The Body Social Cognition and Action group led by Prof. Simone Schütz-Bosbach at the Department of Psychology, LMU Munich,
Germany, invites applications for one
Research Associate/Doctoral Candidate (m/f/d) – salary: 13 TV-L (75 %)
in the area of Neurocognitive Psychology.
The position is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a period of 3 years. The starting date is negotiable. The
successful candidate will be supervised by Prof. Simone Schütz-Bosbach and Dr. Jakob Kaiser.
Project Description
Humans often have a subjective feeling about how much influence they have over any given situation. This is sometimes called
“sense of agency” or “feeling of control”. Subjective sense of agency may even determine real-life success as, for example, people
with low sense of agency might give up more quickly in challenging situations. This project shall investigate in how far subjective
sense of agency influences the ability to adapt one’s behaviour to changing environmental demands or to learn new skills. We plan
to combine research paradigms related to skill learning and behavioural flexibility (e.g. reinforcement learning, cognitive control
tasks) with the experimental manipulation and measurement of sense of agency. This project will involve both behavioural
experimental techniques, as well as the study of relevant neural mechanisms via EEG. Additionally, in an interdisciplinary
cooperation, we would like to contribute to a computational model of action regulation. This project is part of the priority program
“The Active Self” by the DFG. The program entails biannual meetings and workshops for participating PhD candidates, which offer
an excellent opportunity for networking and scientific exchange.
Your Tasks
- Designing, conducting and analysing experiments with human participants within the scope of the project
- Contributing to a computational model of human action control by adapting existing models and comparing simulated data
with real human data
- Presenting your findings in research publications and conference presentations
- Writing a PhD thesis based on your research project
Your Profile
- Currently holding or expected to obtain an MSc in psychology or a related discipline (e.g., neuroscience, cognitive science)
- Strong motivation to obtain a PhD for a scientific career
- Experience with or strong motivation to learn computer programming (e.g., Matlab)
- Experience or interest in statistical analysis
- Experience or interest in EEG measurements and analysis
- Experience or interest in computational modelling (e.g., ACT-R, Bayesian Modelling)
- Proficiency in English
We Offer
- Mentoring and support for your research project and PhD thesis
- Access to a modern research environment at the LMU Munich. The LMU Munich is ranked among the top 10 universities in
Europe, both regarding living standards and scientific excellence.
- Opportunities to participate in scientific conferences
- Participation in meetings and workshops of the DFG priority programme “The Active Self”
Please submit your application written in English or German (including cover letter, CV, copies of degree certificates, and up to two
letters of recommendation) in one single PDF file to j.kaiser@psy.lmu.de and s.schuetz-bosbach@lmu.de. There is no firm deadline
and we accept applications until the position is filled. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an interview via Zoom. LMU Munich
is an equal-opportunity employer, and we encourage applications from female researchers and other underrepresented groups.