You will:

• Develop the study protocol to replicate the study of Lewis and colleagues (1989): Self development and self-conscious emotions.
• Conduct a lab study with infants and young children;
• Process data and conduct a range of statistical analyses;
• Write a high-quality scientific article together with other project members and present at conferences.

As well as being hosted in the supportive research atmosphere of the Research Institute of Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam, the post-doc will have the opportunity to engage in open science practices, conduct an exact and extended replication, and establish a research line on young children’s socio-emotional development. 

The post-doc will conduct their research under the supervision of Dr Milica Nikolic at the University of Amsterdam and engage with her research group as part of Dr Nikolic’s NWO-Open Science-funded project: The necessity of self-awareness for self-conscious emotions. Dr Nikolic’s research group is part of Developmental Psychopathology group at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education. The project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr Disa Sauter at Oxford University. 

The position includes allowances for research expenses and travel and subsistence costs toward project-specific travel, including conferences.

You are:

• Curious and eager to learn;
• Motivated to share your knowledge with academic and non-academic audiences;
• Strongly committed to methodological rigor and scientific integrity;

You have:

• (or are about to obtain) a PhD in Psychology, Child Development, or related field;
•  expertise on early child development and/or emotions;
• experience conducting lab studies, preferably with young children;
• demonstrated experience with designing, conducting, and publishing high-quality quantitative research;
• experience with open science practices;
• excellent written and spoken English sufficient for academic writing, presenting, and collaboration;
• proficiency in Dutch sufficient for conducting data collection with participants;
• excellent research project management skills (implementing and documenting research protocols, coordinating lab studies, communicating about recruitment and scheduling, monitoring progress);
• experience with behavioural observations and/or use of physiological measures is advantageous.

The appointment concerns temporary employment of 30.4 hours per week (0.8 fte) for a period of two years. Subject to availability and qualifications, there might be a possible temporary extension with teaching. The intended starting date is as soon as possible after 1 March, 2026.

Based on a full-time appointment (1.0 fte/38 hours per week), the gross monthly salary will be between 4.728 and 5.705 euros (scale 11.0 – 11.6, depending on qualifications, based on the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).