Project description
The ability to anticipate, process and integrate sensory information is crucial for effective social engagement. Although the phenomenology of autism and giftedness is fundamentally different, both autistic and intellectually gifted people often experience difficulties with sensory processing and social interaction.

This PhD project will examine the differential and shared behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying sensory processing and social function in autism and intellectually giftedness.

The project consists of several sub-studies using a wide array of research methods, including electro-encephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, cognitive and behavioral measures and self-report questionnaire data.

Job description
You will be supervised by dr. Thijs van Laarhoven (co-promotor, daily supervisor), dr. Marion van den Heuvel (co-promotor), and prof. dr. Jean Vroomen (promotor).

Your main tasks and responsibilities are:

• Setting up experiments in the lab and at mental health organizations
• Recruit participants, collect psychophysiological and behavioral data, psychometric testing
• Perform advanced data analysis
• Prepare scientific articles to be published in international journals 
• Present key findings at national and international scientific conferences
• Write a PhD thesis
• Contribute to Open Science and Team Science
• Contribute to education and supervision (e.g. supervising bachelor’s theses and research skills groups; not more than 20% of your time will be devoted to these tasks)

We are looking for a highly motivated, curious, enthusiastic, proactive, and result-driven PhD student with the following qualifications:

• MSc degree in experimental psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience or a related field.
• Strong interest in conducting high-quality research and implementing behavioral and psychophysiological experiments
• Experience and/or affinity with various age groups from early childhood to young adulthood
• Experience with EEG and/or eye-tracking measures
• Experience with psychometric testing (e.g. WAIS, WISC) is a big plus
• Excellent project management and organization skills
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Excellent programming skills (e.g. E-Prime/Basic, python, Matlab, R)
• In-depth knowledge of statistical analysis software (e.g., R, SPSS, Qualtrics) 
• Proficiency in Dutch (native) and English (preferably C2), including writing skills
• Experience or affinity with educational activities

This is a position for 1.0 FTE (40 hours per week) of the full-time working week. The appointment will be for the total of 48 months and is intended to lead to a PhD thesis. You will initially be appointed for 12 months, with an extension for the following 36 months based on a positive evaluation. The evaluation will take place after about 9 months. 

The start salary amounts to €2.770 in the first year and a maximum in the fourth year of €3.539 gross per month for a full time employment contract, based on UFO profile PhD student and salary scale number PhD’s of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

You are entitled to a vacation allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross annual income. If you work 40 hours per week, you will receive 41 paid days of leave per year.

Tilburg University values an open and inclusive culture. We embrace diversity and encourage the mutual integration of groups of employees and students. We focus on creating equal opportunities for all our employees and students, so that everyone feels at home in our university community. Tilburg University has a lively campus in beautiful green surroundings that is easily accessible by public transport. We are committed to a sustainable society and challenge you to make an active contribution.

Please visit working at Tilburg University for more information on our terms of employment. 

Tilburg University

Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (TSB) is one of the five faculties of Tilburg University. The teaching and research of the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences are organized around the themes of “Adaptive societies, organizations, and workers”, “Healthy life span”, and “Personalized prevention and care”. The School’s inspiring working environment challenges its workers to realize their ambitions, involvement and cooperation are essential to achieve this.   
Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

For more information about the department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, see: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about/schools/socialsciences/organization/departments/cognitive-neuropsychology