Information for Prospective PhD Students

I am a Lecturer (NZ equivalent of Assistant Professor) in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. I am eager to recruit a PhD student to join the Well-Being and Morality Lab. Currently, I am especially interested in recruiting a student who is interested in researching how neighbourhood features shape social connectedness, but I am open to considering students whose research interests fall within any of the lab’s three research areas (see below).

About the Well-Being and Morality Lab

Most people want to live a good life. But what does that involve? From a psychological perspective, I argue that the good life involves both (1) a concern for your own personal well-being and (2) a concern for other people’s well-being. The pursuit and balance of the goals of well-being and morality are vital to a well-functioning society. Thus, broadly speaking, the Well-Being and Morality (WAM) Lab will research how people can lead fulfilling lives and balance their personal desires with other people’s needs and rights.

Prospective students should be interested in at least one of the following research areas (click on the links to learn more):

1. Social interactions and well-being: Are social interactions better when you initiate them or when someone else does? Can people improve their social lives by moving to neighborhoods or cities with more opportunities for social interaction? Which pairings of personality traits predict better social experiences?
2. Moral improvement: What’s stopping people from being more moral? What inspires people to become more moral? What kinds of interventions would make people more moral?
3. Morality and well-being: Are moral people happier, or is there a tradeoff between well-being and morality? Do people overestimate the costs and underestimate the benefits of being more moral?

You can also listen to this episode of the Personality Psychology Podcast to hear more about the morality lines of research.

Graduate students in the WAM Lab can expect to:

1. Be trained as hybrid social-personality psychologists;
2. Use a variety of naturalistic, ecologically-valid methods (e.g., informant reports, experience sampling, the Electronically Activated Recorder, daily life interventions);
3. Receive training in advanced statistical techniques (e.g., multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, response surface analysis), R and Mplus, and the latest open science practices;
4. Think deeply about issues of measurement (e.g., how can we best measure morality?) and validity;
5. Have some freedom to design your own studies (with the scope being dependent on funding availability), as well as contribute to larger data collections and use existing rich, multi-method datasets.

How to Join the Lab

At the University of Auckland, there is no set “cycle” for PhD admissions. You can apply any time, but scholarship offers come out four times per year, depending on when you apply. See instructions here. All applicants (including international applicants) will be considered for a doctoral scholarship, which provides a tax-free stipend of $35,468 per year (plus tuition fees, and health insurance for international students) for up to 3.5 years FTE (3.5 years is the standard length of a PhD in New Zealand). Most PhD students also take on additional paid work as a Tutor (i.e., teaching assistant) or Graduate Research Assistant.

If you are interested in doing a PhD with me, please get in touch with me (jessie.sun@auckland.ac.nz) to discuss potential projects and research fit. You should send your CV and a brief description of your research experience and interests.

My Selection Criteria

Here are some of the key areas I will be focusing on when considering potential PhD students, and examples of how you might demonstrate these capabilities.

Criterion	Example Evidence
Has research interests in well-being, morality, or social interactions.	In our initial discussions, you should be able to provide examples of research questions you might be interested in investigating during your PhD.
Is resourceful and perseverant in the face of challenges.	Provide examples of overcoming obstacles, finding alternative strategies/resources, and sticking with it (e.g., when learning difficult concepts, working on a challenging project, or pursuing goals in your personal life).
Is interested in learning and applying advanced quantitative techniques to studying psychological phenomena.	Taking and doing well in undergraduate statistics, math, or computer science classes is a good indicator.
Has strong reasoning and writing skills.	Strong writing samples that are demonstrably your own work (i.e., not written in large part by an advisor). A publication or honors thesis would be helpful but not necessary; other writing samples could include a lab report, literature review, or other class paper.
Values collegiality and will be a helpful and cooperative labmate.	Evidence might include specific examples in letters of recommendation (e.g., of how you have helped and supported others in your previous labs), or other examples of a demonstrated commitment to getting along with and being of service to others.