Faculty Position in Psychology KU Leuven, Faculty of Psychology

(Ref. BAP-2016-175) Occupation : Full-time Period : Fixed-term contract extendable Place : Leuven Apply no later than : May 22, 2016 The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Belgium, seeks motivated candidates to fill a PhD position on the project “Time series models for capturing emotional response patterning and synchronization processes” (PI and advisors: Eva Ceulemans, Francis Tuerlinckx and Peter Kuppens). Time series models for capturing emotional response patterning and synchronization processes The successful candidate will work in the Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences under the supervision of Eva Ceulemans, Francis Tuerlinckx and Peter Kuppens. The group offers an international, productive, collaborative, and interactive environment with about 6 faculty and 25 graduate and postdoc researchers. On a daily basis, you will collaborate with researchers with diverse backgrounds: psychologists, educational scientists, statisticians, physicists, and engineers. Seehttp://ppw.kuleuven.be/okp/home/ for further information. The KU Leuven-University of Leuven is a research oriented institution and is consistently ranked among the top research universities in Europe. Leuven is one of the oldest university towns in Europe, about 30 km from Brussels. It has a rich history, culture and night life, and a unique friendly atmosphere. Website unit Project Functionalist definitions of emotions state that they consist of synchronized or patterned changes in multiple experiential, physiological, and behavioral response channels which enable the organism to quickly and efficiently cope with environmental threats or opportunities. Yet, detecting response patterning and synchronicity in empirical data represents a formidable challenge (Gross, 2010). Indeed, while technological advances have enabled the collection of intensive time-series data on multiple response channels, the development of suited statistical tools is lagging behind, as some key challenges that come with the complex nature of the research questions and associated data, are not easy to address. Specifically, methods are needed that can determine (1) when and what exactly changes (e.g., mean level, covariation), (2) which subsystems (e.g., experiential, behavioral, physiological, neurological) are involved and in what way, and (3) how this differs across individuals. The aim of this project is to tackle these challenges by developing a new modeling framework for capturing time-varying response patterning and synchronicity. We will apply the framework to empirical data, and disseminate it to substantive researchers by, amongst others, building easy-to-use software. Profile Prerequisites for candidate PhD students on this project are a Master’s degree with a solid background in statistics, a keen interest in algorithmics and programming, and excellent English reporting skills. Offer We offer a 4-year PhD position (starting on October 1, 2016), an encouraging daily guidance, a stimulating research environment in which creativity is rewarded, facilities for taking advanced courses with immediate relevance for the research project and for presenting research results at international conferences, and a net grant of approx. 1850 euro per month. Interested? Applicants should upload their motivation letter and full CV, and the names and contact information of at least two references. For more information please contact Prof. dr. Eva Ceulemans, tel.: +32 16 32 58 81, mail:eva.ceulemans@kuleuven.be, or Prof. dr. Francis Tuerlinckx, tel.: +32 16 32 59 99, mail:francis.tuerlinckx@kuleuven.be. If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Psychoneuroxy

(Ref. BAP-2016-175)

Occupation : Full-time
Period : Fixed-term contract extendable
Place : Leuven
Apply no later than : May 22, 2016

The Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Belgium, seeks motivated candidates to fill a PhD position on the project “Time series models for capturing emotional response patterning and synchronization processes” (PI and advisors: Eva Ceulemans, Francis Tuerlinckx and Peter Kuppens).

Time series models for capturing emotional response patterning and synchronization processes

The successful candidate will work in the Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences under the supervision of Eva Ceulemans, Francis Tuerlinckx and Peter Kuppens. The group offers an international, productive, collaborative, and interactive environment with about 6 faculty and 25 graduate and postdoc researchers. On a daily basis, you will collaborate with researchers with diverse backgrounds: psychologists, educational scientists, statisticians, physicists, and engineers. Seehttp://ppw.kuleuven.be/okp/home/ for further information.
The KU Leuven-University of Leuven is a research oriented institution and is consistently ranked among the top research universities in Europe. Leuven is one of the oldest university towns in Europe, about 30 km from Brussels. It has a rich history, culture and night life, and a unique friendly atmosphere.

Website unit

Project

Functionalist definitions of emotions state that they consist of synchronized or patterned changes in multiple experiential, physiological, and behavioral response channels which enable the organism to quickly and efficiently cope with environmental threats or opportunities. Yet, detecting response patterning and synchronicity in empirical data represents a formidable challenge (Gross, 2010). Indeed, while technological advances have enabled the collection of intensive time-series data on multiple response channels, the development of suited statistical tools is lagging behind, as some key challenges that come with the complex nature of the research questions and associated data, are not easy to address. Specifically, methods are needed that can determine (1) when and what exactly changes (e.g., mean level, covariation), (2) which subsystems (e.g., experiential, behavioral, physiological, neurological) are involved and in what way, and (3) how this differs across individuals. The aim of this project is to tackle these challenges by developing a new modeling framework for capturing time-varying response patterning and synchronicity. We will apply the framework to empirical data, and disseminate it to substantive researchers by, amongst others, building easy-to-use software.

Profile

Prerequisites for candidate PhD students on this project are a Master’s degree with a solid background in statistics, a keen interest in algorithmics and programming, and excellent English reporting skills.

Offer

We offer a 4-year PhD position (starting on October 1, 2016), an encouraging daily guidance, a stimulating research environment in which creativity is rewarded, facilities for taking advanced courses with immediate relevance for the research project and for presenting research results at international conferences, and a net grant of approx. 1850 euro per month.

Interested?

Applicants should upload their motivation letter and full CV, and the names and contact information of at least two references.
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Eva Ceulemans, tel.: +32 16 32 58 81, mail:eva.ceulemans@kuleuven.be, or Prof. dr. Francis Tuerlinckx, tel.: +32 16 32 59 99, mail:francis.tuerlinckx@kuleuven.be.

If you apply for this position please say you saw it on Psychoneuroxy