PhD-student, Postdoc, Research Assistant (open rank) – cognitive psychology (memory) (50-100%)

UniDistance Suisse is an accredited university institute in accordance with the Swiss Higher Education Act (HEdA), known to be a fast-growing and innovative multilingual institution. For 30 years, it has been offering distance learning courses followed in tandem with work, bachelor’s and master’s degree courses and a range of continuing education and training programmes in the fields of law, business and economics, history, artificial intelligence, mathematics and psychology. The bachelor’s and master’s degree courses are recognised in Switzerland.
UniDistance Suisse is oriented towards the highest quality standards not only in university teaching, but also in research. With more than 2300 students, it is the leader in distance learning in Switzerland. It employs over 400 staff, of whom around 350 are involved in teaching and research.

At the Faculty of Psychology at UniDistance Suisse, we are seeking applicants for a:

PHD-STUDENT, POSTDOC, RESEARCH ASSISTANT (OPEN RANK) – COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY (MEMORY) (50-100%)

The advertised position is part of the research and teaching team of Prof. Dr. Nicolas Rothen at UniDistance Suisse. The research of the group is mainly concerned with the foundations of enhanced memory performance (e.g., how visual perceptual abilities relate to memory performance, such as in the case of synaesthesia, expertise, and other variations in non-clinical special populations). See also the following publications for a range of potential topics:

Ovalle-Fresa, R., Ankner, S., & Rothen, N. (2021). Enhanced perception and memory: Insights from synaesthesia and expertise. Cortex, 140, 14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.01.024

Ovalle-Fresa, R., Uslu, A. S., & Rothen, N. (2021). Levels of processing affect perceptual features in visual associative memory. Psychological Science, 32(2), 267–279. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620965519

Rothen, N., Schwartzman, D. J., Bor, D., & Seth, A. K. (2018). Coordinated neural, behavioural, and phenomenological changes in perceptual plasticity through overtraining of synesthetic associations. Neuropsychologia, 111, 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.01.030

Rothen, N., & Meier, B. (2016). Time of day affects implicit memory for unattended stimuli. Consciousness and Cognition, 46, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.09.012

Rothen, N., & Meier, B. (2014). Psychophysiology of prospective memory. Memory, 22(7), 867–880. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2013.847106

Place of work: Brig (Valais, Switzerland; with the possibility of working from home two days a week)
Start of work: ideally between June and September 2023. Other starting dates can be negotiated

Your tasks

• Programming and implementation of lab- and online-based studies
• Data analysis based on state-of-the-art and advanced statistical methods (e.g., computational modeling)
• Publication of research findings in peer-reviewed journals, as well as presentations at national and international scientific conferences
• Teaching assistance in a distance learning setting
• Creation of online teaching materials

Your profile

• BSc, MSc, or PhD in Psychology or another field related to cognitive psychology
• Profound interest in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, especially in the field of memory
• You enjoy programming of experimental tasks, especially for online data acquisition
• You enjoy programming scripts for the purpose of data analysis (preferably in R)
• You enjoy communicating scientific findings
• So fluent in German (writing and speaking) that you can teach in German
• Very good English language skills
• Ability to work independently and on your own responsibility, and enjoy working in a team
• Interest in transparent and open science

We offer

• Possibility to write a doctoral dissertation (PhD)
• Up to 5-year fulltime employment (parttime employment is also possible)
• State-of-the-art laboratory (Behaviour, EEG, VR, Eye-tracking) and work infrastructure
• Integration in a supportive and productive team
• Comprehensive supervision and career support
• Freedom to develop your personal career
• Regular in-person lab meetings and opportunities to discuss your research interests
• Remuneration in accordance with the requirements of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, see https://snf.ch/en/2QbX0vSpcmmylCya/page/funding/project-staff)

Please apply with the following documents: a letter of motivation (max. 2 pages in English), CV, two contacts who are willing to provide a reference of work, a sample document of an academic thesis (e.g., Bachelor’s thesis, Master’s thesis, PhD thesis), and a copy of certificates. Please submit your documents via e-mail in a single PDF file in the outlined order to Prof. Dr. Nicolas Rothen nicolas.rothen@fernuni.ch, who is also happy to answer any questions you might have or provide further information.