Research Assistant Position: Cognitive Foundations of Collaboration

Research Assistant Position: Cognitive Foundations of Collaboration
Yang Xiang, Prof. Samuel J. Gershman, Department of Psychology
2024-2025

We're looking for a research assistant to work with us on a project related to the cognitive foundations of collaboration. We have a running list of available projects, and the specific project can be negotiated based on mutual interest, but it will be around understanding the cognitive capacities that make collaboration possible/successful. For example, how do people train collaborators? How do they allocate roles and tasks among members of the group? How do they simultaneously represent the mental states of individuals and the group as a whole? Responsibilities: The research assistant will gain experience with all stages of research, including developing the theory, simulating model predictions, designing and running online behavioral experiments, analyzing data, and writing the paper. The ideal candidate would be someone who is looking for a full research experience and genuinely interested in and willing to put in effort to further our understanding of social cognition. This would also be a good experience for someone who is considering grad school in related areas. Requirements and Expectations: Ideally 8-10 hours per week, but pretty flexible and the exact workload will depend on the state of the project and the amount of background knowledge/skills. Ideally a full academic year commitment starting anytime, but that's also negotiable. The position is unpaid. We can offer course credit. We expect the research assistant to have good communication skills, good time management, and attention to detail. Prior experience with a numerical programming language (e.g., R, Python) is required. Experience with computational modeling or web programming is preferred but not required, although a desire to self-learn for the purposes of this project is required (for which we will provide sufficient resources and guidance). Prior exposure to theory of mind or related topics is preferred but not required. Candidates unsure if they are a good fit are welcome to reach out and check with us. To Apply: Please reach out to Yang Xiang at yyx@g.harvard.edu. We look forward to working with you! (posted 10/2024)