PhD MediaMinds - Computational Mechanisms of Social Media Use in Youth

Are you passionate about advancing our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying social media's impact on youth?

Is it your ambition to be a part of an international team of researchers?

Are you enthusiastic about multi-method approaches that combine computational modeling, experience sampling, social media data donation and questionnaires with intervention-, experimental- and neuroimaging- studies?

We would like to get to know you!

The Connected Minds Lab at the department of Developmental Psychology is looking two PhD Candidates who are interested in joining our team.

What are you going to do

The PhD canidates will become part of an international team working on an ERC Consolidator funded project ‘MediaMinds’ directed by Dr. Wouter van den Bos (University of Amsterdam).

The project

We have an urgent need to better understand the social media engagement of youth. Social media supports the specific developmental needs of youth, such as those for social connection. However, the increased sensitivity of the developing brain to social rewards may place youth especially at risk of compulsive use. In addition, youth’s sensitivity to social influence exposes another potential vulnerability, given that not all information is trustworthy. In this project we will focus on novel computational models to capture the complex interactions between developing motivational and cognitive processes, and specific social media affordances. We will take a multi-method approach relying on social media trace data, experience sampling, the development of novel ecologically valid experimental tasks, and neuroimaging.

The team will consist of the PI, two PhDs and two Postdocs, as well as a large network of collaborators and co-supervisors. The total funding for this project is 2M euros for a period of 5 years and is divided over two main work packages.

What are you going to do

As a part of this team consisting of national and international researchers, and societal partners, you will play a central role in one of the work packages of this project. You will work on a wide array of research tasks, that include designing and performing empirical studies, and co-supervising RA’s working on the project.

Your tasks as a PhD within this ERC Consolidator project will include the following:

• Recruiting teens, students, parents for your studies;
• Draft pre-registrations and submit ethics reviews.
• Conduct data-analysis and prepare results for publications;
• Draft articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals;
• Contribute to the Connected Minds Lab and the wider scientific community through collaborations, workshops, presentations/talks, attending conferences.

What do you have to offer

We are looking for a dedicated candidate who is eager to conduct basic/fundamental research on the psychological mechanisms underlying social media engagement and who is excited about making societal contributions. The candidate must thrive in a collaborative environment that calls for autonomy, creativity, and commitment. Given the quantitative focus of the projects an affinity with computational modeling and programming is recommended.

Your experience and profile

• You hold a master’s degree in psychology, pedagogics, sociology, educational science, or an associated field. If you completed your master’s degree in the Netherlands, we have a preference for a research master, although this is not a requirement;
• You have strong interest in quantitative research;
• You are motivated to design and conduct your own quantitative research;
• You have excellent quantitative data-analysis skills or you are interested in acquiring these skills;
• Affinity with Open Science (pre-registrations, sharing data etc.);
• Experience with R or Python
• You have excellent writing and presentation skills in English;
• You enjoy working in a team of ambitious researchers.

Because the project involves intensive data collection with youth, sometimes at schools, mastering the Dutch language is an advantage. Please note that this is not a requirement, because excellent candidates who do not speak Dutch may be able to collect data with the assistance of Dutch-speaking students.

What can we offer you

• A position in which initiative and input are highly valued;
• An enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues;
• An inspiring academic and international working environment, in the heart of Amsterdam.

The position concerns employment of 38 hours per week for 4 years (or 30,4 hours for approximately 5 years). The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances this term will be extended, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. Together with you, your supervisors will put together a curriculum that will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also have the opportunity to teach bachelor’s and master’s students.

Your salary will be €2.770 gross per month in the first year and will increase to €3.539 in the final year, based on full-time employment (38 hours per week) and in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%

The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.

About us

The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 39,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.