Faculty of Psychology:
Chair of Social and Environmental Psychology - ERC Grant "Shifting Mindsets for Sustainable Consumption (SUSCON)”
In order to fill a fixed-term position in part-time (29.8725 hours/week = 75%) by 01. Nov. 2025 or later, we are looking for two
Doctoral Researcher (m,f,x)
We invite applications for a doctoral position as part of the ERC Advanced Grant project “Shifting Mindsets for Sustainable Consumption (SUSCON)” funded by the European Union under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Hofmann and located in the Department of Social and Environmental Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology at the 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 potentials 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.
Possible focus number 1 of the position: The doctoral researcher will contribute primarily to Work Package 3, which involves a series of survey-based and field studies focusing on political psychology and public attitudes toward structural sustainability policies. This includes preparing and piloting instruments, coordinating studies, and conducting targeted research with policymakers. The aim is to understand how different mindsets influence responsibility attribution and policy support in both the general population and political actors. Possible focus number 2 of the position: The doctoral researcher will contribute primarily to Work Package 1, which consists of experimental studies using public goods games and scenario-based experiments to examine the effects of different mindsets on cooperation, structural awareness, and policy support. Please indicate in your application which package you would like to work on.
Your tasks:
You will work closely with the PI, and a Postdoc and PhD spearheading other parts of the project to design, pilot, manage, and analyze a series of survey-based and field studies. These will include cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys, studies involving diverse population samples, and targeted research with political actors. Tasks involve developing questionnaires, piloting and coordinating large-scale data collection (online and in the field), conducting quantitative data analysis, and contributing to high-quality publications. You will also engage in open science practices, such as pre-registration and reproducible workflows.
As a pre-doctoral researcher, it is expected to use this position for obtaining a doctorate. 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 who bring many of the following qualifications and interests. You do not need to meet all criteria to be considered:
- A Master’s degree in psychology, behavioral economics, or a closely related field (e.g., political psychology, motivation science)
- A strong foundation in research methods, experimental design, and statistical analysis
- Good computational and/or programming skills; proficiency in R
- Familiarity with open science practices (e.g., pre-registration, reproducibility)
- Enthusiasm for the topic of the project; Interest in sustainability, social dilemma research, and the psychological underpinnings of structural behavior change
- Experience with oTree or other experimental software is a plus
- 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
- Extensive training and professional development opportunities
- Ein umfassendes Angebot zur Stärkung der Gesundheit am Arbeitsplatz
- 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.
German language courses are offered by the University Language Center (ZFA) in the field of German as a Foreign Language (DaF). https://www.daf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/sbgk/index.html.en
The Staff Council has the right to participate in all selection interviews. At the request of a candidate (m/f/x), it will ensure its participation in the entire procedure. Please contact [email protected].
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. To create knowledge networks within and beyond the university is Ruhr-Universität Bochum’s declared aim.
The Ruhr-Universität Bochum stands for diversity and equal opportunities. 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. The Ruhr-Universität Bochum expressly requests job applications from women. In areas in which they are underrepresented they will be given preference in the case of equivalent qualifications with male candidates. Applications from individuals with disabilities are most welcome.
Contact persons for further information:
Heike Splieth , Tel.: +49 234 32 21680
Wilhelm Hofmann
Travel costs, accommodation costs and loss of earnings or other application costs for job interviews can unfortunately not be reimbursed.
We look forward to receiving your application via our online application portal by 2025-10-06. Please make sure to mention the reference number ANR 4861.
