PHD

- Wageningen University and Research Centre via AcademicTransfer - Posted on: 11 July 2026 PhD: State-Dependent Spatial Representations using immersive Virtual Reality Wageningen University & Research Environmental science » Global change Psychological sciences » Cognitive science First Stage Researcher (R1) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 38.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No Offer Description Are you fascinated by how people understand, navigate, and communicate complex spatial environments? Do you hold a master's degree in cognitive science, environmental psychology, human-computer interaction, geo-information science, or a related field, with experience in experimental research using virtual reality? If so, we have an exciting PhD opportunity for you! Spatial thinking plays a crucial role in understanding and communicating environmental issues, from climate adaptation and landscape planning to biodiversity loss, water management, and sustainable land use. These challenges often require people to reason about spatial processes that are not immediately visible: future scenarios, delayed consequences, cascading effects, or changes that unfold across places and time. To support better environmental decision-making and communication, we need to understand how people build mental representations of such complex, dynamic spatial systems. Spatial cognition research has traditionally studied how people represent environments through concepts such as mental models, cognitive maps, and cognitive graphs. These approaches have provided important insights into how people perceive locations, learn route layouts, and understand spatial relations. However, they are primarily suited to stable environments and are less equipped to handle situations where the s...