How do people make decisions regarding the social environment? How do they learn the implicit rules of a social group? Are moral decisions different from other decisions? Can people shift their moral boundaries easily? How are these decisions computed in our brains? If you are interested in solid, quantitative answers to these questions, we might be looking for you!

The Donders Centre for Cognition is seeking a talented postdoctoral researcher to lead a new research line into moral decision making. The project aims to develop a Bayesian model of moral decision making to test various hypotheses about the interactions between moral and other factors in social decision making. The model will be tested in a series of behavioural and neuroimaging experiments and will feed into a PhD project that you will co-supervise.

The project is funded by the NWO grant entitled ‘Morality as a hyperparameter in decision making: A new approach to studying an age-old problem’. The project will benefit from ongoing collaborations with the University of Oxford (Rogier Mars), the University of Cambridge (Francesco Poli), the Dutch Institute for Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (Maaike Kempes), and the University of Copenhagen (James Blair).

You will be working in a multidisciplinary research group to develop a novel experimental paradigm and computational model to study the behavioural and neural basis of moral decision making. You will be responsible for developing and piloting the experimental task, acquiring and analysing data, and reporting the data at conferences and in peer-reviewed publications. You will interact with other researchers and collect data from healthy adult volunteers. You will develop a computational model of moral decision making, based on existing models in the lab. You will work in conjunction with other researchers in the lab and through international collaboration.

• You should have a PhD degree in a relevant discipline, for example Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, or Computational Linguistics.
• You have demonstrable experience with developing computational models of decision making or other higher cognitive processes in human subjects.
• You possess excellent programming skills in, for example, Python, R or Matlab.
• You have a demonstrable and consistent track record in publishing high-quality multidisciplinary research in international peer-reviewed journals.
• You possess excellent communication skills in written and spoken English (C1 level); knowledge of Dutch would be useful but is not required.
• You are able to work independently and flexibly, and to take initiative when needed.
• You are able to communicate and collaborate effectively in a team setting.
• You possess good organisational skills.
• You are able to work with colleagues in other departments and research teams, including remote working via Teams or similar platforms. Experience with supervising/co-supervising MSc or PhD students is an advantage.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 3 year(s).
• Your salary within salary scale 11 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Support Service. The Dual Career Programme assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands. Our Family Support Service helps you and your partner feel welcome and at home by providing customised assistance in navigating local facilities, schools, and amenities. Also take a look at our support for international staff page to discover all our services for international employees.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

You will be part of the Systems Approach to Maladaptive Behaviour and Antisociality (SAMBA) group headed by Inti Brazil and the Cognitive Neuroecology Lab headed by Rogier Mars.

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes: 1. Language and communication, 2. Perception, action and decision-making, 3. Development and lifelong plasticity, 4. Natural computing and neurotechnology. Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as ‘excellent’ and recognised as a ‘very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent’. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary and supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Rogier Mars. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place around 15 November. You will preferably start your employment on 1 February 2025.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates. If you wish to apply for a non-scientific position with a non-EU nationality, please take notice of the following information.