Funding

Self-funded

Project code

PSYC5371025

Start dates

October, February and April

Application deadline

Applications accepted all year round

Applications are invited for a self-funded, 3 year full-time or 6 year part-time PhD project.

The PhD will be based in the School of Psychology and will be supervised by Dr Eszter Somogyi, Dr Leanne Proops and Dr Conway (external supervisor at the University of Southampton).

The work on this project could involve:

  • Data collection with 7-9 year-old children in schools in the UK
  • Travel to Japan for cross-cultural data collection
  • Use of social robots (such as the humanoid NAO or the zoomorphic Miro-E robot

 

This interdisciplinary project focuses on the potential for social robots to be used in primary school settings to teach young children prosocial behaviours; namely, sharing and helping. Prosociality is important as it is associated with social and emotional competence throughout childhood (e.g., peer acceptance, empathy, self-confidence, and emotion-regulation skills). The project will not only relate relate to Psychology (specifically prosociality, compassion, empathy, and cognition), but also to other disciplines, namely Education (investigating school-based interventions and academic grades), AI technology, Social policy (relating to government initiatives to promote well-being in education) and Sociology (observing overall effects of technology within institutions, namely schools). 

Evidence shows humans are biologically hardwired to project intent and life onto any movement appearing autonomous, whether the article is ‘alive’ or not. New research shows that robots who model strong prosocial behaviour appear able to elicit this same behaviour among children in the short term. However, to date, there has been no systematic, longitudinal or cross-cultural study about the effectiveness of social robots on children's prosocial behaviour. 

Thus, the aims of this study are threefold. We will investigate the mechanisms underlying human-robot interaction on children’s sharing behaviour as well as the role of attitude and culture on willingness to help a human/animal-like robot in need within a classroom setting. Gaps in previous research will also be explored, such as the role of robot appearance and emotional design on this relationship. Finally, we aim to conduct an ecologically valid, longitudinal examination of the effects of robot presence on class prosociality and sociometry, using rich qualitative data from pre-and-post intervention. You will work with children aged 6 to 9 years old from schools across the United Kingdom and potentially Japan using a mixed-method design. 

 

Fees and funding

Visit the research subject area page for fees and funding information for this project.

Funding availability: Self-funded PhD students only. 

PhD full-time and part-time courses are eligible for the UK Government Doctoral Loan (UK students only).

 

Bench fees

Some PhD projects may include additional fees – known as bench fees – for equipment and other consumables, and these will be added to your standard tuition fee. Speak to the supervisory team during your interview about any additional fees you may have to pay. Please note, bench fees are not eligible for discounts and are non-refundable.

Entry requirements

You'll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum upper second class or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in a Social Science or a related area with a good mark in the final project utilising relevant research methods. In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.

 

How to apply

We’d encourage you to contact Dr Eszter Somogyi (eszter.somogyi@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code.

When you are ready to apply, please follow the 'Apply now' link on the Psychology postgraduate research degrees and select the link for the relevant intake. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process. 

When applying please quote project code PSYC5371025.