Postdoctoral researcher (full-time)

Social and Environmental Psychology
In order to fill a fixed-term position in full-time (39.83 hours/week = 100%) by October 2026 or later, we are looking for 1

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x) (100%, 48 months)
We invite applications for a postdoctoral research position as part of the ERC Advanced Grant project “Shifting Mindsets for Sustainable Consumption (SUSCON),” funded by the European Union and led by Prof. For more information on our research, please visit Ruhr University Bochum is one of Germany's leading research universities, offering a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment on a unified, modern campus.Thus, citizens, as well as policymakers, need to become more aware of the significant constraints to sustainable lifestyles and to support and actively promote such policy solutions. The SUSCON project aims to expose such limitations and the potential of a “structural mindset” that better recognizes systemic drivers of behavior and supports collective, structural solutions. Drawing on experimental psychology, behavioral economics, political psychology, and AI-based discourse analysis, SUSCON will examine how different mindsets affect cooperation, policy support, and attribution of responsibility in both citizens and policymakers.
The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of Germany's leading research universities, addressing the whole range of academic disciplines. A highly dynamic setting enables researchers and students to work across the traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. The postdoctoral researcher will contribute centrally to the conceptual, methodological, and analytical design of several studies in SUSCON. 1, a large-scale cross-national survey study examining how individual-level and country-level factors shape citizens' support for structural versus individual-level sustainability policies across multiple EU member states. You will work closely with the PI to integrate findings into the broader theoretical framework of the project and to develop them into high-quality publications. 1, you will contribute analytically to other work packages and help ensure coherence across the project's empirical lines.
You will supervise and collaborate closely with doctoral researchers, present findings at international conferences, and actively contribute to open science practices throughout the project, including pre-registration and transparent data management. There is furthermore the possibility of research cooperations within the team, as well as an expectation to contribute to the supervision of a limited number of BA and MA theses.
A PhD in psychology (e.g., political science with a strong quantitative focus)
~A strong track record of publishing high-quality empirical research in peer-reviewed journals, demonstrating sustained scholarly productivity and international visibility
~Expertise in research design, advanced statistical methods, and behavioral data analysis; Experience with large-scale survey research, including questionnaire design, sampling, and the management of multi-country data collections
~Familiarity with open science practices (e.g., Motivation to work in an international, interdisciplinary research environment
~Excellent command of English (written and spoken); proficiency in German is an advantage given the project's institutional context, though not required
~Scope: full-time
Please note that this position is not suitable for a remote-only arrangement.
Participation in a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary ERC-funded project
~Employment at one of Germany's leading research universities, within a vibrant academic ecosystem
~Structured supervision and extensive training opportunities, including transferable skills workshops
~Support for presenting your work at international conferences and events
~An inclusive, supportive, and forward-thinking research culture

Further information can be found at (in German).
RUB sees itself as a university with an international presence. The campus languages are German and English. German language courses are offered by the University Language Center (ZFA) in the field of German as a Foreign Language (DaF).
For this reason, we favour a working environment composed of heterogeneous teams, and seek to promote the careers of individuals who are underrepresented in our respective professional areas.