PhD Position in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy

In this position you will contribute to a research project awarded to Dr Jessica Werthmann funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) on the topic: “A multimodal investigation of dysfunctional body-related cognitions and attention bias as mechanisms underlying body dissatisfaction in individuals with eating disorders “. This research project is based at the department of clinical psychology and psychotherapy (Chair Prof. Tuschen-Caffier). The overall aim of the project is to empirically test hypothesized mechanisms underlying body dissatisfaction in a clinical sample within an experimental psychopathology framework. Specifically, we aim to conduct two independent studies that will test the causal role of dysfunctional body-related attention and dysfunctional body-related cognitions on body dissatisfaction in patients with eating disorders.

Your responsibilities:

Your tasks in the research team include planning and conducting of experiments, analysing data and publishing the results in international journals. The position allows you to obtain an academic qualification (PhD).

Your Profile:

• Excellent MSc degree (or comparable) in Psychology or related field, or planning to graduate with a MSc degree in 2022
• Your interest in the project (to be documented in a motivation letter [1 page max], in which you may refer to prior experiences, for instance, a thematically related thesis, student research assistant positions, etc.)
• Strong interest in and enthusiasm for an application of an experimental approach using psychophysiological methods for clinically relevant research questions
• Excellent knowledge or experience in quantitative research and statistics
• Excellent language skills in English and German (or willingness to learn German)
• Your interest to publish research papers in international journals
• Very good communication skills, strong commitment and the ability to work independently and in a research team
• Experiences in collecting and analysing eye-tracking data are an advantage.