University of Zurich, Developmental Psychology: Doctoral candidate (d/f/m) 80%
At the Chair of Developmental Psychology: Infancy and Childhood (Prof. Dr. Moritz Daum) there are two scientific qualification positions (initially limited to 2 years) in the “Multilingualism and Communication” working group (Dr. Stephanie Wermelinger) from August 1st, 2024 or by agreement to occupy the field of multilingual language development.
The research focus of the chair is on social-cognitive development in infancy and childhood. The project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, deals with multilingual language development in early childhood. Previous research shows that monolingual and multilingual children differ in the repertoire and flexibility of their communicative behavior. The planned longitudinal project will investigate which communicative experiences monolingual and multilingual children have in their everyday lives and whether and how these experiences affect their communication. The aim is to learn more about the basic mechanisms of early communicative development. For this purpose, behavioral methods, eye tracking and experience sampling will be used.
Your tasks
Scientific qualification (doctorate); cumulative, quantitative with cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses:
- Conception, implementation and organization of the dissertation project under the supervision of a senior researcher
- Conception of the research project derived from previous literature
- Contacting and recruiting study participants
- Coordination of personnel, resources and infrastructure
- Data collection and analysis
- Presentation of results (writing scientific manuscripts, presentation at internal laboratory meetings and national/international conferences)
- Writing scientific articles and publishing them in international, peer-reviewed journals and in accordance with open science practices
- Assist in communicating research results to the general public
Supervision of bachelor's and master's students and teaching
Your profile
- Very good master's degree in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics or similar field
- Strong research interest in quantitative research methods
- Strong interest in issues of developmental psychology in early childhood, particularly early multilingual development
- Very good spoken and written German and English language skills (at least C1)
- Strong interest in organizing data and statistical analysis
- Very good knowledge of research methods and statistics (R), programming knowledge is an advantage (Python, PsychoPy, Matlab)
- Interest in an academic career
- Efficient, flexible, self-organized and responsible working style
- Competencies in exchange in an interdisciplinary team
- Very good social and communication skills when dealing with children, including their families