Faculty of Psychology:
Chair of Social and Environmental Psychology - ERC Grant
In order to fill a fixed-term position in full-time (39.83 hours/week = 100%) by 01. Nov. 2025 or later, we are looking for a
Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x)
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.
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 4857.
