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Lab and the PI

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The Georgescu Lab investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms that   support our ability to coordinate with other people during social interactions. We are   specifically interested in the perception and production of nonverbal behaviour   in both typically developed and autistic populations. Our research uses a variety   of experimental methods like virtual reality, eye-tracking, motion-capture and   neuroimaging (i.e., functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional near-infrared   spectroscopy).

Dr. Alexandra Georgescu (PI) joined King’s College London in 2018 as a   Lecturer in Psychology. She obtained her PhD in Psychology at the University   of Cologne, Germany, after completing a Diploma in Psychology at the same   university. Before joining King´s, she was a Marie Skłodowska Curie   postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University   College London from 2016 to 2018.

Project Description

We are interested in understanding the social difficulties of   individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental   disorder manifesting in early communication impairments as well as repetitive   and rigid patterns of interest and behaviour. People tend to perceive   individuals with ASD less favourably than typically developing individuals   (e.g. less intelligent, more awkward). This leads to diminished intentions to   pursue social interactions with them (Sasson et al., 2017). Interestingly, however,   a recent study from our lab revealed that when individuals with ASD interact   with another individual with ASD, they are rated more favourably compared to when   they interact with a typically developing individual (Khoo et al., in prep). This   suggests that the behaviour of an interaction partner can play an important   role in the way a person is perceived. Other work from our lab has quantified   the amount of coordination between the movements of two interacting people.   We showed that the diagnostic condition of a person (autistic or typical)   modulates how much coordination two people can achieve (Georgescu et al., in   prep). Therefore, it is possible that the amount of   interpersonal coordination in a pair of interacting people can modulate   person perception and impression formation. In order to investigate this   further, we plan two investigations:

Project 1: First, we will use a novel computer vision tool   (VNect) to measure nonverbal behaviour in individuals with ASD during social   interactions (videos of conversations are already available – no data   collection needed). Once 3D parameters are extracted from both people in a pair,   we will compute the interpersonal coordination between them. This seeks to   replicate our previous findings by using a novel computer vision tool instead   of the rough pixel movement measure we initially used. (Khoo et al., in prep)

Project 2: Second, we will design an eye-tracking study   (involves data collection on an Eyelink 1000). This seeks to replicate the   impression formation findings (Khoo et al., in prep). Additionally, it will   help us understand the gaze patterns of observers when making judgements   about people involved in social interactions. It will also allow us to   understand how these gaze patterns and impression judgements relate to the interpersonal   movement coordination parameters of a pair (project 1).

The results of the proposed projects will be highly relevant for   understanding the nature of social interaction difficulties in ASD. If the   impression people have of individuals with ASD are modulated by interpersonal   dis-coordination, this will impact the current view that autism is solely an   individual problem.

Intern Job Description

Up to two interns will be involved in data collection for the   eye-tracking study and analysis of the data. They can additionally contribute   to a host of other research activities, depending on their interest:   literature review, development/editing of video stimuli, programming of a   novel experimental paradigm, 3D motion coordinate analyses and interpersonal   coordination quantification.

Students with outstanding academic records and strong interests in   social interaction, autism, movement kinematics and/or eye-tracking.   Programming skills are desired but not required.