"PhD Position: Neurocognition of Shyness and Social Anxiety in Development"

Job Summary: This position explores how shyness and social anxiety develop and the cognitive mechanisms involved, using behavioral and neuroscientific methods in developmental psychology and neuroscience. The goal is to understand how executive functions and attentional processes shape these traits from childhood through adulthood.

Responsibilities:

• Design and program innovative tasks to 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 findings in peer-reviewed journals and complete your dissertation.
• Contribute to lab organization and provide limited teaching support (up to 10% of time) in the Master’s program in Developmental Psychology.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• A completed Master’s or Research Master’s degree 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.
• 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.
• Programming skills (e.g., in Python, MATLAB, E-Prime), or willingness to learn.
• Constructive and collaborative working style with openness to feedback.
• Motivation to contribute to the research team and scientific output.

What the Employer Offers:

• Employment at Maastricht University, graded in scale P with a salary ranging from €3059 to €3881 gross per month based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week.
• An initial 12-month contract for 1.0 FTE, extendable by 3 years upon positive evaluation.
• Flexible working hours, possibility to work partly from home, monthly commuting and internet allowance, 29 vacation days plus 4 additional public holidays per year, and potential for 12 extra compensation days.
• 8.0% holiday allowance and 8.3% year-end bonus.
• Good pension scheme, company fitness, extensive sports facilities, and opportunities for personal and professional development through training programs.