• Map the evidence base by conducting a scoping review of cross-cultural “lay theories of gender”
• Conceptualize, plan, and manage a large-scale cross-cultural survey study to document how people understand gender and where key differences cluster.
• Learn and apply complex statistical analyses to test what predicts support for gender-affirming care by linking lay theories and other cultural factors to attitudes toward different forms of care (e.g., hormones vs. surgery, public funding).
• Translate findings into real-world outputs through a secondment (internship) with TGEU, producing a tailored report for policymakers, advocates, and professionals working on gender-affirming care.

What you should offer as a candidate
The following are the requirements for this position:

• Candidates should NOT have resided in the Netherlands for more than 12 months during the 3 years prior to June 1st, 2026 (MSCA mobility rule). This rule is not negotiable.
• You have a Master’s degree in psychology or a closely related quantitative social science by May 31st, 2026
• You have a passion for researching gender, culture, and LGBTQ+ issues.
• A major in social or cultural psychology, OR at least completed course work in social and/or cultural psychology
• Experience with basic statistical analyses (R, SPSS, or similar) and willingness to learn complex analyses
• Strong organizational skill and willingness to coordinate large projects
• Excellent higher education track record
• Fluent spoken and written English skills
• We value diverse applications, particularly from populations that are historically underrepresented in higher education and/or marginalised because of an intersection of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sex and/or gender.

You will be conducting research and completing a PhD thesis within the period of the appointment.

We offer a temporary full-time position of 38 hours a week for a term of 4 years. The teaching load for PhD candidates is 5%, equating to teaching a small number of tutorials or supervising 2 Bachelor/Master’s theses a year. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 36 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. The starting date is June 1^st, 2026 (with little room for negotiation given grant rules). We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international conferences.

The Social Psychology programme group at the University of Amsterdam is a large, international, and vibrant community of PhD candidates, postdocs, and professors within the Department of Psychology. The PhD candidate working on this project will be supervised by Dr. Katharina Block (primary supervisor), with Dr. Bertjan Doosje as promoter and Dr. Thomas Morton (University of Copenhagen) as external supervisor. The candidate will be embedded in the Amsterdam Culture and Intergroup Dynamics Lab (https://uvaculturalpsych.nl/), a group of scholars focused on understanding how cultural dynamics shape processes such as gender roles, polarization, and intergroup conflict. As part of the Gender-InSIGHT consortium, the candidate will also have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines, as well as with practitioners.