Keywords: decision-making, attention, cognition
Understanding how humans make decisions is a central theme in the behavioural sciences, with wide-ranging implications in fields such as medicine, engineering, economics, and public policy. In real-life situations, decisions often involve considering multiple alternatives that vary in several attributes. However, laboratory studies tend to simplify decisions to just two alternatives described in a single attribute, limiting our understanding of the cognitive and neural processes involved in more complex decision-making scenarios. Attention is one fundamental process that may have a pivotal (yet uncharted) role during information-rich complex decisions. This project will use behavioural experiments with healthy human participants, in conjunction with electro-/magnetoencephalography (E/MEG), to characterize the role of attentional processes in orchestrating information integration during complex decisions that involve multiple alternatives and multiple attributes.
The project will be jointly supervised by Dr Konstantinos Tsetsos at the University of Bristol and Professor Anina Rich at Macquarie University in Sydney. Dr Tsetsos specializes in decision-making, particularly with a focus on computational modelling. Professor Rich specializes in selective attention and multisensory integration. Both supervisors employ state-of-the-art methods for decoding the locus of attention with millisecond accuracy using E/MEG. The successful candidate should have demonstrable quantitative skills and a strong knowledge of current theoretical frameworks in the fields of attention and decision-making. The funding will allow the student to spend the first two years of the project at the University of Bristol and years 3 and 4 at Macquarie University. If you are interested in applying for this position, please in the first instance contact Dr Konstantinos Tsetsos ([Email Address Removed]).
Entry Requirements
An upper second-class honours degree (or equivalent) in psychology or a related discipline is required for entry to this programme. For English language requirements, please refer to the entry requirements as detailed on the postgraduate prospectus.
How to Apply
Please use the link provided on this page to apply online: PhD Psychology | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol
When making your application, please use the programme title Psychology (PhD) (Macquarie), indicate the supervisor name and the project title on the form. Ensure you provide all supporting documents as per the programme admissions statement.
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