PhD position (4 years) on the Role of Foveal Processing in Spatial Attention

Are you interested in understanding how attention shapes what we see? Would you like to combine behavioural experiments, psychophysics, and eye tracking to uncover how the brain selects and prioritises visual information from the world around us?

We offer a four-year PhD position within the NWO-funded project “The Role of Foveal Processing in Spatial Attention.” The project investigates the novel hypothesis that directing attention to an object in peripheral vision recruits foveal brain systems normally involved in high-resolution central vision. Ultimately, it aims to develop a new theoretical account of how spatial attention shapes perception and prepares the visual system for eye movements.

As the PhD candidate, you will be responsible for the project’s behavioural and psychophysical studies. Your main tasks will include designing and programming experiments, collecting behavioural and eye-tracking data, conducting psychophysical and statistical analyses, and disseminating the results through scientific publications, conference presentations, and a PhD thesis. You will work closely with a postdoctoral researcher who will use ultra-high-field 7T fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying foveal recruitment. You will work in a stimulating interdisciplinary environment that combines behavioural psychophysics, eye tracking, and advanced neuroimaging.

Your duties

• Map out the scientific literature on spatial attention, foveal processing, eye movements, predictive remapping, and visual perception.
• Contribute to the further theoretical and methodological development of the project.
• Design, program, pilot, and conduct behavioural psychophysical experiments.
• Use eye tracking to monitor fixation and measure eye movements.
• Collect and analyse behavioural, psychophysical, and eye-tracking data using appropriate statistical and computational methods.
• Document experimental and analytical procedures carefully and reproducibly.
• Preregister studies where appropriate.
• Prepare research materials, analysis scripts, and datasets for responsible sharing in accordance with FAIR and open-science principles.
• Collaborate closely with the other members of the research group.
• Present findings at national and international scientific conferences.
• Publish research findings in international peer-reviewed journals.
• Complete a PhD thesis and defend it at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
• Participate in the training programme of the graduate school.
• Contribute to the academic community and team spirit of the Cognitive Psychology section.
• Assist in minor teaching activities within the department, where appropriate.

Your profile

We are looking for a curious, precise, and collaborative researcher with a strong interest in visual perception and attention.

You have:

• Completed, or will complete before the starting date, a Research Master’s or Master’s degree in cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, human movement sciences, or another relevant discipline.
• A demonstrable interest in visual attention, perception, eye movements, cognitive neuroscience, and/or experimental psychology.
• Experience with experimental research and quantitative data analysis.
• A good understanding of research methods and statistics.
• An interest in psychophysics and eye-tracking research.
• Strong programming skills.
• Experience with analysis environments such as R, Python, MATLAB, or comparable software.
• The ability to work carefully and systematically with complex experimental designs and large numbers of repeated measurements.
• An interest in open, transparent, and reproducible research practices.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Good organisational and communication skills.
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative research team.

Experience with one or more of the following would be an advantage:

• Visual psychophysics.
• Eye tracking.
• Time-resolved behavioural analyses.
• Computational or statistical modelling.
• Bayesian statistics.
• Programming behavioural experiments.
• Research on attention, perception, or eye movements.
• Preregistration, FAIR data management, OSF, or GitHub.

You do not need to meet every preferred qualification. We especially encourage candidates who are enthusiastic about the research question and motivated to develop the necessary methodological skills during the PhD.

What we offer

• An employment contract of initially 1 year, with extension to a total of 4 years if there is sufficient perspective.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Contribution to commuting expenses.
• Optional model for designing a personalized benefits package.
• A wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge.

About the team

You will become part of a collaborative project team consisting of a PhD researcher, a postdoctoral researcher, a junior researcher/research assistant, and three senior researchers: Dr. M. Donk, Prof. Dr. H. Slagter, and Dr. T. Knapen. You will be supervised by Dr. Donk and Prof. Slagter. The team is embedded in the Cognitive Psychology section of the Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology at VU Amsterdam. The Cognitive Psychology research environment has a strong international profile in visual attention, perception, eye movements, cognitive neuroscience, and brain imaging. The department provides access to modern experimental facilities, including multiple eye-tracking and combined EEG and eye-tracking laboratories. The project also benefits from access to the Spinoza Centre for Neuroimaging, including 3T and 7T MRI facilities, and from a broad local network of researchers working on visual cognition, attention, neuroimaging, and computational neuroscience. You will also be part of the Institute Brain and Behaviour Amsterdam.

About the faculty

The Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences at VU Amsterdam focuses on behaviour and health through teaching and research programmes devoted to current developments in society. It combines psychology, movement sciences, and education in a multidisciplinary approach. The faculty offers an ambitious environment with an informal atmosphere, short lines of communication, and space for personal development.

About Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a values-driven university with an open and interdisciplinary approach to education and research. It aims to create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.