PhD Defences & Inaugural Lectures 2011-12
Monthly overview of Social and Behavioural PhD defences and Inaugural Lectures.
News
Research abroad with a Rubicon grant
Promising young Leiden researchers Wouter van den Bos, Tim van Erven and Wouter Halfwerk are going to conduct research at foreign universities. A Rubicon grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research is making this possible. Two academics who completed their PhD degrees abroad are coming to Leiden.
Psychological perspective on surgery
The training for surgeons could be more realistic and more efficient if 'evidence-based' methods were used, according to surgeon and instructor Jaap Hamming. He is therefore working closely with cognitive psychologists Guido Band and Bernhard Hommel on improvements to the training. A custom-made training programme would take more account of the individual surgeons being trained.
Is attention from females different?
Is attention from women different from attention from men? Leiden researchers and their colleagues in Toronto investigated the effects of the hormone oestrogen on spontaneous attention. They were hoping in this way to explain differences between the sexes. Women turned out to only be different from men when they had a high level of oestrogen in their menstruation cycle.
A robot that bakes pancakes
Can robots bake pancakes? As far as cognitive psychologist Bernhard Hommel is concerned, yes. Once they are equipped with a cognitive control system, robots can become increasingly smarter through interaction with internet. And that’s where the future lies. Robotics projects in seven European countries are collaborating in this interdisciplinary project, with a European subsidy of € 7.2 million.
Much nano-research contains serious statistical error
Much neuroscientific research contains a serious statistical error, cognitive psychologist Sander Nieuwenhuis has discovered. This is even the case if the research has been published in top journals such as Nature and Science.
European subsidy for Sander Nieuwenhuis for the brain in action
Adrenaline stimulates our body to take action. Noradrenaline does the same with our brain. It is the effect of noradrenaline on the brain that is the subject of research by cognitive psychologist Sander Nieuwenhuis. With his Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for talented, up-and-coming researchers, he now has 1.5 million euro to fund his own research team.
Sexist workplace cultures turn women into ‘queen bees’
If your organisation wants more women at the top, you will not succeed just by appointing a few women to top-level positions, claim Leiden researchers. You would be better off changing the sexist organisational culture, because this creates ‘queen bee’ behaviour, where women fight for their own position rather than for their gender.
Poster presentations at the Psychology Science Day 2011
It was all about research by students, on Thursday afternoon 23 June. Honours bachelor students and research master students Psychology presented their results to the audience.
Vulnerability to depression
Some people are more sensitive to depression than others. But why is that the case? Clinical psychologist Niki Antypa studied how vulnerability to depression is influenced by cognition. She also found a first careful indication that a treatment with omega-3 fatty acids might provide a solution.
Mobile therapy can help fear of flying
The VALK Foundation aims to help those who suffer from fear of flying. It is in the process of launching a mobile application (‘Vlieg App’) to counter flying phobia. 'Vlieg App' can support people who suffer light to moderate phobia when confronted with air travel. It has been developed as part of the psychotherapeutic research programme at Leiden University.
Moroccan-Dutch youths display very Dutch emotions
Dutch youths of Moroccan origin express their anger in the same way as native Dutch teenagers. This ‘emotional integration’ applies equally to Moroccan-Dutch youths who identify with Dutch culture and to those whose primary connection is with the culture of their parents.
Leiden Family Lab studies grandparents, parents and children
In the Leiden Family Lab, three generations from the same family are put under the scrutiny. Biologists, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and educators are applying their knowledge and skills to study social anxiety, family abuse and obesity.
Children rate talks by anxious peers negatively
Children suffering from social anxiety often have a rigid posture and voice, and they don’t dare to look at their audience when giving a talk. If your child suffers from social anxiety, what can you, as a parent, do? Developmental psychologist Michiel Westenberg, one of the leading researchers of the Leiden Social Anxiety Network, explains.
PhD defences June 2011
In aphabetic order: Niki Antypa (Clinical psychology), Patricia Bakvis (Clinical psychology), Tirza Bosma (Developmental and Educational psychology), Lukas Koning (Social and Organisational psychology) en Sheida Novin (Developmental and Educational psychology). Location: Academy Building.
Anxiety and depression: similarities and differences in the brain
Anxiety and depression have to date primarily been studied as separate psychiatric disorders, whilst they often occur in combination. Marie-José van Tol has has discovered that there is an overlap in the activity and volume of parts of the brain in anxiety and depression, but that both disorders have unique characteristics. PhD defence with honours 26 May.
Alcohol as self-medication
Some people are by nature more sensitive to stress than others. It’s genetic. Such people might have a tendency to drink more alcohol to reduce stress-induced anxiety. This 'self-medication' hypothesis is confirmed by researchers of the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition of Leiden University.
3 Tesla MRI scanner for scientific research
Leiden University is the proud owner of a 3-Tesla MRI scanner that is primarily intended for scientific research on the brain. The Mayor of Leiden, Henry Lenferink, switched on the equipment with a push of a red button.
How does the brain of Japanese speakers choose pronunciation?
The way in which written language is processed in the brain is a hot topic in cognitive research. Cognitive psychologist Rinus Verdonschot studied a Japanese script in which a single character can have up to three possible pronunciations. He discovered that all three are simultaneously activated in the brain. In the end, the right pronunciation is determined by the surrounding characters.
PhD defence May 2011: Marieke Jepma and Marike Polak
On Thursday 12 May, Marieke Jepma (Cognitive psychology) has defended her thesis; on Thursday 26 May, Marike Polak (Methods and Statistics has defended her thesis. Location: Academy Building.
