Several PhD positions in Psychology – Stockholm, Sweden

Deadline for application: April 1, 2024.
Note: You may only apply to one of the nine positions (A, B, …, G)

The Department of Psychology is a diverse and creative workplace for education and research in Psychology. Each semester, over 1000 students are enrolled in our courses that range from introductory level to advanced graduate level. The Department of Psychology is a workplace in development and has recently moved to the newly built university campus Albano.

PhD student in Psychology (A)

Recognition of emotional information is of importance for social and emotional function in everyday life. Previous neuroimaging studies have investigated emotion recognition (for example of facial expressions) at a group level ignoring the fact this is an individual phenomenon. Precision neuroimaging focus on single subjects and many repeated trials. Using precision neuroimaging to study human brain function associated with emotion recognition is an unexplored territory, which has great potential to increase our understanding of how “the emotional brain” works.

The aim of this neuroimaging project is to study single young and older subjects during repeated scanning sessions to investigate behavioral and brain mechanisms that can explain adult age differences in emotion recognition.

The project depends on advanced data analysis, and thus requires interest in and a solid understanding of data analysis methods.

For more information about the project contact project leader Håkan Fischer, hakan.fischer@psychology.su.se.

PhD student in Psychology (B)

Top-down regulations of physiological and behavioral immune responses. Defense mechanisms against pathogen threats involve reactive and proactive responses, encompassing both physiological and behavioral processes. Reactive responses, occurring after the intrusion of a pathogen into the body, entail physiological immune responses (activation of immune cells) and a reactive behavioral response called sickness behavior (e.g., fatigue, pain, social withdrawal). The reactive immune response aims to limit pathogen proliferation and facilitate its elimination. Proactive responses, occurring before pathogen intrusion, aim to prevent contact with pathogens and to prepare the body for potential contamination. Indeed, the mere exposure to disease-relevant negative stimuli, like rotten food or sick individuals, is believed to trigger a preventive inflammatory response and induce disgust and behavioral avoidance; although limited evidence exists. Furthermore, the impact of positive disease-relevant stimuli, such as caring, on physiological and behavioral immune responses remains unclear.

For more information about the project contact project leader Julie Lasselin, julie.lasselin@su.se.

PhD student in Psychology (C)

Training better clinical psychologists: new methods based on machine learning, AI, and deliberate practice. To improve mental health services, we need to train better therapists. The last decades, traditional training methods have not proven to result in better client outcomes. In particular, emotional and non-verbal communication is an under-researched field. The new deliberate-practice training is promising but lacks substantial research. In this longitudinal, multisite training study, we continue to develop a state-of-the-art database for video recordings of therapy and supervision sessions and carry out novel and fine-grained quantitative and qualitative analyses of pre- and post-graduate psychologists’ development of clinical competence. The overall aim of this ground-breaking study is a PhD project on in-depth studies of the learning of emotional communication. Emotional interactions are of vital importance in therapy for client outcomes. Few training studies have addressed especially therapists` capacity to deal with emotions. Processes involved in psychotherapy should be studied as dyadic dynamic systems. From this viewpoint it is important to explore the complex interactional patterns that emerge over time both in their verbal and non-verbal components.

For more information about the project, please contact project leader Stephan Hau, stephan.hau@psychology.su.se.

PhD student in Psychology (D)

The impact of social context on intergroup reconciliation. The recent increase in intergroup conflicts emphasizes the importance of finding ways to reconcile members of adversary groups. Accordingly, social psychologists have developed evidence-based reconciliation interventions aimed at improving intergroup attitudes and behaviors towards outgroups. Even though intervention effectiveness and outcomes depend on the context in which people live, most empirical research on reconciliation interventions has ignored the impact of the social context. The overarching aim of this proposal is to systematically examine the influence of critical contextual features on effectiveness, processes and durability of reconciliation interventions: a. degree of conflict and perceived threat, b. degree of integration vs. segregation within communities in which people live, c. group status, and d. social norms. The project will include large-scale longitudinal (online and field) experiments to be conducted in different European countries affected or threatened by conflict. Longitudinal online experiments will test and compare the effectiveness, processes and durability of established intergroup interventions on intergroup attitudes and real-life behaviors of ethnic majorities and minorities living in different social contexts. Data will be gathered from representative, heterogenous and large samples to enable generalizability. Main dependent outcomes will be measured at the individual level and will include beliefs and emotions about outgroups, behaviors towards outgroups, and perceptions of intergroup relations. Field experiments will incorporate the most effective interventions into participants’ real life through intergroup contact and multi-media. Data will be analyzed using multi-level analyses, compared across countries and over time. The overarching goal of this project is to identify effective reconciliation interventions that fit a variety of social contexts and thus provide concrete and effective tools for peace-building agents.

