Location: Rijeka, Croatia
Host: University of Rijeka, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Application deadline: 8 July 2026
Start date: 1 December 2026

Dear colleagues,

We are offering a one-year full-time research position on the project “Submissive Behaviors: Cognitive and Physiological Mechanisms, Social Dynamics, and Psychological Well-being” (PI: Asmir Gračanin), funded by the Croatian Science Foundation.

All information can be found here:
http://semperlab.github.io/

About the project and the role of the postdoctoral fellow:

In the SubmitWell project, we explore submissiveness both as a transient behavior and as a stable interpersonal disposition. Understanding submissiveness is important for explaining social and well-being outcomes, including aggression, anxiety, cooperation, and life satisfaction. The project aims to develop and empirically test a comprehensive model of submissive behaviors integrating cognitive, psychophysiological, and social mechanisms. In order to explain and predict submissive behavior, we examine the interaction between warmth and competence as fundamental dimensions of social perception. We test our hypotheses via experimental, psychometric, and field studies examining cognitive processes, behavior, psychophysiology, and individual differences, as well as everyday life outcomes.

The postdoctoral researcher will play a central role in the implementation of laboratory and online studies. They will conduct experimental manipulations of warmth and competence and analyze self-report, behavioral, hormonal, and autonomic nervous system data. They will contribute to the development and testing of research materials and procedures. They will also participate in the preparation and writing of scientific manuscripts based on project results.