The position

A PhD Research Fellowship is available within Social and Intergroup Relations Lab (SIRL) at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo.

SIRL lab offers a thriving, interdisciplinary and friendly work environment. Our work is funded by several external grants and is widely cited and published in several leading outlets such as Science, PNAS, Nature Human Behaviour and Current Opinion in Psychology. Our overarching aim is to understand the dedicated psychological mechanisms that evolved to facilitate group living among the human species, and how these mechanisms underpin social and political psychology at large.

More about the position

The PhD position is linked to the project Innate Building-Blocks of Social Coordination and Resource Distribution directed by Professor Lotte Thomsen. The main objective is to establish the evolved mental representations and motives for resource distribution and social coordination that manifest already in preverbal infancy. The candidate is expected to contribute to finalizing project design, pilot testing, data collection, analysis and publication of results. The Violation-of-Expectation Infant paradigm is a key method.

For more information and project proposal, please contact Lotte Thomsen (lotte.thomsen@psykologi.uio.no).

The fellowship is for a period of 3-4 years. A 4th year can be considered with the addition of 25 % teaching requirement, depending on the competence of the applicant, and the needs of the Department.

The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a Master's degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent in psychology, minimum grade B (ECTS grading scale).
• Excellent statistical skills, including Baysean statistics
• Experience with research in developmental and/or social psychology
• The candidate must speak Norwegian fluently to be able to participate in SIRLs data collection among Norwegian pre-schoolers.

The following are considered advantageous

• Familiarity with social cognitive development
• Experience with study design for, and data collection among, infants and preschoolers
• Experience with science communication including conference presentations
• Familiarity with programming animations (used as stimuli in psychological experiments with infants)
• Enthusiasm for the topic
• In assessing applications, particular emphasis will be placed upon the quality of the candidate's research track record and personal suitability.

We offer

• a salary of NOK 479 600 - 523 200 per annum depending on qualifications.
• a professionally stimulating working environment.
• attractive welfare benefits (https://www.uio.no/english/for-employees/employment/welfare/) and a generous pension agreement, in
• addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities.

How to apply

The application must include:

• Letter of application, 1-2 pages, explaining the motivation for applying
• Curriculum Vitae (summarizing education, positions and academic work and publications, including conference presentations)
• Copies of publications/academic work (if any) that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of at least two references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number).
• Documented fluency in Norwegian unless the candidate can document completed elementary, secondary and/or high school in Norway or a Norwegian-speaking school.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link "Apply for this job". International applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the applicant's academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Applicants may be invited for an interview.

Formal regulations

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to PhD positions at the University of Oslo.According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicantlist, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

The University of Oslo aims to achieve a balanced gender composition in the workforce and to recruit people with ethnic minority backgrounds.

Contact information

• Professor Lotte Thomsen: lotte.thomsen@psykologi.uio.no
• Head of administration: Birgitte Bøgh-Olsen: birgitte.bogh-olsen@psykologi.uio.no

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