RESEARCH PROJECT

Autistic and Artistic Communication: How do autistic and non-autistic people communicate emotions through abstract drawings?

Lead Researchers

Young Ah Kim, Matthew Pelowski

Collaborator

Duration: 2024-2028

Funding Amount: €477.838

Giorgia Silani

Can visual art be a way for people to communicate with and connect to other people? Can it be a way for autistic and non-autistic people to understand the emotions of each other better? And would the brains of the artist and the viewer be able to connect through artworks? This FWF funded project will try to answer these questions through a series of studies where autistic and non-autistic people express and perceive emotions through abstract drawings, in comparison to facial expressions and language. The project will investigate whether interpersonal neurophysiological synchrony arises between the artist and the viewer using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in combination with electrodermal activity (EDA) and facial electromyography (fEMG), and how this is related to how people communicate emotions through different modalities. Further, the project will explore the real-world impact of whether art could be used as a method to reduce negative stigma and increase prosocial attitude towards autistic people, and to foster empathy and communication between people of different neurotypes.

CURRENT VACANCIES

Looking for 1 Post-Doctoral Researcher (2 years full time, possibility for 6-12 month extension)

University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology

The ARTIS Lab (Art Research on Transformation of Individuals and Society; Head, Dr. Matthew Pelowski, Associate Prof. of Cognitive and Neuroaesthetics) at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, is looking to fill 1 postdoc position as part of a Third-party funded FWF (Austrian Science Fund) project on emotion communication through artistic drawing in autistic and non-autistic adults.

              If you are a motivated and passionate researcher interested in emotion communication, neurodivergence, empirical aesthetics, artistic drawing, fNIRS based hyperscanning, interpersonal physiological synchrony, and how these intersect at the level of our behaviors and brains––and if you would like to join a dynamic research team for a few years in lovely Vienna––this position might be for you.

 

What it is: 2-year, full-time (40 h/week) postdoctoral researcher position (following standard postdoc salary at UniVie, B1 lit b, see https://personalwesen.univie.ac.at/en/jobs-recruiting/job-center/salary-scheme/). Position will be based at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna (https://psychologie.univie.ac.at/en/), in the lab of Dr. Pelowski. Expected start date within 2025 (exact start date is negotiable). The project uniquely combines empirical aesthetics, social neuroscience, and neurodiversity research to understand how autistic and non-autistic adults communicate emotions through visual art (short artistic drawings), and compared to other (face-based, and literary) modalities.

 

What you would be doing: The expected project aspects we are looking for someone to assist with are broadly divided into 2 foci: 1) Lab-based study that compares art-based communication to language and facial expression-based communications. The study combines the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electrodermal activity (EDA) and facial electromyography (fEMG) with behavioral measures. 2) An intervention study aiming to employ art making / viewing as a method to reduce negative stereotypes and increase prosocial attitude towards autistic individuals, as well as to improve wellbeing of autistic individuals.

              The Postdoc researcher is expected to help make these studies a reality within the 2 year time frame. You will be contributing to planning, execution, and analysis in collaboration with a doctoral candidate (Young Ah Kim), who is a project co-author and co-lead.

              In addition, we are also looking for our new member to bring their own interests, skills, and passion to the team, and would welcome novel ideas for expansion and maximization of the overall program, especially as this regards seeking of future funding. You will also be involved in assisting the ARTIS lab as a senior (postdoc) member. Currently the ARTIS lab consists of 7 doctoral candidates, 2 postdocs, 1 lab manager, and several master students and short-term/visiting interns, funded under a mix of Austrian FWF and EU (Horizon) funding.

 

Who are we looking for: We are looking for someone who has a strong interest in empirical aesthetics and/or neurodiversity/autism research, with ideally experience with conducting research in at least one of those fields. Good organizational and management skills are essential. Candidates should have a doctoral degree. A previous degree in psychology, neuroscience, statistics, computer science, or equivalent areas is useful, but not required (Of course explain how alternative backgrounds might make you a unique fit for this position). Excellent written and spoken English is a must. Communication in the lab and research work will be conducted in English. The Faculty further has a dual (English and German) policy for all official communications. Fluency in German is useful but not required.

Previous experiences that could be especially useful for the position (although again not required) include: Processing / analysis of physiological data (EDA / facial EMG); fNIRS; analysis of interpersonal neural/physiological synchrony; intervention studies (preferably arts-based); and working with neurodiverse individuals.

 

What’s in it for you?

  • A chance to join a truly unique consortium network and project at the center of creativity, art making, neuroscience, and policy/social applications of the arts.

  • A chance to join a dynamic, international, and growing lab at the University of Vienna, the world’s first faculty with a specific research focus on empirical aesthetics, neuroaesthetics, and art studies. Work side by side with a large number of Master, PhD, and Postdoc researchers all sharing a passion for investigating a wide range of topics as they overlap with our human experience, production, and enjoyment of art, blending numerous methods.

  • Beyond the project consortium, enjoy a large collaboration network across Europe, North America, and Asia encompassing art and aesthetics-interested individuals and institutions in psychology, neuroscience, art policy, art education, clinical medicine, and art therapy.

  • Competitive salary and health insurance.

What you should do:

  • Please send your application as a single PDF file containing: (1) an academic CV; (2) max 2-page letter briefly introducing yourself, your skills, and why you are interested in and think you would make a strong contribution to this position. (Please keep in mind that, although our lab has a number of interests, we are looking for a candidate who can uniquely tackle this specific third-party-funded topic, thus please make note in your letter of which aspects of this topic you would like to focus on); (3) a sample of academic writing that you are proud of; (4) the name and contact info for 2 references.

  • Send materials to the following email address: matthew.pelowski@univie.ac.at. The subject line should read: “Application for the postdoc position”.

  • The deadline for sending your application is 9 June 2025 at 23:59 PM (CET).

  • The successful applicant is expected to start within 2025.