Name of scholarship

Canterbury Christ Church University PhD Scholarship 2022/23

Award

PhD Scholarship

Closing date

15 July 2022

Content of offer

Canterbury Christ Church University welcomes applications for two full-time PhD scholarships (a stipend of £13,000 p.a., tuition fee waiver for three years and an expense allowance of £500 p. a.) in psychology.

The scholarships will be offered to students working on two of the following projects. Applicants should specify in their application form and PhD proposal form which of the projects they are interested in working on.

1 Investigating the Use of Facility Dogs for Providing Support to Vulnerable Individuals Within the Criminal Justice System

For almost five years, the Justice Support Dogs International (JSDI) Lab at Canterbury Christ Church University has been working to build an evidence base for the value of using facility dogs in the UK Criminal Justice System (https://blogs.canterbury.ac.uk/psychology/justice-dogs/).

Working in conjunction with various national and international criminal justice organizations, this project will investigate the use of facility dogs in providing support to vulnerable individuals within the criminal justice system. The project will contribute to some of the first research, globally, that evaluates the emotional and psychological benefits that facility dogs may provide in various processes (i.e., medical examinations, police interviews and court testimonies) within the criminal justice system. The project will involve both qualitative and quantitative methods. This will include a number of interviews with legal professionals from around the world who have used facility dogs in their practice and quantitative survey data collected from mock police interviews and court processes.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential.

For further information, please contact Dr Liz Spruin liz.spruin@cantebury.ac.uk

2 Using Virtual Reality Technology to Explore How Specific Elements of Virtual Worlds Evoke Feelings of Disgust and Anger and the Role They Play in Moral Decision Making

Feelings of anger are 'flexible' and mitigated by contextual information whereas feelings of disgust are 'stubborn' and less responsive to context (Russell & Giner-Sorolla, 2011). One way in which this manifests is by varied evaluations of individuals who perform virtual behaviours that evoke either anger (e.g. video game violence) or disgust (e.g. video game depravity) in onlookers (Sabo & Giner-Sorolla, 2017). These effects, however, have not been explored in the applied context of virtual reality. This PhD will involve a series of quantitative experiments using virtual reality technology to explore how specific elements of virtual worlds evoke feelings of disgust and anger and the role they play in moral decision making. Examples of these virtual elements may include the presence of weapons (Anderson et al., 1996), the type of target (Hartmann et al., 2009), and the presence of bodily disgust (Russell & Giner-Sorolla, 2013). As such, this project will examine which aspects of video games leads to condemning emotions, thus qualifying and informing on video game rating systems such as America's ESRB or Europe's PEGI while also promoting theoretical advances in our understanding of anger and disgust and their role in moral decision making.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential. Programming skills and/or experience working within the context of virtual reality would be an advantage.

For further information please contact Dr John Sabo john.sabo@canterbury.ac.uk

3 Investigating the Wellbeing of Assistance Dogs

While the use of assistance dogs, as well as their effect on the wellbeing of the humans they are helping are well established, there is currently very limited research investigating the wellbeing of the assistance dogs themselves. This PhD will look at and compare well-being of assistance and PAT dogs across a number of dimensions. These will be developed by the PhD student and could include positive vs. punitive training and handling methods, different ‘jobs’, e.g. facility dogs, PAT dogs, assistance dogs, guide dogs, etc., as well as whether dogs are bred for the job vs. trained pet dogs.

The research will involve using and further developing a protocol developed by the supervisor team which combines behavioural assessments and saliva cortisol testing. The PhD will use and build on existing relationships with relevant organisations.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential. To be able to access these dogs, there will be some travel involved. In addition the PhD student will have to receive training in dog behaviour to be able to train the handlers in the required observations.

For further information, please contact Dr Anke Franz anke.franz@canterbury.ac.uk

4 Investigating the Effectiveness of Token Systems and Other Reward Mechanisms in Home and Educational Settings

Token systems and other reward mechanisms are widely used at home and in educational settings (schools, nurseries, etc.). While beneficial and proven to be highly effective by parents and educators, there is also growing evidence that, at least for certain behaviours, material rewards can have a detrimental effect (Lepper et al., 1973; Warneken & Tomasello, 2008; Ulber et al., 2016). This PhD project involve an initial (online) survey to a) find out which forms of token/reward systems are being used in home or educational settings at the moment; b) which behaviours they are targeted at; c) their reported effectiveness. It will then involve experimental studies carried out with preschool- and primary school- aged children to investigate the effectiveness (including direction of effect) of different reward types identified in the initial study (e.g. praise, material incentives, etc.) on different behaviours and social interactions (e.g. prosocial behaviour, cooperation, peer interaction, adult-child interaction). The studies will therefore take place in the lab as well as participants' home and/or educational environment.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential as is acquiring enhanced DBS clearance for working with children.

