The Chair of Social Cognition at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, invites applications for a 5-year full-time Postdoc position in an ERC-funded project on social/cognitive psychology.

The position is part of the ERC-funded project “The Attribute-Frequency Model of Social Perception”. The project investigates biased perceptions of intergroup similarity, social inequality, and the formation of biased attitudes toward social groups. The broader Social Cognition group studies the cognitive foundations of social psychological phenomena, including attitude formation, person perception, stereotypes and prejudice, judgment and decision making, memory, perceptions of truth, and valence asymmetries. The group uses mostly experimental methods.

The postdoc will generate research ideas, design and conduct experiments, analyze data, write papers, and present findings at international conferences. Besides the ERC project work, the successful candidate is encouraged to develop new research ideas or continue existing lines of research to further develop their profile as an early-career researcher. Teaching is optional.

We are looking for candidates with a PhD in psychology or economics, research experience in social psychology, cognitive psychology, or judgment and decision making, published experimental research, and experience with data analysis in R, including multilevel models.

We offer a motivated and cooperative team, resources for study conduction and travel, the possibility of partially working from home or remotely, and an international network of collaborators. The group regularly participates in international conferences such as SPSP, SESP, EASP, and SPUDM, as well as research retreats.

The position is full-time, fixed-term for 5 years, and scheduled to start on October 1, 2026. Salary is based on the collective agreement of the German Länder, TV-L E13, if the personal and collective agreement requirements are met. The place of work is Ruhr University Bochum.

Applications should be submitted via the online application portal by June 1, 2026. Please mention reference number ANR 5642.

Further information and application portal:
https://jobs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/jobposting/742a490a86f99d7fbd37c752c596a16bed610d0e0?ref=homepage

For further information, please contact:
Hans Alves
Chair of Social Cognition
Ruhr University Bochum
hans.alves@rub.de