PhD Studentship: The link between prediction during speech listening and conversation behaviour (Hearing Sciences, based in Glasgow)

Background

Applications are invited for the above studentship based in the Scottish Section of the University of Nottingham’s Hearing Sciences department, located in Glasgow. This is a thriving centre of research into how people use their hearing, how hearing loss affects them, and how new technologies might help. This project is part of a programme of work into hearing in social situations, and how making predictions during listening impacts conversation behaviour.

 Project description:

Being able to interact with other people is vital for health and quality of life, and it can be devastating if the ability to converse easily with others breaks down. People with hearing impairment can have substantial difficulty during conversation, leading to social isolation and reduced wellbeing. Importantly, making predictions during conversation makes it easier to take turns and improves understanding, but while people with hearing impairment could particularly benefit from making these predictions (as they receive degraded auditory input), they seem not to.

In this PhD, you will investigate how people’s ability to make predictions when listening to speech relates to their physical behaviour in conversation. You will take typical lab based measures of prediction during speech listening (e.g., a visual world paradigm), explore ways of measuring predictive behaviour in conversation (such as anticipatory head turns or gaze to a new talker, smooth turn-taking etc), and investigate the link between the two. You will study both normal hearing and hearing impaired participants in different acoustic environments. These experiments will be carried out in our specially equipped laboratory, in which several people can hold a conversation while their body and eye movements are tracked, and you will be trained to use a range of relevant experimental techniques. This PhD falls within a larger research programme investigating prediction and hearing loss, with the ultimate aim of understanding the basis of social difficulty to develop hearing technology able to help.

The Offer

This is a fully funded studentship available to UK students only, for 36 months to commence in October 2021 or soon thereafter, with tuition fees paid, and a full tax-free stipend commensurate with the RCUK rate (currently £15,285 per annum). This project is based in Hearing Sciences – Scottish Section (Glasgow), and will provide training in audiological assessments, behavioural testing, and motion/gaze tracking.

 Candidate Requirements

Applicants should be a UK national and have an undergraduate degree in Psychology, Hearing Sciences or a related subject (relevant Master's degree will be an advantage). We are looking for a strong background in research methods (multi-method experience will be an advantage) as well as a keen interest in speech and communication.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to the principal supervisor: Dr Lauren V Hadley ([Email Address Removed]).

To apply, candidates should send their CV and a cover letter detailing relevant experience to [Email Address Removed]. Post will remain open until filled.