PhD position Computational cognitive modeling of language processing strategies (1.0 FTE)

The Center for Language and Cognition Groningen (CLCG) at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) invites applications for a fully-funded four-year interfaculty PhD position (1.0 FTE) in the field of cognitive science, (computational) psycholinguistics and artificial intelligence. The PhD candidate will work on the project “Computational cognitive modeling of language processing strategies”. This PhD project is part of the NWO project “Unraveling Language Learning in Autism” and is jointly supervised by Prof. Petra Hendriks (Linguistics) and Dr Jacolien van Rij (Artificial Intelligence).

What are you going to do?

In the PhD project, you will develop and use computational models to investigate how autistic children learn and process referring expressions. Autistic individuals may arrive at the same interpretation as neurotypical individuals, but via different processing paths. One way to elucidate these different processing paths and the issue of whether they yield viable compensatory strategies for autistic individuals is to computationally simulate learning and processing strategies. Certain strategies may be suboptimal under the time constraints and cognitive demands of everyday conversation. This is especially relevant for autistic individuals, who often need more time for processing. 

The computational simulations will be implemented within the domain-general cognitive architecture PRIMs (e.g., Toth, Hendriks, Taatgen, & van Rij, 2022), which is both a theory of cognition and an implementation framework. It includes widely accepted assumptions about human perception, memory, cognitive processing, and learning.

Toth, A. G., Hendriks, P., Taatgen, N. A., & van Rij, J. (2022). A cognitive modeling approach to learning and using reference biases in language. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 5, 933504.

As a PhD student, you will carry out the following tasks:

• Carry out academic research in cognitive science, (computational) psycholinguistics and artificial intelligence as specified in the project description.
• Engage in regular meetings with the supervisors to discuss the progress of the PhD project.
• Write four publishable articles/chapters, with supervisory guidance.
• Complete the PhD dissertation in the specified timeframe (4 years).
• Present research findings at national and international conferences, workshops and seminars.
• Collaborate with project members in the NWO project “Unraveling Language Learning in Autism”.
• Participate in the activities of the relevant research groups (e.g., the Semantics and Cognition group and the Cognitive Modeling group) at the University of Groningen.
• Teach in one of the relevant programmes at the Faculty of Arts.
• Move to Groningen or its immediate vicinity.

For this PhD project, we are looking for someone who has:

• A Research Master’s or Master’s degree in cognitive science, (computational) psycholinguistics, or artificial intelligence.
• Demonstrable experience in programming, e.g. in Python.
• Preferably experience with cognitive architectures and some background in linguistics.
• Interest in interdisciplinary research, and motivation to work as part of a team of researchers from different fields.
• A clear motivation for pursuing PhD research.
• Excellent academic writing skills in English.

• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

The Faculty of Arts is a large and dynamic faculty located in the heart of the city of Groningen. More than 5,500 students and 900 staff work every day at the frontiers of knowledge. The Faculty offers a diverse range of academic programmes, with 16 Bachelor's programmes and over 40 Master's programmes. With its strong international orientation, the Faculty conducts research in fields including archaeology, cultural studies, history, international relations, journalism, literature, and linguistics. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Arts, visit rug.nl/let. 

The Center for Language and Cognition Groningen (CLCG) is a research institute within the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen. It is the institutional home for all the linguistic research carried out within the faculty.

CLCG is also affiliated with various research schools. These are Dutch organizations which seek to coordinate scientific activity on a supra-faculty or even national, level.

Do you have any questions or need more information?

Questions about the content of the job?
Petra Hendriks (Full Professor): P.Hendriks@rug.nl

Questions about your application process?
Marjolein Talsma (Management/Office-assistant): m.w.talsma@rug.nl