The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (SSP) of the University of Lausanne invites applications for one PhD position in social psychology.
Starting date: September the 1st, 2009
Duration: Up to 3 years (1 year + 2)
Salary: 38’400 Swiss francs (approx. 25’450 euros) per year (before taxes)
Working environment: The Lausanne-Dorigny campus, beautifully located on the lakeside ( http://www.unil.ch/central/page2439_en.html )
Description:
The PhD candidate will work within the framework of a project on "The self-evaluation threat model of attentional focusing: validity and development", funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, under the joint supervision of Fabrizio Butera (University of Lausanne – Switzerland) and Dominique Muller (University of Grenoble – France).
This project is an extension of research carried out by the supervisors, showing that the mere presence of a coactor is threatening for the self and leads to a restriction in the amount of information processed attentionally. The proposed line of research aim at assessing the conditions of validity of the derived Self-Evaluation Threat Model. This will be done by studying the moderators of the SET effect on attentional focusing. The SETM suggests that the presence of a coactor induces a focusing effect insofar as he or she represents a potential source of SET. In most research, comparison is made threatening by having participants outperformed by their coactor; the aim of this line of research will be to disconnect this necessary relation between social comparison and SET by showing that the critical factor is the way information is processed.
The appointed applicant will develop her/his specific research programmes and conduct empirical research in the area of the above-mentioned project. Research facilities include a fully equipped experimental lab, participation in the activities of the Social Psychology Department ( http://www.unil.ch/ps/page41962_en.html ), and inclusion in the Social Psychology Graduate School ( http://www.unil.ch/ssp/page40084.html ).
Requirements:
– A completed Masters degree in Social Sciences or in Psychology, or related
– A solid background in experimental social psychology
– A solid background in research methods, statistics and data analysis
– Fluent French and English
– Ability to work with E-Prime or other programs for computer-based research would be an asset.
Deadline for application:
June the 15th, 2009
Please send a curriculum vitae, a motivation letter and a recommendation letter to Professor Fabrizio Butera, by email ( mailto: ).