Assistant Specialist for the Developmental Psychology Studies at the University of California, Berkeley

By pssjobsinternshipsmiamiohedu on September 23, 2024

Position description

The Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for a Junior/Assistant Specialist in the Piantadosi and Kidd Labs. The position will report to Professors Steven Piantadosi. The Junior/Assistant Specialist will lead two sets of developmental studies to investigate: 1) the relationship between early mathematics and attention; and 2) the development of algorithmic reasoning in early mathematics. These studies are funded by NSF's Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings.

In one set of studies, the Junior/Assistant Specialist will investigate the attentional mechanisms that serve early number sense. They will use eye tracking and other behavioral methods to investigate questions such as: How do attention and visual working memory capacity shape early mathematics in children? Are we underestimating children's number knowledge because of the attentional demands of counting tasks?

In a second set of studies, the Junior/Assistant Specialist will investigate how algorithmic cognition supports early mathematical development. They will use behavioral methods to ask questions such as: How do children discover algorithms prior to any knowledge of formal mathematics? How do children reason about algorithms and their semantics? And how do they use that information to improve upon
already acquired algorithms?

Duties include:
●Develop and run behavioral experiments, potentially including eye tracking, with children ages 2 to 8 years old
● Hire, train, and supervise up to 10 undergraduate research assistants
● Act as liaison between postdocs, PI, and research assistants by communicating about tasks and check-ins regarding project progress. Incumbent will be the primary person to communicate updates throughout the lab.
● Recruit and manage testing sites (preschools, museums, etc.)
● Recruit and coordinate human subjects
● Update and maintain lab manual and other lab resources
● Place purchase orders for supplies and equipment
● Write pre-registrations and scripts, and prepare stimuli for experiments
● Analyze data, interpret results, and prepare manuscripts for publication
● Maintain and update human subjects protocols when necessary

Qualifications

Basic qualifications (required at time of application)

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) or currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree) program.

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)

Bachelor's degree (or equivalent international degree)

Preferred qualifications

●1+ year of research experience involving human participants
● Knowledge of developmental studies
● Previous experience working with children in a research context
● Excellent organizational skills, especially the ability to coordinate multiple studies and a large group of undergraduate researchers
● Ability to work in a collaborative setting and communicate effectively with members of the laboratory, parents, and preschool administrators and teachers
● Strong oral and written communication skills
● Previous experience with the design, implementation, and analysis of eye tracking
experiments
● Strong quantitative skills (i.e. experience with programming, statistics, and experimental design)

Application Requirements

Document requirements

Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Cover Letter
Writing Sample - Please provide a sample that demonstrates writing skills (e.g., a term paper, senior thesis, or scientific research paper).
Programming Sample or GitHub page (Optional)

Reference requirements