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. Dr. Wilhelm Hofmann. The position is located at the Department of Social and Environmental Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum. For more information on our research, please visit https://www.soc.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/ Ruhr University Bochum is one of Germany’s leading research universities, offering a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment on a unified, modern campus.

Unsustainable consumption is a key driver of the climate crisis and must be urgently addressed to stay within planetary boundaries. Despite widespread awareness, personal lifestyle changes have proven insufficient and difficult. Rather than relying on individual self-control alone, major structural policy solutions addressing the systemic roots of the social dilemma of unsustainable consumption are needed. 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. This very process is often psychologically hindered by an overemphasis on personal responsibility and an underestimation of the structural forces shaping sustainable behavior. 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 postdoctoral researcher will contribute centrally to the conceptual, methodological, and analytical design of several studies in SUSCON. A key responsibility includes leading WP 2, which investigates how people perceive and respond to structural barriers in everyday consumption using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and by implementing consecutive randomized field interventions. The researcher may also contribute to another work package, which involves economic games to study mindset effects on cooperation and climate policy support.

Your tasks:

In this role, you will design and coordinate
multi-method research studies, including innovative EMA approaches,
experimental studies, and online surveys. You will take the lead on key
data analyses and publishing high-impact publications, playing an active
role in disseminating findings across both academic and public-facing
platforms, including journal articles, policy briefs, and stakeholder
presentations. A central part of your responsibilities will be to
support the theoretical integration of the project and ensure coherence
across work packages. You will also supervise and collaborate closely
with doctoral researchers, present findings at international
conferences, and actively contribute to open science practices
throughout the project. In addition, there is the possibility for
further research cooperations within the team and an expectation to
contribute to each team member’s share in supervising a limited number
of BA and MA theses. Please also note that this position is not suitable
for a remote-only arrangement.

Your profile:

We are looking for applicants with the following qualifications and experience:

• A PhD in psychology (e.g., social, environmental, political), behavioral economics, or a closely related field
• 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
• Strong interest in ecological approaches; Experience in planning, conducting, and analyzing EMA projects
• Interest in social dilemma research and experience with experimental platforms (e.g., oTree, Qualtrics)
• Good computational and/or programming skills; high proficiency in R
• Motivation to work in an international, interdisciplinary research environment
• Strong communication and collaboration skills
• Excellent command of English (written and spoken); German is helpful but not required
• Organized, reliable, and able to work both independently and in a team

We offer:

• Challenging and varied tasks with a high level of independence
• Employment at one of the largest universities in Germany within the University Alliance Ruhr
• Collaboration in a committed and appreciative team
• Ein umfassendes Angebot zur Stärkung der Gesundheit am Arbeitsplatz
• Extensive training and professional development opportunities

• 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
• Integration into a collaborative and internationally oriented faculty environment
• An inclusive, supportive, and forward-thinking research culture

Further information:

The position is salaried and based on the collective agreement of the Länder (TV-L).
If the personal and collective agreement requirements are met, the employee will receive pay grade TVL E13 TV-L.

Further information can be found at https://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/ (in German).

The place of work is Ruhr University Bochum.

If the position is funded by third-party funds the employee has no teaching obligation.