PhD Position: Factual Belief Polarisation and its Attitudinal Consequences

PhD Position:
Factual Belief Polarisation and its Attitudinal Consequences

Radboud University is a denominational university originally established in 1923 as the Catholic University of Nijmegen.

Required background Research University Degree

Organizational unit Nijmegen School of Management

Join our PhD project exploring how polarised factual beliefs shape public opinion and fuel broader political divides.

What citizens believe to be true and whether they trust science and experts 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. Left-wing and right-wing 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.

We are recruiting a PhD candidate who will examine how this 'factual belief polarisation' influences public opinion and potentially contributes to broader polarisation.

You will apply new and existing experimental methods to examine when, how, and why factual beliefs about issues such as inequality, immigration, or government spending have an impact on issue attitudes and affective polarisation. Your results will be disseminated in international peer-reviewed journal articles and an article-based PhD dissertation. Your supervision team will consist of Dr. Roderik Rekker (main substantive supervisor), Dr.

Hakan Çakmak, Dr. Bojana Većkalov, and Prof. Dr. Carolien van Ham. You will also have a limited teaching assignment of about 5%.

Required:

• You hold (or expect to obtain before starting this position) a Master’s degree in political science (or another relevant discipline such as political communication or political psychology).
• You have a good command of quantitative research methods, particularly regarding the design and technical execution of survey experiments.
• You can work both independently and in a team.
• You have an excellent command of written academic English.
• You have completed or almost completed a Research Master’s programme and/or you have completed courses on advanced quantitative methods with good grades.
• You have experience conducting research on polarisation, misperceptions, or another related topic.

• We will give you a temporary employment contract (1.0 FTE) of 1.5 years, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, your contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4-year contract).
• You will receive a starting salary of €3,059 gross per month based on a 38-hour working week, which will increase to €3,881 in the fourth year (salary scale P ).
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• 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.

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports membership.

In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

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. Together, they offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Political Science.

You will be based within the Empirical Political Science…