For more information about the project, please contact project leader Sabina Cehajic-Clancy, sabina.cehajic-clancy@psychology.su.se.

PhD student in Psychology (E)

This project involves research in the field of  Work and Organization Psychology and require applicants to be fluent in Swedish. Swedish title:  ”Anställningsformer och anställningsotrygghet bland kvinnor och män: Prediktorer, konsekvenser och mekanismer”.

For more information about the project, please contact either of following:
Professor Claudia Bernhard-Oettel, claudia.bernhard.oettel@su.se
Professor Petra Lindfors, pls@psychology.su.se
Professor Magnus Sverke, magnus.sverke@psychology.su.se

PhD student in Psychology (F)

Psychosocial stress at work and cognitive dysfunction. Psychosocial stress at work has been suggested to play a role in the development of cognitive dysfunction, but evidence on the neural substrate (brain structure and function) of psychosocial work stress is scarce. This project aims to examine the effect of middle-life psychosocial work stress on brain structural and functional changes in later life, and to identify protective factors that can counteract the detrimental effect.

Specific questions are: To investigate the critical level and duration of work stress that increase the probability of alterations in the structure and functional connectivity of the brain. Which of the COVID-19 crisis related changes in working conditions will have a detrimental effect on brain structure and function? Can high cognitive reserve counteract the detrimental effect of psychosocial work stress on the brain?

For more information about the project, please contact project leader Hui-Xin Wang, huixin.wang@su.se.

PhD student in Psychology (G)

Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence: Exploring New Therapeutic Methods for OCD Treatment. Leveraging the potential of virtual and augmented reality coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), this doctoral position in the European ‘Healthcare of the Future’ initiative offers an exceptional opportunity to contribute to the evolution of psychological treatments. The project’s focus is on developing and testing a pioneering augmented reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy application for Obsessive-compulsive disorder, encompassing a collaborative effort across Switzerland, Belgium, and The Netherlands. It integrates diverse external expertise including virtual reality game programming, and health economics. The primary research emphasis is on scaling and improving treatment outcomes through this innovative approach, while also considering the economic aspects and implementation strategies of augmented reality in mental health care. This role not only promises involvement in a groundbreaking project but also provides the chance to work on an additional smaller project concerning the treatment of Social anxiety disorder using internet interventions enhanced with AI. This unique opportunity situates the candidate at the forefront of technological and therapeutic advancements in digital mental health.

For more information about the project, please contact project leader Per Carlbring, per.carlbring@psychology.su.se.

Qualification requirements
In order to meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed a second-cycle degree, completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, the general syllabus for doctoral studies in the field of psychology stipulates that applicants must have completed at least 90 first-cycle or second-cycle higher education credits in psychology, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere. Those studies should include a thesis corresponding to a minimum of 15 credits.

General Syllabus for Doctoral Studies in Psychology.

The qualification requirements must be met by the deadline for applications.

Selection
A review committee will assess the candidate’s ability to successfully complete the PhD program. Criteria used in the review process are the candidate’s research plan, which should be included in the application, a previous paper/publication, and other relevant educational and professional merits. For further information please see the Department of Psychology-website, including evaluation criteria.

Admission Regulations for Doctoral Studies at Stockholm University are available at: www.su.se/rules and regulations.

Terms of employment
Only a person who will be or has already been admitted to a third-cycle programme may be appointed to a doctoral studentship.

The term of the initial contract may not exceed one year. The employment may be extended for a maximum of two years at a time. However, the total period of employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years of full-time study.

Doctoral students should primarily devote themselves to their own education, but may engage in teaching, research, and administration corresponding to a maximum of 20 % of a full-time position.

Please note that admission decisions cannot be appealed.

Stockholm University strives to be a workplace free from discrimination and with equal opportunities for all.

Contact
For general information about the Department of Psychology and the application for the PhD program please contact the Director of studies for the PhD program Mats Nilsson, telephone: +46 8 16 46 05, mats.nilsson@psychology.su.se.

Union representatives
Ingrid Lander (Saco-S), telephone: +46 708 16 26 64, saco@saco.su.se, Alejandra Pizarro Carrasco (Fackförbundet ST/OFR), telephone: +46 8 16 34 89, alejandra@st.su.se, seko@seko.su.se (SEKO), and PhD student representative, doktorandombud@sus.se.

Application
Apply for the PhD student position at Stockholm University’s recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline.

For further information and specific instructions on how to apply for a doctoral position at the Department of Psychology, see  Application guidelines.

eneral instructions for applicants for positions at Stockholm University can be found on the website: How to apply for a position.

You are welcome to apply!

Stockholm University contributes to the development of sustainable democratic society through knowledge, enlightenment and the pursuit of truth.

Closing date: 01/04/2024