The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, the Cognitive Psychology Unit has available a
Postdoc Position (0.8 fte) in Comparative Psychology
Vacancy number 4122
Research Project “Evolutionary Insights into
Social Intelligence. A comparison between humans, bonobos, and
chimpanzees”
Why do humans cooperate in large numbers to advance projects for the
common good? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in biology and
economics, this generous and civic-minded behavior is widespread and
cannot be explained simply by self-interest. People cooperate
not to benefit themselves or their close genealogical kin, but do so
out of an intrinsic empathic motivation. However, humans are also
familiar with betrayal, exploitation and subordination and as a
consequence at times refrain from cooperation. We like to
see ourselves as intelligent ‘SuperCooperators’, unique among animals.
But are we? While most research emphasizes the superiority of humans
over other species, increasing evidence suggests that if it comes to
social intelligence, some other species have skills
that are superior to those of humans. Within this research project,
cooperation is treated as the ultimate socially intelligent behavior as
it increases the common good, which in the end benefits all individuals
within the group. Further, emotional expressions
and their recognition, possibly informed by emotional mimicry are
considered important drivers of cooperative behavior. In sum, the
project challenges the view that humans are the most socially
intelligent species.
The project will run in parallel with ongoing projects in the CoPAN lab, directed by Dr. Mariska Kret (www.mariskakret.com).
The
research group participates in the Leiden Institute for Brain and
Cognition (LIBC), an interfaculty center for interdisciplinary research
on brain and cognition (www.libc-leiden.nl).
Key Responsibilities
Selection Criteria
Our faculty/Institute
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences comprises four
institutes: Education and Child Studies, Political Science, Psychology
and Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology. The Faculty also
includes the Centre for Science and Technology Studies.
The Faculty is home to 5,000 students and 600 members of staff. Our
teaching and research programmes cover diverse topics varying from
adoption to political behaviour. For more information, see http://www.fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
The Institute of Psychology comprises six units for teaching and
research: Health, Medical and Neuropsychology, Clinical Psychology,
Cognitive Psychology, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Social
and Organizational Psychology, and Methodology and Statistics.
The Institute of Psychology offers a stimulating environment that
promotes collaboration within and between units. For more information,
see http://www.fsw.leidenuniv.nl/psychologie/
Terms and condition
We offer a 0.8fte, fixed-term post for 2 years which can possibly be
expanded to 1.0fte with some teaching duties. Salary is € 3259 gross per
month (pay scale 11, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement
for Dutch Universities).
Leiden University values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.
Information
Enquiries can be made to Dr. Mariska Kret, email: m.e.kret@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Applications
Applications (specifying the vacancy number), including a CV and a full
publication list can be submitted – before January 10th – here.
Receipt of your application will be confirmed by e-mail. If you have not
received a confirmation within three days after submission, please
contact us at +31 71 527 3427