Psychological research has made great strides in uncovering certain motivational and cognitive processes that are associated reliably with alcohol consumption. For example, motivational processes, such as the subjective wanting of alcohol (‘craving’) and our inclination to drink rather than avoid alcohol (‘automatic approach tendencies’) predict differing levels of alcohol use (Field et al., 2009). In addition, cognitive processes, such as automatically identifying alcohol in our environment (‘attentional bias’) and our ability to regulate our impulses (‘inhibitory control’) also appear to be reliable predictors (Jones et al., 2018; Pennington et al., 2020). Despite theorised inter-relationships between these processes, however, empirical studies tend to investigate them in isolation. Moreover, alcohol research tends to largely overlook affective processes (e.g., ‘liking’), despite them being proposed as an important predictor of other addictive behaviours (Selby et al., 2020). Bridging these gaps in the literature, this Ph.D. project aims to develop an integrated model of the affective, motivational, and cognitive processes that predict alcohol consumption. It will comprise a systematic literature review and meta-analysis followed by experimental studies that assess these processes in healthy individuals with differing levels of alcohol consumption. This will reveal important individual differences and potential risk or protective factors for alcohol misuse.
Estimated yearly cost of consumables
The student may wish to attend academic conferences and would be responsible for acquiring funding with help from their supervisors.
Person Specification
The successful applicant should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, a Masters degree in a relevant subject with a 60% or higher weighted average, and/or a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution) in clinical medicine.
Submitting an application
As part of the application, you will need to supply:
· A copy of your current CV
· Copies of your academic qualifications for your Bachelor degree, and Masters degree (if studied); this should include both certificates and transcripts, and must be translated in to English
· A research proposal statement*
· Two academic references
· Proof of your English Language proficiency
Details of how to submit your application,can be found here.
*The application must be accompanied by a “research proposal” statement. An original proposal is not required as the initial scope of the project has been defined, candidates should take this opportunity to detail how their knowledge and experience will benefit the project and should also be accompanied by a brief review of relevant research literature.
Please include the supervisor’s name and project title in your Personal Statement.
If you require further information about the application process please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at [Email Address Removed]
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