enhanced DBS check.
This PhD studentship is fully funded for up to 3.5 years with a tax-free studentship stipend of £18,622, along with paid tuition fees, subject to satisfactory progress. A budget for training and attending conferences will also be provided. Due to tuition fee restrictions, these positions are only available to applicants who are eligible for UK fee status (see https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/fee-status/ for further details).
For informal enquiries about the project please contact Hannah Stewart (h.stewart5@lancaster.ac.uk).
Studentship start date: October 2024 or January 2025
How to apply: Please email the following documents to postgraduate.psychology@lancaster.ac.uk with the title “Impact of Children’s Auditory Technology PhD studentship” by 5th June 2024. The successful candidate will be asked to submit an application to Lancaster University for full-time PhD study with a start date of either October 2024 or January 2025 as agreed.
- Two page CV
- Names and contact details of two referees. One of the references must be academic.
- A one-page personal statement which demonstrates the applicant’s
- motivation for choosing a PhD project exploring the social behavioural impact of children’s auditory technology on communication in a naturalistic listening environment
- readiness for a PhD studentship
Deadline: 5th June 2024