We invite applicants for a 3-year PhD position in cognitive development starting July 15th, or later. At the koku research centre of the developmental psychology unit we investigate the social and cognitive development of infants and young children (https://www.koku.uni-hamburg.de/en.html). A current focus is on the processing of objects, social and statistical learning, and the development of predictions and belief updating. In a new project in close collaboration with our lab members and a research unit on dynamic belief updating (https://www.uni-hamburg.de/ru5389/research-unit.html), you will be able to investigate how children and adults form and update their cognitive models. The lab offers state of the art technology, including behavioural, observational, eye-tracking, pupillometry, and eeg methods. The lab has easy access to a large population of infants and children of all ages. You will benefit from the teams’ methodological expertise, friendly, open and cooperative spirit, and international research at conferences and workshops. You will be affiliated with the research unit and will be able to advance your research skills by participating in the research unit’s international lecture series and its workshops on neuroscience, computational modelling and writing. Your teaching of a recurring BSc seminar on developmental psychology in winter terms (1,5hrs/week) will be organized and assisted by our team and follows an established curriculum. The exact starting date is subject to negotiation. The position is ideal for a research-oriented person with interest in cognitive development, individual differences and neuroscientific methods.

Requirements: You should have a very good university degree (Master/Diploma) in psychology or a closely related field (e.g., cognitive sciences, neuroscience, etc.). You should be proficient in English (oral and written). German proficiency is not necessary. Sound knowledge in experimental methods, study designs, and statistical analyses is required. Research experience and experience in programming (e.g., in R, or Matlab, Presentation, etc.) and eye-tracking are beneficial. Knowledge about developmental psychology, infant and child research, experience with advanced (multivariate) statistical methods are desirable. You should be highly motivated to conduct research, work independently as well as in teams, disseminate novel basic research findings at conferences and publish in international journals. You will pursue a doctoral dissertation.