Are you interested in doing research in the domain of social psychology, with emphasis on the psychology of belief systems and worldviews? Do you have strong project management skills that you would like to apply to a project on the psychology of science scepticism? We are looking for a highly motivated candidate for a two-year research assistantship (2,5 days a week) to help set-up and support a research project funded by an ERC grant awarded to Dr Bastiaan Rutjens. Within the project, you will support and work with the core project team, which consists of Bastiaan Rutjens, a postdoctoral researcher and two PhD students.  

The project will be conducted within the Social Psychology programme group at the University of Amsterdam. Within the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the discipline of Psychology offers a range of Bachelor's and Master’s degree programmes, while its research is carried out at the Psychology Research Institute (Psyres).

Job description

We are looking for a Research Assistant to carry out tasks involved in a project on the psychology of science scepticism. Some of the tasks that you will carry out are:

• programming surveys and studies;
• help setting up the project infrastructure;
• (quantitative) data analysis;
• data management & project documentation;
• being actively involved in the project and providing input at lab meetings.

The succesful applicant will work with Dr Bastiaan Rutjens, who is based at the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which is ranked 16th in the QS World University Rankings. The University of Amsterdam has access to state-of-the-art research facilities (Psychology labs / Spinoza center) to implement and coordinate the proposed research.

• Master’s degree (preferably obtained in a research master programme) in (Social) Psychology or an equivalent programme;
• affinity with research and a demonstrable interest in the topic of the project;
• relevant programming and statistical skills;
• committed and able to work 19 hours per week on this project (in Amsterdam);
• excellent English proficiency and preferably fluent in Dutch.

The appointment is for two years on a 50% basis. Based on a full-time appointment the gross monthly salary will be €2,390 in the first year (scale 6 in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities).

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

http://www.uva.nl/en/home

Department of Psychology

In the psychology department, talented and internationally renowned scholars work in their own wayward manner to gain a better understanding of the human mind and human behavior. The critical UvA-student is educated by them during this quest, in which independent thinking is expected and nothing and no one is beyond critique.

https://www.uva.nl/en/faculty/faculty-of-social-and-behavioural-sciences/disciplines/psychology/psychology.html