Researcher in social psychology in the Computing Religious Devotion project

22 Jan 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Masaryk University - Faculty of Arts

Department

Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion

Research Field

Psychological sciences » Psychology
Psychological sciences » Behavioural sciences
Psychological sciences » Cognitive science
Psychological sciences » Other
Neurosciences » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)
Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Czech Republic

Application Deadline

21 Feb 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Prague)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Mar 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

We are seeking postdoctoral candidates with background in social psychology, cognitive science, or social neuroscience to join a highly interdisciplinary project on the computational model of religious decision-making. The Computing Religious Devotion project (CREDO) is funded by a Junior Star grant from the Czech National Foundation and is based at the Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA) at Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic). This project aims to understand how religious devotion influences cognitive computations during decision-making.

Main duties:

The successful candidate will lead the development and testing of the computational model of religious decision-making in cooperation with the Principal Investigator, Dr. Martin Lang and another postdoctoral researcher with strong formal modelling skills. Specifically, the successful candidate will empirically develop the model by determining how religious belief affects the strength of religious priors during normative decision-making in various laboratory and field studies. They will work in a fully equipped lab (EEG, fNIRS, BIOPAC) with access to fMRI and at a field site in Mauritius. The candidate will be given significant responsibility and autonomy while also benefiting from the mentorship of the PI, playing a crucial role in forming the CREDO project as well as future research areas for the whole lab.

Requirements

Research Field

Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Necessary qualifications:

• PhD (or approaching PhD) in Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience or a related field.
• Competence in designing and executing behavioural/neuroscientific experiments.
• Fluent in statistical code in either R, Python, or Matlab.
• English language (C1 or higher).
• At least one first-author publication (pre-prints are eligible)t.
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a research team.

Specific Requirements

Other qualifications we look for (but are not necessary):

• Previous work on social cognition, decision-making, moral psychology and related topics.
• Competence in formal modelling of cognitive processes.
• Experience with EEG, fNIRS or fMRI.
• Experience with open science practices (pre-registration, registered report, open code).

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Psychological sciences » PsychologyPsychological sciences » Behavioural sciencesPsychological sciences » Cognitive science

Additional Information
Benefits

We offer:

• Competitive salary.
• Academic growth in a stimulating research environment.
• Travel money.
• Leading high-profile publications.
• Friendly and informal working environment.
• Possibility to co-supervise PhD students.

Working environment

• employment in a prestigious institution that received the international HR Excellence in Research Award
• working in a dynamic international and interdisciplinary environment
• convenient location of the faculty in the city centre: possibility of parking in the faculty garage

Employee benefits

• 8 weeks of paid vacation per year, flexible working hours with the possibility to work partly from home for a better work-life balance, meal allowance in the salary or for meals in canteens, pension insurance contribution, selected vaccinations free of charge, favorable mobile tariffs Vodafone, Multisport card, sports lessons organized by the Faculty of Sports Studies, the possibility to place your child in the nursery school Elánek near the faculty.

Training and Development

• Opportunities for training and personal development, e.g., language and other courses provided by MU, use of MU libraries, use of placements and mobilities abroad, participation in conferences, etc.

Eligibility criteria

The following documents are required as a part of your application:

• Maximum one-page motivation letter documenting your fit for the position
• CV including a summary of work experience, publication activity, and involvement in research projects
• One representative published work (pre-prints are eligible)
• Copies of proof of education

Selection process

HOW TO APPLY

Please send your application via the electronic application link by 21. 2. 2024 (please use the link in the Electronic Application section below) and please attach all required documents.  

Electronic application: https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/careers/available-positions/77268

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation of acceptance to your e-mail address. After the e-application deadline, you will receive information about the next steps.

If you are unsure, please contact the FF MU Personnel Office: Mgr. Silvie Rampouchová, e-mail: [email protected]

Selection criteria:

• submitting of all required documents in the e-application
• compliance of the candidate's profile with the requirements for the job as stated above

Suitable candidates will be invited to a personal interview, which may also take the form of a videoconference.

Selection procedures rules at the Faculty of Arts of MU  can be found on our careers page here .

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you!

Additional comments

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY, THE FACULTY AND THE DEPARTMENT

Masaryk University  is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, with 10 faculties and a number of other specialized units, more than 6,000 employees and 32,000 students. We are a university with a wide range of research areas in the humanities and natural sciences and a strong international position. Our mission is to provide education and research of the highest quality.

The Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University  is one of the four founding faculties of Masaryk University and since its foundation in 1919 it has been not only an important centre of humanities and social science education, science, research and development, but also an institution that actively participates in shaping the cultural life of the city and the region.

Traditionally, it has been profiled as a research-oriented faculty generating approximately one fifth of MU's research volume. The faculty has more than 600 employees and by the student population of over 6,000 is the largest faculty at the university.

Since 2021, the faculty has been the proud holder of the HR Excellence in Research Award  from the European Commission.

You can find out more information about the faculty on the website https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/  or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FacultyofArtsMasarykUniversity .

For information on HR work set according to European standards, visit the HR Award faculty website:

https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/about-us/hrs4r-hr-award/ .

Department

The Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion (LEVYNA) is an interdisciplinary, collaborative team of experimentalists tackling the evolution and functioning of human cognitive mechanisms facilitating religious cognition, behaviour, and institutions. We value open science, collegiality, and cooperation.

Martin Lang is the director of LEVYNA and the PI of the CREDO project. His work lies at the intersection between the humanities and the cognitive and behavioural sciences, combining laboratory experiments with field studies to investigate how the human mind creates cultural niches and functions in them. He recently received a Vice-Rector at Masaryk University award for mentoring and excellent dissertation.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University

Country

Czech Republic

City

Brno

Postal Code

60200

Street

Arne Nováka 1

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/careers/available-positions/77268

Contact

City

Brno

Website

https://www.phil.muni.cz/

Street

Arna Novaka 1

Postal Code

60200

E-Mail

[email protected]
[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED