Dear Cognetters,
May I draw your attention to the PhD studentship below. I would be very grateful if you can pass it on to anyone who may be interested.
Mark Fenton-O'Creevy
Professor of Organisational Behaviour
Open University Business School
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
United Kingdom
e-mail: m.p.fenton-ocreevy@open.ac.uk
(DL) +44 (0)1908-655804
Fax: +44 (0)1908-655898
PhD Studentship (Advert) Financial decision making and emotions
The Open University Business School, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
The Open University Business School has available a PhD studentship which will build on research work being carried out in a major research project funded by the EU FP7 programme and in a collaboration with the BBC.
The work in the first programme http://www.xdelia.org focuses on the role of emotions in financial decision making and is targeted at producing learning applications which improve emotion regulation in relation to financial decisions and behaviour. The second involves a large scale national survey conducted in collaboration with the BBC and University College London. The survey is gathering data on financial capabilities and outcomes in relation to a wide range of demographic variables as well as coping styles and emotion regulation strategies.
The successful applicant will have the opportunity to draw on data, opportunities, and networks arising out of this research and will become part of a growing cross faculty group in the OU with expertise and interest in financial capabilities, personal finance and the work of finance professionals.
The projects above span the decision-making of traders in investment banks, investors and private citizens. The exact focus of the PhD research will depend to some extent on the profile and interests of the successful applicant.
The successful applicant will be eligible for funding to cover fees, a research training support grant, plus a yearly living allowance (c. £14,000 for 2010/11). Funding is available for three years.
You should have a good honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject and demonstrable training (equivalent to an MRes) in research methods. You should also have a good grasp of statistical approaches to data analysis. Although a research proposal is not required for this studentship, applicants should be able to demonstrate a strong interest in behavioral finance and the role of emotions in decision-making. An interest in research on learning and/or expertise research would also be an asset.
If you have any further enquiries please email oubs-research@open.ac.uk or write to OUBS Research Office, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA. Closing date: 12:00 noon on 18 November 2010
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Further Particulars
Phd Studentship on financial decision-making and emotions.
This PhD studentship which will build on research work being carried out in a major research project funded by the EU FP7 programme and in a collaboration with the BBC.
The work in the first programme (http://www.xdelia.org ) focuses on the role of emotions in financial decision making and is targeted at producing learning applications which improve emotion regulation in relation to financial decisions and behavior. (A podcast on iTunesU gives an overview of this project http://tinyurl.com/xdeliapodcast ). The study includes both field and experimental laboratory studies which use physiological data such as heart-rate to track emotional arousal and emotion regulation in investors and traders.
The OUBS role in this project is led by Prof. Mark Fenton-O'Creevy and builds on his research over the last decade on the work and decision-making of traders in investment banks.
The second study involves a large scale national survey conducted in collaboration with the BBC and University College London. The survey is gathering data on financial capabilities and outcomes in relation to a wide range of demographic variables as well as coping styles and emotion regulation strategies.
Both studies start from a common perspective. Financial decisions arouse a great deal of emotion. A great deal of resources many policy initiatives have been applied to improving financial decision making, both among members of the public and finance professionals. These efforts have primarily focused on improving knowledge. These knowledge based approaches have had limited success. By developing greater understanding of the role played by emotions in thinking and deciding we hope to show the way to more effective interventions which target habits, attitudes, coping skills and emotion regulation capabilities.
The successful applicant will have the opportunity to draw on data, opportunities, and networks arising out of this research and will become part of a growing cross-faculty group in the OU with expertise and interest in financial capabilities, personal finance and the work of finance professionals.
The projects above span the decision-making of traders in investment banks, investors and private citizens. The exact focus of the PhD research will depend to some extent on the profile and interests of the successful applicant.
Financial Capabilities research at the Open University
The concept of financial capability which is most often used in relation to the financial skills, habits and knowledge of private citizens (especially vulnerable groups) can be extended to consider a rather wider range of financial capabilities, including the financial capabilities of investors, finance professionals and lay members of boards in the public and voluntary sector. While these domains are very different in terms of the forms and sophistication of financial knowledge they require, there are also some important potential commonalities. This is particularly true of what we know of individual susceptibility to psychological biases and social influences in financial decision-making.
We are already carrying out a range of research in the Open University which spans these domains and focuses on the links between financial institutions, economic growth, economic security and financial capabilities in this broader sense. We have some major existing funding successes. We have a world-leading programme of financial education and good links to regulators and policy –makers.
Associated research relevant to the financial capabilities theme includes investor decision-making in financial markets, decision-making in investment clubs, work on financial decision-making within households in insurance pooling, substitution of housing investment for saving, and banks' 'confusion marketing' strategies; the causes and resolution of consumer detriment in retail financial markets and financial decision making about the Child Trust Fund and asset based welfare.
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