PhD position on measuring the dynamic structure of affect

16 May 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

KU Leuven

Research Field

Psychological sciences » Psychology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

30 May 2024 - 00:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38 hours/week

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Reference Number

BAP-2024-273

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Many emotion researchers study the dynamics within and between momentary positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) across time, which play a crucial role in well-being and mental health. Momentary affect in daily life is measured by means of the Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM): Using a smartphone app, participants self-report on their momentary affect by responding to a number of questions (items) asking about the presence and intensity of positive and negative emotions at random moments throughout the day for the duration of one or more weeks. Based on the reported scores on multiple specific emotions (e.g., joy, pride, anger, fear), researchers then compute a PA and NA score. This is often done by summing or averaging the scores on positive and negative emotions, respectively, which helps in handling measurement error. Next, they model the dynamics of the resulting momentary PA and NA scores by means of the vector autoregressive model (VAR). In a VAR model, momentary PA and NA are predicted based on the preceding PA and NA scores. The VAR model incorporates auto-regressive effects, that reflect how long emotions linger over time, and cross-regressive effects, that reflect emotional blunting and augmentation.

 

The computation of momentary PA and NA implicitly relies on a so-called measurement model (MM) that specifies which observed items measure which construct of interest (e.g., negative emotions measure NA) and to what extent (e.g., each emotion contributes equally). Because the items used in ESM studies are often compiled in a rather ad hoc way, it is likely that the implicitly assumed MM does not hold for ESM, and such misspecification may lead to incorrect VAR parameter estimates. Moreover, with a MM, the quality of separate items can be evaluated and accounted for. It is thus essential not to implicitly assume but to explicitly study the MM when fitting VAR. The existing state-of-the-art methods for doing so have the important limitation that they require the user to prespecify which items measure which construct. This is often difficult in ESM as, for instance, even the typically assumed PA-NA distinction is not systematically found. Thus, an exploratory method is needed to infer the MM from the data, that is, to figure out which items are measuring which construct. Another challenge pertains to potential differences in the MM when comparing VAR parameters across persons and over time. To ensure comparability, the MM should be (at least partially) the same across participants and time points. This is referred to as measurement invariance. ESM is prone to violations of this condition due to person- or context-specific item interpretations, and these violations should be accounted for in the analysis. The... For more information see https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/60330450

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

We offer:

● a fully funded PhD position for four years, starting on October 1st, 2024.

● an enthusiastic and supportive supervision team.

● a research environment including top-level researchers in emotion, relationships, work, and culture, working with cutting edge data collection and statistical methods.

● excellent research facilities, conference/travel budget, and a competitive salary with various additional benefits (in terms of holidays, health insurance, transport costs).

Eligibility criteria

● You have a master degree that implies a profound knowledge of statistics, data analysis and programming

● You have affinity with psychology

● You are precise, creative, highly motivated and enthusiastic.

● You have excellent English communication and writing skills.

● You can work on your own, but also enjoy working in an interdisciplinary and interuniversity team.

● Knowledge of R and/or Matlab is an asset.

● Familiarity with structural equation modeling and/or vector-autoregressive modeling is an asset.

Selection process

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Kim De Roover, mail: [email protected] .

Applications should consist of a motivation letter (including contact information of 2 referees) and a CV (including copies of diploma certificates and transcripts at university level).

 

KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at [email protected] .

You can apply for this job no later than 30/05/2024 via the online application tool

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

KU Leuven

Country

Belgium

State/Province

Vlaams Brabant

City

Leuven

Postal Code

3000

Street

Leuven

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://easyapply.jobs/r/fljijhf21V6qGf4Re9bg

Contact

State/Province

Leuven

City

Vlaams Brabant

Street

Leuven

Postal Code

3000

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED