PhD research

We are looking for a highly motivated student to conduct PhD research in the field of choice modelling. ‘Choice models’ are mathematical models designed to predict and forecast which alternative(s) an individual will choose in a given scenario. These models aim to understand the key factors (including cognitive, emotional, and motivational) that lead to different individuals making different choices. However, alongside sensitivity to the factors influencing the choices (e.g. preference differences regarding travel time and cost in the context of travel mode selection), there is also possible differences in the way in which individuals think and make decisions. For example, there have been psychological theories put forward to explain how and why individuals from the East might think differently to those from the West and how this can lead to markedly different choices (e.g. Nisbett 2004). These differences appear to be particularly prominent in the case of `difficult’ decisions where the alternatives could be categorised as `right’ or `wrong’ and/or there is inherent uncertainty in the outcomes of a choice.

The aim of this project is to advance this further, both methodologically and empirically, by using physiological data combined with choice data in a wide range of VR representations of real-world scenarios to obtain more reliable forecasts of how individuals respond to risky or moral choice scenarios. This will allow us to better understand human reactions to risky situations with uncertain outcomes which can be useful for artificial intelligence-based policy planning. They can also help to better predict choices involving moral aspects, for example, in travel behaviour (policies to promote the uptake of electric vehicles), energy consumption (encouraging carbon neutrality through carbon offsetting schemes) and beyond.

For more details, please see:
https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1728-understanding-preferences-and-modelling-difficult-choices-through-virtual-reality-experiences

We are looking for a highly motivated student to conduct PhD research in the field of choice modelling. Choice modelling is a key analytical tool used to understand consumer decisions and valuations and forecast choices across a range of topic areas, including transport, environmental and health economics, and regional science. Their outputs form a key component in guidance underpinning government and industry decisions on changes to policy, infrastructure developments or the introduction of new services or products. This role provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to a major cross-disciplinary research programme at the heart of the Choice Modelling Centre (www.cmc.leeds.ac.uk) set up within the University of Leeds. The five year SYNERGY project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) seeks to unify three key paradigms for the unify three key paradigms for the mathematical modelling of human behaviour, namely: i) process models in psychology and cognate disciplines that seek to explain how decisions are made; ii) econometric and behavioural models that explain which factors influence the decision process and to what extent; and iii) data-driven (machine learning) methods that focus on the outcome of the decision process. The different aims and assumptions of these paradigms have resulted in very distinct strengths and weaknesses for each discipline. Only the synergy of the three will fulfil the promise of producing models that are behaviourally consistent, applicable to real-world problems, computationally tractable, and balance a priori assumptions with data-driven insights.

For more details, please see:
https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/project/1643-developing-new-behavioural-models-at-the-intersection-of-psychology-and-econometrics

We are looking for a highly motivated student to conduct PhD research in the field of choice modelling. Choice modelling is a key analytical tool used to understand consumer decisions and valuations and forecast choices across a range of topic areas, including transport, environmental and health economics, and regional science. Their outputs form a key component in guidance underpinning government and industry decisions on changes to policy, infrastructure developments or the introduction of new services or products. This role provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to a major cross-disciplinary research programme at the heart of the Choice Modelling Centre (www.cmc.leeds.ac.uk) set up within the University of Leeds. The five year SYNERGY project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) seeks to unify three key paradigms for the mathematical modelling of human behaviour, namely: i) process models in psychology and cognate disciplines that seek to explain how decisions are made; ii) econometric and behavioural models that explain which factors influence the decision process and to what extent; and iii) data-driven (machine learning) methods that focus on the outcome of the decision process. The different aims and assumptions of these paradigms have resulted in very distinct strengths and weaknesses for each discipline. Only the synergy of the three will fulfil the promise of producing models that are behaviourally consistent, applicable to real-world problems, computationally tractable, and balance a priori assumptions with data-driven insights.

For more details, please see:
Developing new behavioural models at the intersection of econometrics and machine learning | Project Opportunities | PhD | University of Leeds