PhD position: Investigating maladaptive avoidance

Introduction

Anxiety-related disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders worldwide. A hallmark of these disorders is maladaptive avoidance of learnt fear, an avoidance behavior that avoids the onset of a feared situation, thus preventing an anticipated yet unrealistic threat. For example, an individual with social anxiety may avoid going to social gatherings to avoid interacting with others (the feared situation), thus preventing getting humiliated by others (an anticipated yet unrealistic threat). Avoidance of learnt fear gains its pathological quality when it causes significant impairments in daily life and when it preserves one’s pathological threat beliefs.

This project will investigate mechanisms and factors that maintain and reduce avoidance of learnt fear. Avoidance of learnt fear will be examined in a fear conditioning model in both healthy and subclinical samples. Behavioral measures, psychophysiological response (e.g., skin conductance responses, electroencephalography) will be included. Complementing the laboratory studies, real-life avoidance of learnt fear will also be assessed using the Experience Sampling Method.

You will be supervised by Dr. Alex Wong and Prof. dr. Matthias Wieser. You will be working at the Clinical Psychology team with a broad range for research interests. You will have the chance to join the Dutch-Flemish Postgraduate School of Experimental Psychopathology, which you will receive additional research training and networking with researchers with similar research interests.

For more information about this vacancy, feel free to contact Alex Wong via h.k.wong@essb.eur.nl

Job description

Your will be responsible for:

• Further contributing to the designs of the experimental studies
• Collecting data in healthy and subclinical samples
• Pre-processing and analyzing data
• Presenting your data in conferences and publishing your studies in international scientific journals
• Completing your doctoral dissertation based on this project
• Collaborating with our team on other related projects
• 10% teaching load and the opportunity to work on your teaching portfolio for the Basic Teaching Qualification.

Job requirements

• You have completed, or will complete, a (research) master’s degree or equivalent in psychology or neuroscience.
• You are enthusiastic about anxiety-related experimental psychopathology. Experience with associative learning research is advantageous but not required.
• You possess substantial knowledge of statistical analysis and strong analytical skills.
• You have substantial programming knowledge (e.g., R, Python) or are willing to acquire such knowledge within one year.
• Experience with computational modeling is advantageous but not required.
• You have excellent verbal and written English language skills.
• You value open science principles.
• You are a team player with strong communication skills.
• You are extremely motivated to develop into an excellent scientist.

Employment conditions and benefits

We offer you an internationally oriented and varied job in an enthusiastic team, with excellent working conditions in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).

The start date of this position is 1st of September 2025 and you will be based at Campus Woudestein in Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB). This position is for 1fte.

The gross monthly salary for a full-time position (38 hours per week) is €2,901 in the first year and €3,707 in the fourth year, based on full-time employment, in scale P, in accordance with the CAO-NU (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities). 

The contract will initially be for a period of one year, with the intention to extend it into a four-year PhD trajectory, contingent upon satisfactory performance.

Everything else we offer you, you can find below!

-        Everything you need for a good work-life balance: the option to work from home in consultation with your manager, 41 days of paid leave with a 40 hour contract, 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus, and a significant discount on a subscription for our on-campus sports centre!

-        Sustainable, inclusive and diverse work environment with an open culture, where you can be yourself and we pay attention to each other and to the world around us. Make the most of our bicycle budget, or join networks such as Young@EUR, FAME or QuEUR.

-        Time and space for your development in the broadest sense: development days and a personal career budget and free access to our university library.

-        Good pension with ABP that EUR contributes 2/3rds towards, discounts on various collective insurances with Zilveren Kruis Achmea, Loyalis, and Allianz, and compensation for travel, working from home and home internet use.

-        Are you currently combining your job with parenthood, or do you want to do so in the future? EUR offers partially paid parental leave and fully paid additional birth leave for partners, and our campus features a daycare (daycare not paid for by EUR).

-        Moving to the Netherlands for your job with EUR? Then you may be eligible for the 30%-ruling if you meet the requirements of the Belastingdienst (Dutch tax agency), and with our Dual Career Programme we will also help your partner find the right job for them.

