Postdoc Positions in Political Psychology: Polarisation, Misperceptions, and the Politicisation of Science

1. Introduction

What citizens believe to be true and whether they trust science increasingly depend on where they stand on the political spectrum. As a result, political opponents are often divided not only in their attitudes, but also in their beliefs about reality. Leftist and rightist voters, for instance, have different perceptions of the causes of climate change, the magnitude of income inequality, and the number of immigrants in their country. Does this pique your interest? If so, this position may be for you!

2. Job description

We are recruiting a team that will examine how this 'factual belief polarization' influences public opinion and, for example, whether it contributes to broader polarisation. Moreover, we will examine the increasing politicisation of trust in science, focusing on public perceptions of bias and how citizens view different types of policy advocacy by scientists. Within this broader team, two subprojects will be carried out by postdoctoral researchers, who will conduct surveys and experiments and author or co-author a number of manuscripts for publication in international scientific journals. You will also participate in academic conferences.  

Project 1: Better survey measures for factual beliefs
There is currently a lack of well-validated survey measures for factual beliefs. For fundamental questions such as whether people overestimate the magnitude of the immigrant population, our current knowledge relies on insufficiently validated items. Existing survey items have, for example, asked respondents about percentages, ratios, visual representations, or exemplars. Supervised by Dr Roderik Rekker, you will apply measurement models and survey experiments to examine whether some questions or response formats are easier to understand for survey respondents than others, and how such measurement decisions affect substantive conclusions about factual belief polarisation. This project will yield better validated survey items and articles in international peer-reviewed journals.

Project 2: The politicisation of trust in science, bias perceptions, and advocacy by scientists
Public trust in science is becoming increasingly politicised. Conservative and far-right voters, in particular, often express lower levels of trust in science. One possible reason for this politicisation is that citizens do not always accept science as a politically neutral epistemic authority. For example, sociologists are often seen as ‘left-leaning’, while economists are perceived as ‘right-leaning’. These perceptions of political bias are associated with distrust in the respective scientific fields. Together with Dr Roderik Rekker, Dr Erika van Elsas, and Dr Christel van Eck, you will use surveys and experiments to investigate where these perceptions originate and what their consequences are. In particular, the project will examine how citizens view different forms of policy advocacy by scientists, and if and when advocacy can contribute to perceptions of bias and public distrust.

The postdoctoral positions involve 20% teaching duties. 

3. Profile

• You must have obtained a PhD degree before the starting date in a relevant discipline, such as political science, communication science, science communication, social psychology, psychological methods, or survey methodology.
• You have a good command of statistical research methods, particularly regarding surveys and survey experiments. 
• You have experience with publishing research in international scientific journals.
• You are interested in working in an interdisciplinary setting and are able to acquire viewpoints from various disciplines in the social sciences.
• You can work both independently and in a team.
• You are willing to take on a limited teaching load in our undergraduate political science programme.

• You have experience conducting research on polarization, misperceptions, trust in science, or another related topic.
• You are skilled in the design and technical execution of survey experiments, including (for project 1) experiments with advanced visual stimuli and response formats.
• For project 1, experience with measurement models and/or survey design is highly advantageous.
• You have experience in teaching and supervising undergraduate student.
• You have a good command of the English language.
• Regular presence in Nijmegen is expected. If you live abroad, we are open to discussing whether this can be arranged without relocating to the Netherlands.

4. We are

The Department of Political Science examines the complexity and interconnectedness of contemporary politics with a focus on legitimacy and institutional change. The department consists of two chair groups: Empirical Political Science and International Relations. Jointly, they offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Political Science.

You will be based within the chair group of Empirical Political Science. This chair group has particular strengths in comparative politics, political theory, as well as quantitative and qualitative methodology. Major research topics include populism, electoral behaviour, public opinion, and labour movements, as well as the moral legitimacy of institutions and policies. Many of its individual members contribute to more than one of these subjects, and are active in interdisciplinary Hotspots and research collaborations across the Nijmegen School of Management and beyond.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 2 years.
• Your salary starts at € 4,227 gross per month (salary scale 10, step 5) and progresses further within salary scale 10. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week. You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. 
• We offer Dual Career Coaching. The Dual Career Coaching assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands. 
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20. 

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Roderik Rekker. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first interviews will take place either online or face-to-face (depending on your location and preference) on Wednesday 18 June and Thursday 19 June. Any second interview will include a short oral presentation of research ideas by you on Wednesday 25 June, Thursday 26 June, or Friday 27 June. You will preferably start your employment on 1 September 2025, but later dates can be discussed.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates.