PhD Position: Neurocognition of Shyness and Social Anxiety in Development Maastricht • Universiteit Maastricht

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Welcome to Maastricht University!
How do shyness and social anxiety develop, and what cognitive mechanisms drive these changes over time? As a PhD candidate in our Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience section, you’ll explore these questions using cutting-edge behavioral and neuroscientific methods. Ready to make an impact in developmental psychology and neuroscience? Join our team!

 

PhD Position: Neurocognition of Shyness and Social Anxiety in Development

• Our goal: To understand how executive functions and attentional processes shape the developmental trajectory of shyness and social anxiety – from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.
• Your colleagues: You will be part of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience section, within the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. We’re a vibrant, multidisciplinary research environment with access to state-of-the-art facilities such as EEG, fMRI, and eye-tracking labs. You’ll collaborate with colleagues across the department and contribute to the scientific and educational community.

What you’ll be doing
As a PhD candidate, you will:

• Design and program innovative tasks that measure cognitive processes related to shyness and social anxiety across different age groups
• Conduct behavioral and neuroscientific experiments using eye-tracking, EEG/ERP, and fMRI
• Collect and analyze data from children, adolescents, and adults
• Publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals and complete your dissertation
• Contribute to the organization of the lab and provide limited teaching support (max. 10% of your time), particularly within our Master’s programme in Developmental Psychology

Are you ready to set the course for the years ahead? Then we’d love to meet you. 

What you bring
We’re not looking for a perfect checklist, we’re looking for curiosity, motivation, and potential. Do you recognize yourself in the following?

• A completed Master’s or Research Master’s degree (MSc) in cognitive neuroscience or a related field (e.g. developmental psychology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience)
• Affinity with or experience in working with children and/or adolescents in a research context
• A strong interest in the neurocognitive and developmental aspects of shyness and social anxiety
• Experience with or interest in behavioral and neuroscientific data analysis (e.g. EEG/ERP, fMRI)
• Excellent communication and writing skills in English, and willingness to acquire Dutch to support participant interaction
• Programming skills (e.g. in Python, MATLAB, E-Prime), or a willingness to learn
• A constructive and collaborative working style, with openness to feedback
• Motivation to actively contribute to the research team and scientific output

What we offer
As PhD Position: Neurocognition of Shyness and Social Anxiety in Development at Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €3059,00 and €3881,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow. 
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model. 
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. 
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as 'acknowledge and appreciate'. 

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?
At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.

In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.

With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.

Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.

Click here for more information about UM. 

Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience
The Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience (FPN) is an international faculty with students and staff from various cultural backgrounds, who are connected by their shared curiosity about human behaviour and our brains.   

This curiosity inspires us to explore the wide field of psychology from different perspectives (such as a biological and cognitive viewpoint). By using small-scale and student-centred methods, such as problem-based learning and project-based learning, we encourage a similar kind of curiosity in our students, as we provide them with the tools to discover the world of the human brain.  

 
Department
For information about the Department of Cognitive Neuroscience Click here.  

Curious?
Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Dr. Matt Hilton at via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina. or Dr. Lisa Jonkman at via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina. for more information. Do you have any questions regarding the procedure, please contact Brigitte Defesche at via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina..
 

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new PhD Position: Neurocognition of Shyness and Social Anxiety in Development? Apply now, no later than September 4, for this position.

The interviews are planned for 10-12 September.

Please apply by uploading your CV, a motivation letter, and contact information of 2 referees as a single pdf document. 

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.