Employer

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) is an internationally oriented university with a strong social orientation in its education and research, as expressed in our mission ‘Creating positive societal impact’. EUR is home to 4.100 academics and professionals and almost 33.000 students from more than 140 countries. Everything we do, we do under the credo The Erasmian Way – Making Minds Matter. We’re global citizens, connecting, entrepreneurial, open-minded, and socially involved. These Erasmian Values function as our internal compass and create EUR’s distinctive and recognizable profile. From these values, with a broad perspective and with an eye for diversity, different backgrounds and opinions, our employees work closely together to solve societal challenges from the dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. Thanks to the high quality and positive societal impact of our research and education, EUR can compete with the top European universities. www.eur.nl.

Faculty / Institute / Central service

Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB)

The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences is home to a vast diversity of scientific disciplines: public administration, pedagogical sciences, psychology and sociology. In addition, the Erasmus University College, IHS, and two research institutes RISBO and DRIFT are linked to the faculty. This also reflects in the content of the (international) bachelor's and master's programs and in research.  Our activities are always focused on people and society. At the ESSB fundamental, internationally oriented research is of paramount importance. In addition, social research for professionals, policy makers, and the society is part of our research activities. ESSB offers a stimulating research environment where major national and international research grants are received. Appealing guest researchers and ambitious PhD candidates come along to conduct their research. Our education is small-scale and works with innovative forms of education. Both the Dutch and English programs are highly ranked by students and alumni. ESSB is home to over 4000 students and more than 400 staff-members. The different disciplines are supported by the Faculty Office (for more information, please visit www.eur.nl/essb).

Group

Our department consists of seven teams and encompasses the disciplines of Psychology, Education Sciences, and Pedagogical Sciences—three closely related fields, each with its own distinct profile.

The various psychological specializations within DPECS focus on understanding cognitive, physical, and social functioning and well-being in the context of mental health, education, and work. Education sciences address questions related to effectiveness and inclusion in primary, secondary, and tertiary education. Pedagogical sciences focus on issues related to both everyday and problematic development and upbringing within families, schools, and youth care.

The disciplinary perspectives within DPECS complement one another and share a mission to generate social impact through scientifically rigorous research on current societal challenges, employing innovative methods and techniques, as well as open science practices.

The bachelor’s and master’s programs offered by DPECS build upon this mission, preparing students to become scientifically trained professionals equipped to serve the society of the future.

More information about research at DPECS can be found here:

https://www.eur.nl/en/essb/information/researchers/lab-society

More information about DPECS educational programs can be found here:

https://www.eur.nl/essb/onderwijs

Our department also has access to an excellent laboratory for both research and educational purposes. The Erasmus Behavioural Lab offers outstanding facilities, including video observation, EEG, eye-tracking, virtual reality, experience sampling, and biofeedback:

https://www.eur.nl/essb/informatie-voor/onderzoekers/erasmus-behavioural-lab

Department

The Clinical Psychology team focuses on five interconnected research themes: Experimental Psychopathology of Emotional Disorders and Affective Neuroscience, Substance Use and Addiction, Developmental Psychopathology, Forensic and Legal Psychology, and Health Psychology and Behavior Change.

All five themes share a "From Lab to Society" research vision, emphasizing a strong connection between fundamental (experimental) research, clinical practice, and health promotion.

In addition to research, our team provides education within both the Dutch and international Bachelor's programs in Psychology, as well as in the Master's specializations in Clinical Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Forensic & Legal Psychology, and Health Psychology.

The mission of our research and teaching is to promote, protect, and restore mental health through state-of-the-art fundamental and applied research on mechanisms, treatments, and prevention.

Applying

Please submit your application, including a curriculum, a letter of motivation, your grades from the (research) master’s program, and the name and contact of two referees, before 16th May.

The selection procedure consists of two interviews. The first round of Interviews is expected to be held on 3rd June, online. The second round of interviews will be held on 17th June on campus. We look forward to receiving your application.

You can find more information about the EUR on our website www.eur.nl.

Persons of all gender identities or expressions, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, ages, neurodiversities, functional impairments, citizenships, or any other aspect are welcome to apply and join the EUR community.