Understanding and Changing Driver Behaviours in Situations of Acute Stress (PhD Studentship) University of Birmingham in United Kingdom

The Centre for National Training and Research Excellence in Understanding Behaviour (Centre-UB) at the University of Birmingham is offering a fully funded PhD studentship in collaboration with the Department for Transport (DfT), commencing October 2026. This interdisciplinary doctoral project seeks to understand and influence driver behaviours in situations of acute stress, such as traffic congestion, emergency evacuations, stadium egress, border queues, and major power outages. The research will focus on how short-term, context-specific increases in cognitive load, perceived stress, and time-related urgency affect driver decision-making and behaviour.

The successful candidate will model driver behaviour as a dynamic continuum shaped by factors including time pressure, traffic density, uncertainty, expectations of disruption, and the physical and social environment. The project will use systems thinking to map psychosocial processes that lead to behavioural tipping points—moments when drivers may engage in maladaptive actions such as rule-bending, blocking, or queue-jumping. Special attention will be given to understanding why certain groups (e.g., elderly people, individuals with disabilities, tourists unfamiliar with local norms or emergency protocols) may be more prone to these behaviours, and to developing interventions that promote safer, more cooperative driving regimes.

As a PhD student, you will lead the full research programme, including study design, data analysis, model development, and co-production of interventions with DfT and other partners. You will work closely with DfT’s Behavioural Science team, gaining access to operational expertise and real-world datasets. The project is supervised by Professor Russell Beale (expert in human computer interaction) and Dr Renate Reniers (expert in psychology), with additional co-supervision from DfT’s Behavioural Science team.

Centre-UB studentships provide comprehensive funding, covering tuition fees, a maintenance stipend, support for research training, and research activity support grants. Due to UKRI funding stipulations, up to 30% of the cohort may be international applicants. The position is based at the University of Birmingham’s School of Computer Science, reflecting the project’s interdisciplinary nature.

Applicants should hold a 1st class or 2:1 undergraduate degree, or a good master’s degree, in a relevant social science field such as behavioural science, human computer interaction, psychology, human geography, public health, or cognitive science. Experience with qualitative and quantitative research, behavioural intervention design, agent-based modelling, and online experiments is desirable. The application deadline is February 17, 2026, with interviews scheduled for March 18th and 19th. For application instructions, visit the Centre-UB website. Informal enquiries can be directed to Dr Renate Reniers at [email protected].