What's around the corner? How expectations affect visual scene processing (MALCOLMG_U25PSYLEVERHULME)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 18 January 2026 (midnight UK time)
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Directly funded projects (students worldwide)
- Start date
- 1 June 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
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Welcome to Norwich
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Project description
Primary supervisor - Dr George Malcolm
Are you interested in understanding how we make sense of our visual world, and eager to contribute to cutting-edge cognitive science research? Then we invite you to apply for a fully funded PhD studentship.
The project investigates how expectations help us to understand our environment. As we move through the world, we tend to have a good idea of what we will see, even before we arrive (e.g., if we walk into a cafe, we know the next scene will likely contain a front counter along with tables and chairs). Yet over a half-century of scene processing research, aimed at disentangling how the human brain can interpret our environment from basic light signals, has largely ignored the role that expectations play. The PhD studentship – funded by the Leverhulme Trust – uses an innovative combination of participant generated drawings, gaze-contingent eye tracking, and computational analysis, carried out over multiple experiments to reveal how our expectations change the way we view scenes.
We seek highly motivated candidates with a strong academic background in Psychology, Cognitive Science, or related discipline, with a keen interest in research. Prior experience with experimental design, eye-tracking, data analysis, and coding (e.g., R, Matlab, Python) are highly desirable but not essential. The project will be supervised by Dr George Malcolm and the student will join a vibrant and supportive Psychology department in the beautiful city of Norwich, with access to excellent facilities and opportunities for professional development.
Key Features of the Project:
Opportunity to tackle a cutting-edge and high-impact question in the field of visual cognition
Involvement in research as part of UEA’s Multisensory Brain and Behaviour Research Group
The chance to work with leading researchers in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment
Comprehensive training and support throughout the PhD
If you’re ready to take on a challenging and rewarding project that will advance our understanding of human visual cognition, we would be very pleased to hear from you.
Entry requirements
The minimum entry requirement is 2.1 in Psychology; Computer Science; Neuroscience.
Funding
This 3-year PhD project is fully funded by the Leverhulme Trust and open to UK and international applicants. The studentship covers tuition fees at either Home or International-fee rate and an annual tax-free maintenance stipend at the UKRI rates (£20,780 for 2025/26). Note however, that visa expenses, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), or other costs incurred by relocation will not be covered.
References
i) McLean, D., Nuthmann, A., Renoult, L., & Malcolm, G. L. (2023). Expectation-based gist facilitation: Rapid scene understanding and the role of top-down information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 152(7), 1907.
ii) Malcolm, G. L., Groen, I. I., & Baker, C. I. (2016). Making sense of real-world scenes. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(11), 843-856.
iii) Malcolm, G. L., Nuthmann, A., & Schyns, P. G. (2014). Beyond gist: Strategic and incremental information accumulation for scene categorization. Psychological science, 25(5), 1087-1097.