How do I get past this? Understanding the relationship between perceptual judgment and movement execution

Oxford Brookes University
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences,
Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development

3 Year, full-time PhD studentship
Eligibility: Home UK/EU applicants who must be permanently resident in UK/EU
Closing date: 14 November 2019
Interviews: 10 December 2019
Start date: January 2020
Bursary p.a.: £15,009 for 3 years
University fees and bench fees at the Home/EU rate will be met by the University for the 3 years of the Studentship.
Supervisors: Dr Kate Wilmut, Dr Clare Rathbone, Prof Anna Barnett

Project:
Moving safely around our environment without collision or incident involves numerous complex processes including the movement we choose to make. For example, when faced with a narrow gap, can we squeeze through or should we go around? When considering factors which constrain these decisions body size is clearly important, but additional factors such as movement capabilities (Wilmut and Barnett, 2010; 2011) and emotional state (Riener et al., 2011) also play a role.

Wilmut, Du and Barnett (2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SABXFrAJtF8) further demonstrate that our judgement of what we say we would do (perception) can be different from what we actually do (action). Unpublished data from this project demonstrate that movement ability constrains action but not perception in a population with a movement difficulty. Further unpublished work, has found that state anxiety influences perception but not action in an adult population. In combination these findings highlight a complex interplay between perception and action and the factors which constrain these.

A PhD in this area would focus on factors which mediate the relationship between perception and action. Such factors could include emotional state for different populations, the interplay between movement ability and emotion, the relationship between emotion and self-efficacy. Such a project could be carried out in children and/or adults. The successful applicant will be expected to design, run and analyse experimental data exploring motor control using motion capture equipment to measure movement. There is an additional requirement to undertake up to 6 hours undergraduate teaching/week during semesters and to participate in a teaching skills course without further remuneration.

For further information contact Dr Kate Wilmut: [Email Address Removed]

Requirements
Applicants should have a first or upper second class honours degree from a Higher Education Institution in the UK or acceptable equivalent qualification in psychology or related cognate discipline (knowledge of research design and statistics is essential). EU Applicants must have a valid IELTS Academic test certificate (or equivalent) with an overall minimum score of 7.0 and no score below 6.0 issued in the last 2 years by an approved test centre_