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PhD student: Do video games keep the mind young?
To jobs overviewDo video games keep the mind young?
| Application Deadline | 14-03-2010 |
|---|---|
| Where | Leiden |
| INST / ORG | Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition |
| Contact Name | Guido Band |
| Contact Email | E-Address |
| Contact Phone | +31-71-5273998 |
| More info | Link to website |
Cognitive Psychology Unit at the Psychology Department Within the Cognitive Psychology Unit at the Psychology Department of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences a vacancy is available for a PROMOVENDUS/PhD STUDENT (38 hours a week) Vacancy number: 10-029 The PhD student will work on a research project funded by MaGW Open Competition, entitled “Do video games keep the mind young?” The project will be carried out in Leiden.
- Content of the project
- Working memory and cognitive control decline with old age, and this
has implications for society, as it ultimately increases dependency on
health care. However, it is generally believed that mental exercise
helps to delay the decline of cognitive functions, if practiced
sufficiently. While formal training and education requires a strong
motivation to continue the exercise, computer games are designed to
capture useful training in pleasant activities. In the current project,
such games are developed and the effectiveness in maintaining working
memory and control is investigated with a variety of validated
experimental behavioural paradigms and the use of cognitive
neuroscience methods. Follow-up studies will be aimed at identifying
factors in the games and the users that support success at training. As
a by-product of this project, the large data sets will be used for
structural equation modelling of control functions. The ultimate goal
of the project is to make effective (evidence-based) cognitive training
games widely available through internet.
- Tasks
-
- Developing adaptive games for the training of cognitive control and working memory
- Implementing these games in an experimental study design
- Testing the effectiveness of the training with behavioural and psycho physiological techniques
- Preparing and submitting a minimum of four manuscripts for peer-reviewed international scientific journals
- Performing structural equation modelling on the data sets
- Completing a Ph.D. dissertation
- Participating in the graduate school at Leiden University, and in
the research school EPOS
- Requirements
-
- Master degree in psychology, educational sciences, information science or similar fields
- Good programming skills (preferably in Flash)
- Creativity
- An interest in and knowledge of cognitive aging
- Excellent skills in research, planning, writing and presentation (in English).
- Excellent social skills
- Sufficient fluency in Dutch
- Preferences
-
- Experience with EEG recording and analysis
- Experience with structural equation modelling
- information
- The successful applicant will be appointed to the department of
Psychology for a fixed-term period of 4 years, with continuation
dependent upon an evaluation after 12 months. Gross salary will be €
2042 per month in the first year, gradually rising to € 2612 per month
in the final year.
For more information please contact:
Dr. Guido Band
+31-(0)71-5273998
band@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Please submit your application and resume –noting the vacancy number – before March the 14th, 2010 to:
vacature@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
When your application reaches us we will send you conformation by e-mail. If you haven't received a confirmation within three days after your send us your application, please phone us at +3171 527 3427.
publicatiedatum: 8-2-2010
keywords: Attention, Cognitive control, Higher mental processing, Intelligence, Learning, Short-term memory, Basal ganglia, Frontal lobes, Hippocampus, Temporal lobes, Aging, Cognitive psychology, Computer science, Education, Neuroscience, Psychology, ERPs, Internet-based tests, Psychological experiments, Reaction times
