EASTBIO: Neural mechanisms for social interaction: how trust judgements influence gaze following

This fully funded, 4-year PhD project is part of a competition funded by the BBSRC EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership.

Aim: This interdisciplinary project will provide novel insights into how trustworthiness shapes attention in human social interactions. Trustworthiness processing is a key human social trait, critical for individual survival and flourishing human social networks. A central component of social interaction is gaze following – looking where someone else is looking – yet we lack theoretical and mechanistic understanding of how different types of signals for trustworthiness influence gaze-following behaviour. The project will reveal the neural timecourse and mechanisms for utilising different signals for trustworthiness to support gaze following, contributing to a deeper understanding of the cognitive and neural processes underpinning human social interaction.

Context: In social situations, we instinctively follow others’ gaze, engaging in joint attention – a behaviour crucial for social functioning and cooperation. The extent to which we follow someone’s gaze is influenced by our judgement of their trustworthiness. However, exactly how it modulates gaze following is unclear: while many studies suggest trustworthy cues enhance attention to gazed-at locations, some report opposite results. These inconsistencies may arise because behavioural studies (1) have failed to account systematically for the nature of trustworthiness cues or (2) are unable to examine subtleties in the timecourse of information utilisation that can be revealed by neuroscientific methods. Our project overcomes these obstacles by combining neuroscientific and cognitive psychology methods.

Project: Trustworthiness cues can be derived from perceptual signals, such as facial features, and from applying schema knowledge to information (e.g., biographical) learnt about an individual. In real-world interactions both cue types are available concurrently – and may align or conflict with each other.

1. Eye-tracking will be used to compare the effects of aligned or conflicting concurrent trustworthiness cues on gaze following.
2. Electroencephalography (EEG) experiments will be used to characterise the neural timecourse and mechanisms that underlie how different cues to trustworthiness are utilised for gaze following.

State-of-the-art multivariate (classification/machine learning) analyses of EEG data will shed light on the timecourse and the different contributions of key cues to gaze following. Previous EEG studies have hinted at how concurrent cues might be processed when making explicit trustworthiness judgments, indicating that EEG is an excellent tool to provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying gaze following and their role in human social interactions.

This project is suitable for a candidate with a background in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Biology, Computer Science, or related fields and who is keen to develop new skills as an interdisciplinary researcher.

For further project information please contact the lead project supervisor by selecting the first listed name at the top of this advert and sending your enquiry.

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ELIGIBILITY:

Applicants should hold a minimum of a 2:1 UK Honours degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject. Those with a 2:2 UK Honours degree (or international equivalent) may be considered, provided they have (or are expected to achieve) a Distinction or Commendation at master’s level.

We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities, and are committed to having a diverse, inclusive team.

All students must meet the eligibility criteria as outlined in the UKRI guidance on funding for postgraduate training and development. This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Terms and conditions for training funding – UKRI.

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APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

• Please visit this page for full application information: https://biology.ed.ac.uk/eastbio/how-to-apply
• Please send your completed EASTBIO application form, along with academic transcripts and certificates to [Email Address Removed]
• Please ensure that two references are submitted by the deadline using the EASTBIO reference form (available here). If the references are not included with your application, they must be sent directly to [Email Address Removed] with the subject line: "EASTBIO Reference – [Your Name]".
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that references are submitted by the deadline (17^th January). We will not request academic references on your behalf.
• Please ensure you submit all the required information and documentation. Due to workload constraints, we are unable to follow up on missing documents or process incomplete applications.
• If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at [Email Address Removed]