Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology & Cultural Evolution

Position Title: Postdoctoral Fellow – Laboratory for Culture, Cognition, and Coevolution

Type: Full-Time

Location: Harvard University, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology

Salary: $67,600 – $80,000/year

Posted: 11/25/2025

The Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Laboratory for Culture, Cognition, and Coevolution. This role focuses on investigating long‑term psychological and cultural change using social science, evolutionary theory, and quantitative methods. The fellow will contribute to a multi‑year project on historical psychology and the cultural evolution of epistemological frameworks, examining how knowledge systems, reasoning styles, and social institutions transform across time and space.

• Collaborate with the PI and interdisciplinary team on conceptual development, data construction, analysis, and writing.
• Design and implement quantitative text‑analytic workflows and historical datasets.
• Produce high‑quality scholarly publications in anthropology, psychology, sociology, and interdisciplinary journals.
• Participate actively in lab meetings, departmental seminars, and the broader intellectual life of the department.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers involved in the project.

One‑year, full‑time position with the possibility of renewal for a second year based on performance and funding.

Salary and benefits follow Harvard postdoctoral compensation guidelines.

• PhD in anthropology, sociology, psychology, or closely related fields.
• Strong quantitative skills and experience with large‑scale or complex datasets.
• Experience in computational text analysis (e.g., NLP methods, historical text processing, topic modeling, semantic change).
• Broad interest in cultural evolution, cognitive anthropology, historical social science, or long‑term behavioral change.
• Record of independent research and scholarly publications.

• Experience with archival, textual, and cross‑cultural sources across Eurasia.
• Knowledge of Latin or Classical Chinese is a significant plus but not required.

Applicants must submit:

• Cover Letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Names of three references

Professor Joseph Henrich –

Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.