Description du sujet de thèse

The candidate will participate in a collaborative project focused on studying the functional properties of the human propensity to use a representational space, exploring its origins and developmental course. The central question is whether this aspect of cognition is a product of human invention that emerges later in life or whether it is an innate skill reflecting core properties grounded in our biology.

While empirical evidence from developmental psychology suggests that spatial representations in working memory may be innate and fully functional from birth, studies in adults point to culture as the origin of these spatial mappings. The project aims to investigate the origins and developmental course of the use of a mental space for actively representing and retrieving sequential information, in participants ranging from birth to 24 months of age.

Contexte de travail

Developmental studies will take place in the maternity section of Bichat Hospital (Paris) and at the babylab of the Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (INCC) (Paris). The project will use traditional behavioral measures commonly employed in infant studies (visual habituation/familiarization), focusing mainly on looking times. To complement these measures, a portable eye-tracking device will be used to collect data on the location and dilation of participants' pupils throughout the tasks.

The Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center (INCC) UMR8002 is a joint research unit of CNRS and Université Paris Cité, bringing together research teams in fundamental neuroscience, neurophysiology, and cognitive sciences. The INCC provides access to state-of-the-art infrastructures in a multidisciplinary scientific environment.

Candidates must hold a Master's degree in psychology or neuroscience, with experience or strong interest in developmental psychology and interaction with young infants and their families. Knowledge of cognitive psychology, particularly regarding the origins of knowledge, is required. Skills in behavioral data analysis and programming for processing eye-tracking data will also be valuable.

The candidate will be enrolled in the doctoral school Ed3C, Université Paris Cité.