The section Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety in the Technology, Human and Institutional Behaviour (HIB)-department is currently seeking an assistant professor in behavior change of professionals in the safety domain. Cornerstone of our section is the countless ways people can get involved in events that threaten the psychological, community, or societal safety and which challenge their resilience. We take an interdisciplinary approach to understand and develop interventions to counter such threats, combining (social) psychological perspectives with communication sciences, and public administration. Our work includes topics such as conflict (e.g., polarization) and crisis management, risk perception and risk communication (e.g., about environmental or technological risks), crime prevention (e.g., cybercrime and subversive crime), and restorative justice interventions.
Our research and teaching is designed:
- around new technology (e.g. for physiological measurements, eye tracking, sociometry, virtual reality, automated emotion detection, online communities), facilitated by our BMSlab (including our state-of-the-art mobile lab facility);
- in close collaboration with partners from practice in the Netherlands and abroad, such as National Crisis Centres, TNO, law enforcement agencies, the military, ministries and municipalities, Kenniscentrum Veilige Digitale Samenleving (Apeldoorn) and the Dutch Perspectief herstelbemiddeling.
Your challenge
Currently, we seek a new colleague who has an affinity with and expertise in the domain of fostering behavior change among professionals in organisations that operate in the domains of conflict and crisis management (e.g., police organisations, mediation agencies), risk prevention and communication (e.g., about technical or environmental risks, and/or ensuring social and physical safety (e.g., related to climate change or cyber-attacks). As a section and department, we have a strong track record of developing interventions with the use of technology to combat societal problems (e.g., VR training for police officers, digital solutions for communication during conflict and crisis management) for professionals in such organisations. Your challenge will be how to stimulate professionals to learn about, adopt and embrace such new interventions in their work - and how to integrate such insights in the implementation of future solutions and interventions. You will contribute to our interdisciplinary research domains of resilience, emerging technologies and societal transformations, or health in the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social sciences (BMS). In addition to research, you will contribute to the education of our students, by coordinating, developing and teaching courses in the Bachelor and Master Programme of Psychology. You will engage in supervision of Bachelor and Master-theses in the Psychology programmes and will supervise PhD-students.