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Faculty of Psychology :
Social and Environmental Psychology
In order to fill a fixed-term position in full-time (39.83 hours/week = 100%) by October 2026 or later, we are looking for 1
Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x) (100%, 48 months)
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 is leading WP3.1, a large-scale cross-national survey study examining how individual-level and country-level factors shape citizens’ support for structural versus individual-level sustainability policies across multiple EU member states. The position additionally involves contributions to work packages examining policy decision-making among policymakers and everyday sustainability choices.
Scope: full-time
Duration: fixed-term, 48 month
Start: by October 2026 or later
Apply by: 2026-06-22
Your tasks:
You will take primary responsibility for the design, implementation, and analysis of the survey study, including scale development, design, analysis, publication of results and communication to policymakers. You will work closely with the PI to integrate findings into the broader theoretical framework of the project and to develop them into high-quality publications. Beyond WP3.1, you will contribute analytically to other work packages and help ensure coherence across the project’s empirical lines.
You will supervise and collaborate closely with doctoral researchers, present findings at international conferences, and actively contribute to open science practices throughout the project, including pre-registration and transparent data management. There is furthermore the possibility of research cooperations within the team, as well as an expectation to contribute to the supervision of a limited number of BA and MA theses. Please 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) or a closely related field (e.g., political science with a strong quantitative focus)
- 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; experience with multilevel modelling is a particular advantage given the cross-national structure of the work
- Experience with large-scale survey research, including questionnaire design, sampling, and the management of multi-country data collections
- Interest in political psychology, policy attitudes, and the psychological underpinnings of structural behavior change
- Good computational and/or programming skills; proficiency in R
- Familiarity with open science practices (e.g., pre-registration, reproducibility)
- Motivation to work in an international, interdisciplinary research environment
- Strong communication and collaboration skills
- Excellent command of English (written and spoken); proficiency in German is an advantage given the project’s institutional context, though not required
- Organized, reliable, and able to work both independently and in a team
We offer:
- 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 E-TVL 13 TV-L.
Further information can be found at (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.
Upload your application (cover letter, CV, publication list, one representative publication, and contact information for 2 rerferees) as a single PDF file with subject “Application for SUSCON Postdoc Position” to BITE by 22.06.2026
RUB sees itself as a university with an international presence. The campus languages are German and English. Competence in at least one of the two languages and the willingness to learn the other are a prerequisite. RUB provides corresponding free courses for employees.
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 wpr@rub.de.
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
Prof. 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 2026-06-22. Please make sure to mention the reference number ANR 5750.
RUHR-UNIVERSITÄT BOCHUM
44801 Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
SOCIAL MEDIA