PhD: Familiarity and Novelty in Ageing

Western Sydney University’s MARCS AgeLab is offering a funded PhD on how familiar and novel experiences, from reminiscence and music to virtual reality, shape memory, identity and wellbeing in later life, including for people in residential aged care.

MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development

Lead Supervisor: Professor Celia Harris

Celia.Harris@westernsydney.edu.au

This PhD scholarship is connected to the ARC Future Fellowship project Beyond Reminiscence: Benefits of Familiarity vs. Novelty for Older People. The broader project asks a deceptively simple but important question: when are older people best supported by familiar experiences that connect them to memory, identity and comfort, and when are they best supported by novel experiences that promote curiosity, confidence, learning and growth?

Across aged care and community settings, programs for older people often emphasise routine, reminiscence and familiar activities. These approaches can support mood, wellbeing and self-continuity, but an over-reliance on familiarity may also limit opportunities for stimulation, autonomy and new learning. Conversely, novelty can support engagement and cognitive challenge, but may be less beneficial if it is poorly matched to a person’s needs, preferences or life stage. At present, there is limited evidence to guide aged care providers, program designers and technology developers about how to balance familiarity and novelty in meaningful activities for older people.

This PhD project will generate new knowledge about the cognitive, emotional and identity-related effects of familiar versus novel experiences and activities across later life. The broader Fellowship program includes experimental studies with older and younger adults, comparing familiar and novel experiences such as immersive virtual reality, music listening, board games, music-making and intergenerational learning. It will also examine how preferences for familiarity or novelty vary between community-dwelling older adults and people living in residential aged care.

The successful PhD candidate will contribute to this broader research agenda while developing a focused project aligned with their interests and expertise. Possible areas include autobiographical memory, music and ageing, virtual or immersive environments, meaningful activity, intergenerational engagement, individual differences in curiosity and routine preference, or translation of findings into aged care practice. The project may involve quantitative experiments, interviews, surveys, behavioural coding, co-design and/or fieldwork with older people and aged care partners. The candidate will join the MARCS AgeLab at Western Sydney University and work within an interdisciplinary team spanning cognitive science, psychology, ageing, dementia, health and aged care. This scholarship would suit a candidate who wants to conduct rigorous, human-centred research that improves how we understand and support wellbeing, engagement and quality of life in later life.

What does the scholarship provide?

• Domestic candidates will receive a tax-free stipend of $38,707 (AUD) per annum for up to 3 years to support living costs, supported by the Research Training Program (RTP) Fee Offset.
• Support for conference attendance, fieldwork and additional costs as approved by School/Institute.

Eligibility criteria

We welcome applications from motivated candidates who are interested in how familiar and novel experiences shape memory, identity, mood, engagement and wellbeing in later life. This project is particularly suitable for applicants with strong training in psychology, cognitive science, ageing, gerontology, dementia, human-centred design, music cognition, virtual environments, intergenerational engagement and/or aged care practice. The project will suit a candidate who is enthusiastic about rigorous human-participant research and keen to work across laboratory, community and aged care contexts.

Essential Selection criteria:

The successful applicant will:

• Hold qualifications and research experience equivalent to one of the following:
  – Australian First Class Bachelor (Honours) degree
  – Coursework Masters with at least 25% research component
  – Research Masters degree
  – Equivalent overseas qualification.
• Demonstrate strong academic performance in areas relevant to experimental psychology or cognitive science.
• Have experience conducting research with human participants, including quantitative research methods as well as mixed-methods approaches, or demonstrate a clear capacity and willingness to develop these skills.
• Be willing to learn and apply skills for engaging sensitively with older people, including people living in residential aged care, and for working within fieldwork environments that prioritise participant wellbeing, ethical research practice and constructive relationships with community and industry partners.
• Be enthusiastic and highly motivated to undertake advanced study within a collaborative, multi‑disciplinary research team.
• Possess strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with academic, aged care, community and industry stakeholders.
• Be able to work both independently and as part of a team, demonstrating good organisational skills and the capacity to manage project timelines.
• Ability to work on-site at WSU Westmead campus as well as capacity to engage in fieldwork trips within NSW, with potential overnight stays.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience working sensitively with older adults, people living with dementia and/or vulnerable populations, including in residential aged care, community health, disability, dementia care or comparable field settings.
• Demonstrated interest in one or more of the following: autobiographical memory, novelty and curiosity, reminiscence, identity and self-continuity, cognitive ageing, psychosocial wellbeing in later life, or translation of research into aged care practice.

This scholarship is open to Australian domestic students only.

Applications close: 31 October 2026

PS2026_088_CS0733673_MARCS