The Department of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University is looking for an enthusiastic PhD student on the project ‘The Interplay of Personality, Romantic Relationships, and Health across the Lifespan’.

Project description
In this project we want to investigate the role of romantic relationships as a resource for mental and physical health. We are particularly interested in how the personality of both partners (e.g., traits, attachment styles) interact with each other and affect relationship interactions (e.g., conflict, intimacy, support, joint activities), and consequently daily and long-term experienced stress, affect, and markers of mental and physical health. 

We plan to use existing panel data and conduct a daily diary study in young couples. With the panel data, we want to investigate the long-term associations between personality, romantic relationship quality, and both physical and mental health over several years – with a focus on how they affect each other over time and at what phase of the lifespan the associations are most pronounced. We then aim to explore romantic relationship dynamics in more detail by employing a dyadic daily diary approach, assessing the romantic partners’ interactions (e.g., support, conflict, intimacy) and health-related behaviors (e.g., cooking, sports) over the course of several weeks. We want to better understand how this is influenced by the personalities of both partners and, in turn, what effects it has on their physical and mental health (e.g., BMI; sick days; pain; stress; subjective and psychological well-being). 

Job description
The 4-year PhD project is at the Department of Developmental Psychology. Responsibilities include: 

• Planning and executing data collection, independently conducting complex longitudinal data-analyses (e.g., latent growth curve modelling)
• Active participation in the team involved in this project and in the Department of Developmental Psychology (e.g., by attending departmental meetings)
• Writing international scientific publications 
• Presenting at international scientific conferences and disseminating findings to a non-scientific audience (e.g., policy makers and mental health care professionals)
• Teaching and supervision (e.g., supervision of bachelor theses, max 0.2 FTE)

We look for a highly motivated, inquisitive, enthusiastic, and proactive PhD student. Applicants must have a relevant MSc degree (preferably a research master), for example in developmental, personality, social or organizational psychology, sociology, or in social/health sciences. 

• Interest in conducting high-quality research on personality, relationships, and health
• Interest in open science and preregistration
• Excellent research skills and quantitative data analytical abilities, including in-depth knowledge of statistical programs (e.g., SPSS, Mplus or R) 
• Interested in learning and applying more advanced statistical methods
• Excellent project management and organization skills 
• Excellent communication and cooperation skills and the willingness to work in a team 
• Proficiency in English (Dutch is a plus but not necessary)
• Interest in providing small-scale education, such as working groups and bachelor thesis supervision 

The PhD candidate will be employed by Tilburg University, which is among the top of the Dutch employers and has an excellent policy concerning terms of employment. The appointments are intended to lead to the completion of a PhD thesis. The PhD appointment begins with a period of 12 months. Continuation of the appointment with another 36 months will be based on performance evaluation. The gross salary for the PhD position amounts to € 2.770,- per month in the first year, rising to € 3.539,- per month in the fourth year, based on a full-time appointment.

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 full-time (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). Researchers from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance of 30% of their taxable salary. The university applies for this allowance on their behalf. 

Tilburg University offers excellent employment conditions with attention to flexibility and (personal) development and attractive fringe benefits.

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

Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Tilburg University is a modern, specialized university. The School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (TSB) has an inspiring working environment that challenges its employees to realize their ambitions; involvement and cooperation are essential to achieve this.
Tilburg University offers a bachelor’s and several master’s programs in psychology, including the research master “Individual Differences and Assessment” and “Social and Behavioral Sciences”, and a bachelor’s and master’s program in HR Studies.

Department of Developmental Psychology

For more information about the Department of Developmental Psychology, please visit: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about/schools/socialsciences/organization/departments/developmental-psychology