We are seeking three candidates for three interrelated PhD projects on moral responsibility:

1. Should I? How appeals to moral responsibility affect individual-level behavioural change.
2. Should we? How appeals to moral responsibility affect group-level behavioural change.
3. Just kidding?! Using humour to cope with moral responsibility and facilitate behavioural change.

In Project 1 and Project 2 the first aim is to investigate the (predicted) negative effects of current moral appeals to behavioural change. The second aim is to test alternative, more promising, ways to apply moral appeals in order to stimulate intrinsic motivation for behavioural change. In both projects, the third aim is to design an intervention based on the project’s findings and to test this in the field. Besides this overlap, the first two projects differ in the followings ways:

• Project 1 is called ‘Should I? How appeals to moral responsibility affect individual-level behavioural change’. This position focuses on unravelling the underlying implicit processes associated with an individual’s responses to appeals to their moral responsibility. To this end, this project takes a psychophysiological and neuroscientific approach. It will examine the potential threat or cognitive disengagement associated with confrontational information implying the need for people to change their behaviour; the state of challenge or cognitive engagement when people can cope with situations that demand change; or the reward-related motivation to present themselves as a genuine group member. The project will employ experimental designs and psychophysiological and neuroscientific methods like cardiovascular measures (heart rate, blood pressure), skin conductance, EEG/ERP analyses, and/or fNIRS. In addition, this is an interdisciplinary project in which the literature and perspectives from both social psychology and philosophy will be connected.

• Project 2 is called ‘Should we? How appeals to moral responsibility affect group-level behavioural change’. This position focuses on how moral appeals affect the behaviours people publicly display, how they in turn influence others, and how this translates into shared responsibility and collective behavioural change. It will examine how appeals to collective moral responsibility (e.g., on a community level and including parties like institutions or the government) affect the extent to which people feel the need to change their behaviour, what they expect from others, and the importance they attach to the actual behaviour of others or the consequences of this behaviour (e.g., the prescriptive or injunctive group norms). We will test these effects on an explicit level, mostly using quantitative research methods such as self-report measures and behavioural decision-making in social-economic games. This is an interdisciplinary project in which the literature and perspectives from both social psychology and sociology will be connected.

• Project 3 is called 'Just kidding?! Using humour to cope with moral responsibility and facilitate behavioural change'. It aims to understand whether humour can help individuals and groups cope with moral failure while remaining motivated for the goal. To this end, we will execute three lines of work that investigate the potential role of humour to help people cope emotionally with moral missteps, facilitate inclusion of group members who dissent (either positively or negatively) from the group norm, and prevent collective abandonment of the goal after being confronted with the moral failure of group members. This project will mostly draw from experiments where we compare the effects of appropriate humour to inappropriate humour and no humour. Each line of research starts with controlled scenario studies and builds towards a more ecologically valid field setting.

For a detailed cluster project description, see: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/organisational-behaviour/vacancies

Project 1 and Project 2 are part of the transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research program SCOOP: Roadmaps to Resilient Societies (see https://www.scoop-program.org/). SCOOP is a research and training centre dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of sustainable cooperation as a key feature of resilient societies. SCOOP brings together researchers of the University of Groningen, Utrecht University, VU Amsterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Radboud University Nijmegen. These PhD students will participate in the SCOOP PhD training program, see https://www.scoop-program.org/training-program-towards-transdisciplinarity.

For the PhD student working on Project 3, embedding in the SCOOP Program is optional.

Your responsibilities would be:

• Designing and conducting the research (literature research, developing and programming experiments, data collection, analyzing data, reporting results), resulting in international scientific publications and a dissertation;
• Presenting results at national and international scientific conferences;
• Active participation in the research group of the department and the SCOOP program;
• Initiating contact and managing research collaborations with external parties;
• Taking on other (non-PhD related) tasks that benefit the research group (e.g., teaching, max. 10% per year).

You should have:

• (Almost) finished a (research) master's degree in the domain of social psychology or a related discipline;
• Demonstrable interest in the topics associated with the project(s);
• A solid training in quantitative experimental research and data analysis, good statistical (software) skills;
• Demonstrable interest in synthesizing theories and research findings from different fields;
• Excellent academic writing skills;
• Eagerness to publish international articles and write a dissertation;
• Proficiency in both the English and Dutch language (Dutch should be at least B1-level or one should be willing and able to acquire this level in an early stage of the project);
• A keen interest in both fundamental research and the application of psychological insights to practice;
• Professional attitude and conduct that includes integrity, pragmatism, and good collaborative and communication skills;
• Independent thinking and a hands-on mentality;
• Motivation and ability to contribute to the goals of the research group.

In addition, for Project 1:

• Affinity and experience with cognitive or social neuroscientific research (e.g., using neuroimaging techniques such as EEG/ERP, fMRI, fNIRS) and/or physiological measures such as ECG and GSR.
• Affinity with and/or training in the field of Philosophy
• Eagerness to work in an interdisciplinary research team and to conduct interdisciplinary research in the SCOOP program;

In addition, for Project 2:

• Affinity and/or experience with developing and implementing engaging experimental manipulations and social-economic games.
• Affinity with and/or training in the field of Sociology
• Eagerness to work in an interdisciplinary research team and to conduct interdisciplinary research in the SCOOP program;

In addition, for Project 3:

• Fluent in Dutch language.

Note: if you are applying for more than one of these positions, please indicate your preference in your motivation letter.

All three positions will be offered as a temporary position (1.0 FTE), initially for one year with an extension to a total of four years upon a successful assessment in the first year, and with the specific intent that it results in a doctorate within this period. The gross salary ranges between €2,541 in the first year and €3,247 in the fourth year of employment (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year.

In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). For more information, please visit working at Utrecht University.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe providing research and academic teaching in cultural anthropology, educational sciences, interdisciplinary social science, pedagogical sciences, psychology, and sociology. Almost 7,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has some 1,100 faculty and staff members, all providing their individual contribution to the training and education of young talent and to the research into and finding solutions for scientific and societal issues. 

All three PhD positions are embedded in the Organizational Behaviour research group of Distinguished Professor Naomi Ellemers (who is also a promotor on all projects), which focuses on two themes in which fundamental scientific research is directly linked to applications and interventions in the field: Diversity & Inclusion, and Integrity & Ethical behaviour. In addition, the members of the research group consider it important to focus on forming interdisciplinary partnerships and insights, strengthening external visibility of scientific activities and staying connected to organizational practice.

The faculty attaches great importance to the fact that its employees can be widely deployed in the university organization, now and in the future, to further professionalize the support of education and research. To encourage this, every employee is given the time and facilities – for example in the form of training – at some point in their career to participate in projects or work in other departments. Characteristics that the faculty considers important are involvement, the ability to collaborate and flexibility.

The faculty is located at Utrecht Science Park near the historical city centre of Utrecht.

Utrecht is a young and vibrant city with a large academic population, around 30 minutes south of Amsterdam. It combines a beautiful old city centre with a modern university. Utrecht has an excellent quality of life, with plenty of green space and a strong bicycle culture.