For further information please contact Dr Julia Ulber julia.ulber@canterbury.ac.uk

5 Exploring the Lived Experience and Psychological Correlates of Tulpamancy (Conjured Imaginary Companions)

Tulpamancy is an experience whereby an individual conjurs an imaginary companion (called a Tulpa) via ‘thought-form’ meditative practice. Tulpamancers claim that their tulpas have achieved full sentience being and tulpas are often reported to be in human-form, but also as imaginary creatures such as dragons or elves. The very few studies that have investigated this find that tulpamancers possess or have developed a high propensity for absorption, hypnotisability, and non-psychotic sensory hallucinations (Isler, 2017; Veissiere, 2016). Many tulpamancers report having had imaginary friends since childhood and 28% report being diagnosed with or identifying with autism. Many report the experience of ‘switching’ where the host dissociates and has an out-of-body-experience (OBE). Anecdotally, there seems to be similar features of tulpamancy (and tuplas) to therianthropy (and theriotypes), mediumship (and the spirit guide phenomenon), ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’ (and multiple selves), voice hearing, and adult fiction writers (and experiencing characters as having minds of their own). Thus there are potential implications of this original research for psychological wellbeing and our understanding of dissociative states.

This PhD will involve phenomenological studies to explore the lived experience of individuals who self-identify as Tulpamancers. This may also involve other qualitative approaches such as grounded theory with the aim of developing a theory of Tulpamancy, and/or discourse analysis given that there are a few online forums where people discuss the phenomenon. It will also involve quantitative approaches such as surveys incorporating psychological measures to compare the experience of tulpamancers with others and predict Tulpamancy status (e.g., Clegg, Collings, and Roxburgh, 2019)

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential.

For further information, please contact Dr Elizabeth Roxburgh elizabeth.roxburgh@cantebury.ac.uk

6 Investigating the Epidemiology and Treatment of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) in University Students

The epidemiology of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in university students has not yet received attention in the UK. Most individuals who sustain a mTBI recover within 90 days, however, 30% go on to suffer from chronic post-concussion syndrome (PCS). PCS is difficult to diagnose because it cannot be seen in MRI scans, but also because its symptoms overlap with PTSD and vestibular disorders such as vertigo. To this end, a better understanding of mTBI and its treatment is needed.

It is possible that if you treat the symptoms of vestibular dysfunction improvements will be seen in PCS, PTSD, depression and anxiety. Another possible treatment for PCS is eye-movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR has been shown to be more effective than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in treating PTSD and the same benefits may show for PCS due to the overlapping symptoms. It is possible that the reason for this difference is the use of gaze stabilization tasks during EMDR. This could cause a vestibular ocular reflex that makes this treatment more effective than CBT but this needs to be investigated. Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has also been efficacious in treating other brain injuries such as stroke with permanent amelioration of cognitive deficits. Both forms of treatment are safe, pain free and without harmful side effects.

The proposed PhD project would involve a large scale epidemiological to determine prevalence rates of mTBI and if the vestibular system influences PCS. It would also investigate the efficacy of EMDR and GVS in reducing PCS symptoms and examine vestibular components.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential.

For further information please contact Dr Emma Denby emma.denby@canterbury.ac.uk

7 Investigating Neurophysiological and Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Speech Production During the Observation of Ambiguous Images in Adults with Autism

Autistic spectrum condition (ASC) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by impairments in social interaction, communication, and restricted or repetitive interests and behaviours (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Decades of previous research demonstrated atypicalities in speech and language processing in children and adults with autism (Ceponiene et al., 2003, Kuhl et al, 2005). It has been suggested that failure discriminate and produce speech demonstrates one important aspect of autism starting from early development, contributing to both poor social skills and language delays (McCleery et al., 2011, Galilee et al., 2017). The current project will utilise neurophysiological and/or cognitive measures of language as well explore anxiety-related symptomatology and personality traits, in adults with autism. In this study, we will use EEG and fNIRS recordings of brain activity — non-invasive measures that are generally well-tolerated by individuals with autism — while adults with autism view and make decisions about ambiguous visual stimuli. The stimuli will be inkblot images, which are used diagnostically in psychiatry (e.g., schizophrenia, or other personality disorders), as well as to access typical interpersonal perceptions and personality traits (Rorschach test: Rorschach, 1922, Flanagan, 2006). The Rorschach stimuli were also successfully utilised in a previous behavioural study of participants with autism (Keller et al., 2018). Participants will view the inkblots under two conditions: passive observation and verbal description. We will analyse participants’ brain and verbal responses to ambiguous stimuli and will assess their cognitive flexibility, social-emotional functioning, and personality traits. Altogether, the results of this study will shed light on cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying cognitive, emotion, and language abnormalities in autism.

A good first degree or Masters in Psychology (or relevant discipline) is essential.

For further information please contact Dr Alena Galilee alena.galilee@canterbury.ac.uk

How to apply

Please submit your application using the Canterbury Christ Church online admissions portal. Please visit the postgraduate research degree pages and use the ‘apply now’ link at the bottom of the psychology research cluster page.

As part of your application you will be required to submit a research proposal based on the project of your choice from the selection above.

Please tick the appropriate box on the proposal form to indicate that you are applying for a PhD scholarship alongside a place on the PhD programme.

To be eligible for consideration for a scholarship you must have applied for both a place on the PhD programme as well as a scholarship by the scholarship application deadline of 15 July 2022.

For any queries about the application and admissions process please contact Postgraduate Admissions pgadmissions@canterbury.ac.uk