[Face-research-list] PhD Studentship: Adaptive perspectives on social signals within the human face

[Robert Ward]

Hello,
I am advertising to offer a fully-funded PhD studentship at Bangor University (UK/EU fees, stipend, travel and research expenses) starting in Oct 2015, to investigate social attributions to faces. The position would be most appropriate for someone who already has, or is currently enrolled in, an MSc in psychology or related area. A general description and link to the ad is below. As you can see, there is some deliberate flexibility for the student to shape the project topic.

If you are interested, please contact me to discuss. The deadline for applications is 27 Feb.

Thank you,
Rob

Professor Robert Ward
Wolfson Centre for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience
School of Psychology
Bangor University
Bangor LL57 2AS
http://psychology.bangor.ac.uk/ward

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/psychology/postgraduate/studentships/human-face.php.en

Humans are both highly visual and highly social beings, and people are quick to make attributions of personality and other social traits on the basis of mere appearance. For the past few years my students and I have been investigating the accuracy of visually-based judgements from the face, and in a series of studies have found that these attributions can be surprisingly accurate, even when based on neutral "passport"-style photographs. Within such photographs is enough information to identify stable personality traits and aspects of mental health in strangers (e.g., papers from former PhD students: Kramer & Ward, 2010; Jones et al, 2012; Scott et al, 2013). Such findings raise a number of issues to be explored in this studentship. A key general issue is whether these facial cues to behaviour are part of an evolved signal system. Theories of evolved signal systems emphasise the co-evolution of the signal sender and receiver.  For the system to remain stable, it must have benefits for both the sender and receiver. What adaptive benefits might there be for someone to signal their socially undesirable traits to others? Can facial signals be masked to deceive the receiver? For example, to what extent is signal disrupted by voluntary emotional expressions?  A second general issue surrounds the signal content. That is, what is the facial information that observers use to identify social traits? Possibilities include subtle micro-expressions, postures, facial morphology, and more. Finally, what are the causal factors that might produce a joint influence on facial appearance and behaviour? Within the context of these general issues, there is scope for the student to shape the project aims and focus.






Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig 1141565 - Registered Charity No. 1141565

Gall y neges e-bost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau a anfonwyd gyda hi, gynnwys deunydd cyfrinachol ac wedi eu bwriadu i'w defnyddio'n unig gan y sawl y cawsant eu cyfeirio ato (atynt). Os ydych wedi derbyn y neges e-bost hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r anfonwr ar unwaith a dilewch y neges. Os na fwriadwyd anfon y neges atoch chi, rhaid i chi beidio a defnyddio, cadw neu ddatgelu unrhyw wybodaeth a gynhwysir ynddi. Mae unrhyw farn neu safbwynt yn eiddo i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd yn unig ac nid yw o anghenraid yn cynrychioli barn Prifysgol Bangor. Nid yw Prifysgol Bangor yn gwarantu bod y neges e-bost hon neu unrhyw atodiadau yn rhydd rhag firysau neu 100% yn ddiogel. Oni bai fod hyn wedi ei ddatgan yn uniongyrchol yn nhestun yr e-bost, nid bwriad y neges e-bost hon yw ffurfio contract rhwymol - mae rhestr o lofnodwyr awdurdodedig ar gael o Swyddfa Cyllid Prifysgol Bangor.

This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain or disclose any information contained in this email. Any views or opinions are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of Bangor University. Bangor University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of the text of the email, this email is not intended to form a binding contract - a list of authorised signatories is available from the Bangor University Finance Office.