Research Assistant Positions: Language Understanding
Prof. Jesse Snedeker, Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Psychology/FAS
spring 2020 (priority to applications received by 29 January 2020)

Imagine talking to your friend in a busy coffee shop. You want to be a good friend and listen closely but there are so many sights, smells, and sounds around you. We are interested in how people manage to understand speech in everyday contexts and how the information around them (both linguistic and non-linguistic) impacts what they think they hear. To do this, we use electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain activity at the scalp. There are particular electrical phenomena that reveal when people are surprised by what they heard and they help us understand when the brain uses certain information successfully. We will be investigating the ways in which the brain predicts upcoming information during conversation using both the linguistic and non-linguistic information around them. Requirements: RAs will be involved in coordinating a handful of EEG projects using naturalistic stories with adults (and possibly children). This position will provide training in all aspects of experimental work: stimuli creation, hypothesis generation, hands-on experience with statistical coding and EEG methodologies, and reading/writing academic text. Requirements and Expectations: RAs in this lab are required to work 9 hours per week in the lab and to attend a one-hour lab meeting each week. We are looking for an interdisciplinary candidate with strong interests in language and the brain (e.g. MBB, Psychology, Neuroscience, Psycholinguistics, Linguistics). Ideally, this candidate would be thinking about pursuing graduate-level research (but this is not necessary). The ideal RA would be organized, personable (to work with fellow RAs, incoming participants, parents and children), and have some working knowledge of (or interest in learning about) computer programming in R, MATLAB, and PRAAT. To Apply: Please email Lab Manager Briony Waite at bwaite@fas.harvard.edu to express interest and to receive an application. (posted 1/2020)