Postdoctoral researcher on visual perception, mental imagery, and sensory sensitivity

Are you interested in visual perception research and would you like to study individual differences in mental imagery and sensory sensitivity? Then come join the Department of Communication and Cognition at Tilburg University as a postdoctoral researcher. In this project, we will study individuals with perceptual extremes, for instance those with very strong mental imagery (hyperphantasia) and those without imagery (aphantasia), and individuals who experience high sensory processing sensitivity. We use these perceptual extremes to learn more about the integration of bottom-up sensory information and top-down predictions during perception, and what may be altered in this process in divergent perception.

Job Description 
As a postdoc in the individual differences project you will study the relation between mental imagery ability and sensory processing sensitivity, and how imagery and sensory sensitivity profiles relate to the presence of divergent perceptual experiences and (subclinical) psychiatric traits. We plan to conduct a large cohort study (N=800) including perceptual extremes, in which we assess mental imagery and sensory sensitivity with both questionnaires and behavioral experiments. We relate those individual differences to questionnaires on psychiatric traits in the general population and use regression analyses to uncover relationships. We also apply data-driven methods to identify structure in the data of traits clustering together. 

The postdoc position is placed within the project “Individual differences in subjective experience: The key to understanding perception” funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), within the Open Competition (SSH). The main aim of this 5-year project is to find out how individual differences in mental imagery ability and sensory sensitivity affect the integration of bottom-up and top-down information during perception. 

Who we are
The successful candidate will be based at the Department of Communication and Cognition (DCC) at Tilburg University. Researchers at the DCC explore social and cognitive aspects of human interaction through a multidisciplinary approach, combining careful experimentation with survey methods, interviews, corpus analyses and computational modelling. Core research domains include (in alphabetical order) communication and technology, cross-cultural communication, health and climate communication, information visualization, language production, new media design, social media research, and non-verbal communication. The research group consists of about 80 researchers covering a broad range of topics relevant for cognition and communication, and this includes approximately 35 postdocs/PhD students. Relevant colloquium series and seminars are offered at Tilburg University. Collaborations exist, among others, with the Department of Neuropsychology at the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and with the Donders Institute at Radboud University, Nijmegen.

• A PhD degree in a relevant field, e.g., cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computational psychiatry, or any other related field that you see fit;
• Strong enthusiasm for the topics of study: mental imagery, sensory processing sensitivity, psychiatric traits;
• Sufficient experience with statistical analyses to perform larger cohort studies and large-scale regression analyses;
• Very good command of English in writing and speaking;
• Experience with data-driven, exploratory methods is a recommendation;
• You are self-motivated, independent, and open-minded, and able to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team. 

We offer a postdoc position for 0.8 FTE (32 hours per week) of full working hours, for the duration of 2 years. Working hours can be flexible for caring responsibilities. You will be given a temporary employment contract for the duration of 24 months. Tilburg University offers excellent employment conditions with attention to flexibility, work-life balance, (personal) development, and attractive fringe benefits. 

The salary amounts to a minimum of €3226 and a maximum of €4332 gross per month for full-time employment, based on UFO profile Researcher 4 and salary scale 10 of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system for salary scaling that is based on work experience. 

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. 
Researchers from outside the Netherlands may qualify for a tax-free allowance of 30% of their taxable salary if they meet the relevant conditions. The university applies for this allowance on their behalf. 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 numerous training courses, for example, in the areas of leadership skills, personal effectiveness, and career development. Dependent on your experiences, background, and interests we will offer suitable opportunities for developing transferable skills. 

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. 

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