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Job Leiden University - Promovendus / Ph.D Student

Promovendus / Ph.D Student, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Cognitive Psychology Unit at the Psychology Department

Job description

Content of the project

Working memory and cognitive control decline with old age, and this has implications for society, as it ultimately increases dependency on health care. However, it is generally believed that mental exercise helps to delay the decline of cognitive functions, if practiced sufficiently. While formal training and education requires a strong motivation to continue the exercise, computer games are designed to capture useful training in pleasant activities. In the current project, such games are developed and the effectiveness in maintaining working memory and control is investigated with a variety of validated experimental behavioural paradigms and the use of cognitive neuroscience methods. Follow-up studies will be aimed at identifying factors in the games and the users that support success at training. As a by-product of this project, the large data sets will be used for structural equation modelling of control functions. The ultimate goal of the project is to make effective (evidence-based) cognitive training games widely available through internet.

Tasks

• Developing adaptive games for the training of cognitive control and working memory
• Implementing these games in an experimental study design
• Testing the effectiveness of the training with behavioural and psycho physiological techniques
• Preparing and submitting a minimum of four manuscripts for peer-reviewed international scientific journals
• Performing structural equation modelling on the data sets
• Completing a Ph.D. dissertation
• Participating in the graduate school at Leiden University, and in the research school EPOS

Requirements

Requirements

• Master degree in psychology, educational sciences, information science or similar fields
• Good programming skills (preferably in Flash)
• Creativity
• An interest in and knowledge of cognitive aging
• Excellent skills in research, planning, writing and presentation (in English).
• Excellent social skills
• Sufficient fluency in Dutch

Preferences

• Experience with EEG recording and analysis
• Experience with structural equation modelling

Conditions of employment

The successful applicant will be appointed to the department of Psychology for a fixed-term period of 4 years, with continuation dependent upon an evaluation after 12 months. Gross salary will be € 2042 per month in the first year, gradually rising to € 2612 per month in the final year.

Contract type

Temporary

4 years

Organisation

Leiden University

In Leiden there are approximately 17,000 students and 4,000 staff members. The University consists of 6 faculties, a School of Education (teacher training), and a Campus in The Hague. The University houses the faculties of Archaeology, Humanities, Law, Medicine/LUMC (Leiden University Medical Center), Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Social and Behavioural Sciences. Leiden University is the oldest university in the Netherlands. It was founded in February 1575.

The three guiding principles of the University are:

1. an international orientation
2. the research-intensive character of the University
3. maintaining the quality of education and research.

Central to these principles is the issue of talent. In the coming years, the University intends to make major contributions to society in the areas of prosperity, well-being and culture. Talent is indispensable to the realisation of that ambition. To this end, the University is committed to both recruiting and developing talent. This will involve secondary school pupils, university students, and young researchers and academics.

Department

Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

With roughly 4700 students and 430 faculty & staff, the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is the largest faculty within Leiden University. In instruction and research, faculty and students from the Netherlands and abroad focus on themes of wide social interest as for instance adoption, growing up in a multicultural society, European politics, safety, traditional ways of life, and changing societies.

Additional information

For more information about this position please contact:

Dr. Guido Band
+31-(0)71-5273998
band@fsw.leidenuniv.nl  

 

The short URL code for this job opening is: 3235
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