The Department of Communication and Cognition at Tilburg University is looking for an enthusiastic PhD researcher on defining and improving interpersonal understanding in dialogues.

Successful communication heavily relies on our ability to imagine ourselves in another person’s shoes. Whether we are communicating with loved-ones, friends, colleagues, or with medical specialists, we effortlessly try to take our interlocutor’s perspective to come to understand each other and to reach our communicative goals. These perspective taking acts are often successful in helping us to fulfill our communicative needs. Often, but not always. Just like understanding, misunderstanding is a natural part of our communication, and miscommunications occur more frequently than we think or wish that they do. In fact, studies have shown that we systematically overestimate how well we communicate and, thus, understand each other in the conversation. Given the far reaching personal and social consequences misunderstandings can have, it is surprising that we still know relatively little about whether, when and how interlocutors build interpersonal understanding in their conversations. 

The purpose of this PhD project is to create a comprehensive understanding of what interpersonal understanding entails for interlocutors, whether and how it is co-created by interlocutors within the discourse, and what facilitates or hampers its establishment. This project thus attempts to create a holistic approach in examining not only wat makes interlocutors feel they understand each other, but also whether those feelings correspond to reality, and how interlocutors could improve their interpersonal understanding. This will be done by combining insights and methods from (social) psychology, sociology and (health) communication sciences, using a variety of research methods ranging from interviews to surveys and (observational) lab experiments. The focus will lie on interpersonal, organizational and medical conversations, so that you can take into account the different social dynamics that might impact interlocutors’ interpersonal understanding in dialogue. Not only will you focus on the (verbal) content of communication, but also on the manner (i.e., non-verbal and paralinguistic information) by which the content is relayed. You will also test the impact of different conversation techniques on interlocutors’ ability to achieve (better) interpersonal understanding. You will write a dissertation on the combined studies. We also ask you to spend 10% of your time on teaching in the department. 

The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Communication and Cognition (DCC) and they will work together with researchers who are experts on interpersonal communication (e.g., perspective taking, empathy, non-verbal communication, eye-tracking, health communication, feeling heard, and active listening). Researchers in our department explore social and cognitive aspects of human interaction through a multidisciplinary approach, combining careful experimentation with survey methods, interviews, corpus analyses and computational modelling. The research group consists of about 80 researchers covering a broad range of topics relevant for cognition and communication, and this includes approximately 20 PhD students. Core research domains include (in alphabetical order) communication and technology, cross-cultural communication, information visualization, language production, new media design, social media research, and non-verbal communication.

We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate with a (research) master’s degree in a relevant discipline such as (health) communication sciences, (social) psychology, sociology, or a related field. You should have a strong interest in doing research in general and on this topic in particular. Further, you need to have critical analytical skills, excellent writing skills, and a good command of English. Speaking Dutch fluently is a prerequisite given the nature of this project. We expect you to be pro-active and have good organizational skills, and to be able to work and think independently but also collaborate with others. Knowledge of and experience with both (advanced) quantitative and qualitative research and data analytic techniques is a plus, as well as a willingness to further develop these skills. We also expect you to have a professional attitude with a strong commitment to integrity and research ethics.

This is a position for 0.8 – 1.0 fte (32 – 40 hours per week) of full working hours. Working hours can be flexible for caring responsibilities. This is a vacancy for a temporary position in accordance with Article 2.3, paragraph 5 of the CLA for Dutch Universities. You will be given a temporary employment contract for the duration of 1 year. Upon positive outcome of the first-year evaluation, you will receive a subsequent employment contract that will be extended for an additional 3 years. Tilburg University offers excellent employment conditions with attention to flexibility and (personal) development and attractive fringe benefits. 

The salary amounts to €2,770 in de first year of the PhD, and will increase to €3,539 in the fourth year of the PhD (gross per month for full-time employment), based on UFO profile PhD and salary scale PhD 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. All employees of the university are covered by the so-called General Pension Fund for Public Employers (Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP).  

We make clear agreements about career paths and offer all kinds of facilities and arrangement to maintain an optimal balance between work and private life. You can also follow numerous training courses, for example, in the areas of leadership skills, personal effectiveness, and career development. 

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 University's motto is Understanding Society. Based on this vision, our more than 2,800 employees conduct research, inspire more than 20,000 students of 110 nationalities, and bring people from different disciplines and organizations together to learn from each other. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. In doing so, we work from the fields of economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, humanities and digital sciences, and theology. We seek the connection between the various disciplines to find solutions to the major issues we face as a society. Our students are educated to become responsible and entrepreneurial thinkers, driven by solidarity, a sense of responsibility, and empathy, who are able to influence and give direction to a rapidly changing society in an innovative way. Tilburg University has a culture of collaboration and co-creation, at local, regional, national, and international level.
Research and education at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) has a unique focus on humans in the context of the globalizing digital society, on the development of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies, on their impact on communication, culture and society, and on moral and existential challenges that arise. The School of Humanities and Digital Sciences consists of four departments: Communication and Cognition, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Culture Studies and Philosophy; several research institutes and a faculty office. Also the University College Tilburg is part of the School. The School has approximately 3100 students and around 270 employees.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences
Research and education at the Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD) has a unique focus on humans in the context of the globalizing digital society, on the development of artificial intelligence and interactive technologies, on their impact on communication, culture and society, and on moral and existential challenges that arise. The School of Humanities and Digital Sciences consists of four departments: Communication and Cognition, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Culture Studies and Philosophy; several research institutes and a faculty office. Also the University College Tilburg is part of the School. Each year around 275 students commence a Bachelor or (Pre) Master Program. The School has approximately 2000 students and 250 employees.

Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences

We invite you to apply online for this position by May 12th 2024 23:59 CET. 

More information about the vacancy can be obtained from:
dr. Debby Damen (d.j.damen@tilburguniversity),
dr. Monique Pollmann (m.m.h.pollmann@tilburguniversity.edu),
or prof. dr. Marc Swerts (m.g.j.swerts@tilburguniversity.edu). 

Please attach the following documents to your application:

• A cover letter outlining your academic interests, research experience and motivation (max. 1  page);
• Your Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages);
• The contact information of at least two referees, including name, phone number, and e-mail address (we only approach referees for candidates in the second selection round);
• A writing sample (thesis, essay, or article);
• An official copy of your university degree and grade list.