The Department of Psychology, part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), has a PhD position on Reinforcement Learning and Implicit Prejudice.

As PhD candidate you will examine the psychological and neural processes through which implicit prejudices are learned. Specifically, this project tests an interactive memory systems model of how prejudices are internalized, using a combination of behavioural experiments, computational modelling, and neuroimaging.

You will conduct your research under the supervision of Dr David Amodio at the University of Amsterdam and engage with his research group as part of Dr Amodio’s NWO-funded VICI project, How do prejudices become implicit? A social cognitive neuroscience account. You will join a vibrant and supportive research group in the Department of Social Psychology, with opportunities to interact with other programs and organizations at our university (e.g., the Amsterdam Brain & Cognition Centre) and to visit Dr Amodio’s New York University lab, in New York City, among other international collaborations.

This position includes allowances for research expenses, including computer and recording materials, participant costs, experimental materials, and travel and subsistence costs towards project-specific travel, including conferences. The positions also offer an opportunity to gain experience with teaching, subject to availability and qualifications.

• You have or are about to finish a Research Master degree in Psychology or related discipline, with a focus on social psychology and/or cognitive neuroscience;
• you have an interest in social cognition and prejudice from a neuroscience perspective;
• you have experience conducting social psychological and/or neuroscience research, such as with designing and programming experiments (e.g., using Matlab, Python, E-Prime, or Inquisit), recruiting participants and running experimental sessions, collection and analysis of data (e.g., SPSS or R), or writing of manuscripts/grants;
• your written and spoken English are excellent and you have a strong interest in pursuing a scientific career;
• you also have strong research project management skills and the ability manage workload and resources to meet deadlines;
• you are willing and able to travel internationally (costs will be covered by the project grant).

Experience with neuroimaging or computational modelling would be advantageous.

The starting date of the position is set for 1 September 2018, but a later date may be considered. The position is initially for 1 year. Extension of the contract after the first year to a total of 4 years is subject to satisfactory performance.

The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with the salary scales for PhD candidates at Dutch universities, i.e., ranging from €2,222 in the first year to €2,840 in the final year. Conditions are based on 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

The Department of Social Psychology is supported by approximately 15 tenured faculty members, and currently hosts 13 PhD and postdoctoral researchers. We offer a dynamic environment in an internationally recognized department, ranking among the best in Europe for research and teaching. This is paired with an informal and supportive atmosphere, in a beautifully-situated building with modern facilities. Amsterdam is an international city, consistently ranked as one of the world’s best places to live.

The Psychology Department is located centrally in Amsterdam, and hosts program groups focusing on social, organisational, developmental, clinical, statistical, and cognitive psychology. It offers excellent facilities for undertaking research in a broad range of areas, including EEG, ERP, TMS, and fMRI, cognitive behavioural testing suites, eye-tracker, and a social observation lab.

Our Department is part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG), which is the largest educational and research institution in the social sciences in the Netherlands. The Faculty serves 7500 students in numerous Bachelor and Master programs in Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Science, Social Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, and Educational Sciences.

http://www.uva.nl/en/disciplines/psychology