PhD position in Social Psychology

Do you want to contribute to groundbreaking research that pushes the boundaries of science? We are forming a new interdisciplinary research team for the ERC-funded Synergy Grant project CrowdING. How do crowds suddenly start to queue, form lanes, or huddle together—and what makes them switch from one behaviour to another? A team of social psychologists, physicists and computer scientists from the Netherlands and Germany aims to answer that question. The research is supported by large-scale laboratory experiments with numerous test subjects, modern analysis methods, and powerful simulations of crowd behaviour. The project is a collaboration of the University of Groningen’s department of Social Psychology (see below) and Forschungszentrum Jülich’s Institute for Advanced Simulation-7 (see https://www.fz-juelich.de/de/ias/ias-7). There is an opportunity to join this new team as a PhD candidate.

As a PhD candidate, you will have the opportunity to contribute to CrowdING by developing your own insights, collect data, and share your findings with both the team, other scientific colleagues and partners worldwide. Under the guidance of a supervisor and as a member of this team, you will contribute to the understanding of crowd dynamics and the future of this field.

Why would you want to apply for this position?

1. To advance science by joining a truly unique project team that seeks to integrate psychology, physics and computer science in order to understand and predict crowd dynamics.
2. To conduct research which has social impact. Your research will not only translate into scientific publications: it will contribute to an entirely new understanding of how psychology and physics interact to shape behaviour and generate new insights which have concrete practical benefits for industry and crowd management.
3. Personal development: you will have the opportunity, with the support of experienced scientists, to develop yourself into a multidisciplinary expert. There will be great opportunities for professional and personal growth.

What are you going to do?

As a PhD candidate, you will perform the following duties:

• You will conduct research that results in a dissertation and is consistent with the goals and requirements of the project.
• You will organise and conduct data collection for the subprojects.
• You will publish research results in international scientific journals.
• You will present the research to audiences of both domestic and international fellow scientists and partners from the professional field.
• You will collaborate with fellow scientists in the ERC synergy project and the department.

For this position, we are looking for someone who:

• Has a Master's or Research Master’s degree in field social psychology, or a related field, preferably with prior research experience relevant to crowds or group dynamics.
• Interest in collaborating with colleagues and integrating with knowledge from different disciplines: psychology, physics and computer science.
• Enthusiasm about writing international publications and a dissertation.
• Has a good command of the English language.
• Possesses good academic writing, social and communication skills and is willing to collaborate with other team members.
• Possesses good organisational skills and perseverance.
• Demonstrates competencies such as conceptual ability, presentation, planning, and monitoring progress.

• 232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
• End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
• Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences (GMW) excels in research and teaching in the areas of behaviour, thinking, learning, and participation in society. More than 4,500 students and approximately 650 staff address social questions and challenges that people experience in daily life. Our core focus is on individual and societal resilience and how to strengthen it. We focus on current themes such as health and wellbeing, sustainable living, learning and development, inclusive society, safe and healthy upbringing, and work and collaboration. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, visit rug.nl/gmw. 

The Department of Psychology has an excellent scientific reputation reflected, among others, in high rankings. The Social Psychology group is known for outstanding research in group processes (including collective action and crowd dynamics), inter-group relations, political and health psychology. This standing is reflected, among other things, in the impact of our research in the international academic community. But we also conduct highly impactful ‘applied’ work that focuses on some of the most pressing issues and topics nationally and regionally. Because of this, the group has established excellent connections with partners across the breadth of society. We offer teaching at all levels of the Bachelor and Master curriculum, including the faculty’s Research Master of Behavioral and Social Science. For more information about the group, see https://www.rug.nl/gmw/research/psychology/research-units/social-psychology/

Do you have any questions or need more information?

Questions about the content of the job?
Tom Postmes (Full Professor): T.Postmes@rug.nl

Questions about your application process?
Tom Postmes (Full Professor): T.Postmes@rug.nl