PhD candidate: Perceptions of Threat, Intergroup Relations and Polarization

Organisation/Company Université libre de Bruxelles - CeSCuP Department Faculté des sciences psychologiques et de l'éducation Research Field Psychological sciences » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 6 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Brussels) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 38 Offer Starting Date 1 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Why do some citizens support far-right political parties and candidates, and what role do perceptions of threat play in shaping their political attitudes and behavior? How do these relationships vary across social and political contexts?We invite applications for a PhD position within an interdisciplinary research project investigating the relationships between authoritarian attitudes, perceived threats, and support for the far right. Bringing together perspectives from social psychology and political science, the ARC advanced project aims to develop an integrated theoretical framework and generate new empirical evidence on the psychological and contextual factors underlying political polarization, intolerance, and support for far-right politics. An important empirical component of the project concerns Belgium, with a particular focus on Brussels. As a highly diverse urban context characterized by significant socioeconomic inequalities, Brussels offers an especially valuable setting in which to investigate how social and political contexts shape threat perceptions and political behavior.The project also aims to contribute to joint survey research around the Belgian electoral cycles of 2029 and 2030, including voter surveys and research on local electoral contexts. The candidate will have opportunities to engage in collaborative data collection and interdisciplinary research activities across the participating teams.

Job description: The vacancy involves a 3.5-year paid, fulltime position as a PhD student, starting on 1 January 2027, in the CESCUP research group at the faculty of Psychology, Educational sciences and Speech therapy, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary research environment at the intersection of social psychology and political science.

Requirements

Research Field Psychological sciences » Psychology Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

• You have obtained a master’s diploma in (social) psychology or another field that is relevant for this PhD project
• You are interested in and are strongly motivated to conduct research in the domain of intergroup relations and political attitudes, notably prejudice, threat and polarisation
• You are interested in and possibly already have experience in conducting scientific research, including literature review, data collection, data analysis and reporting
• You have strong quantitative research and statistical skills
• You possess excellent interpersonal skills and are prepared to collaborate in a research team
• You possess excellent writing and presentation skills in English

Specific Requirements

• You will be involved in the execution of the research project
• You will prepare a doctoral thesis in the field of psychology
• You will aim to publish scientific articles related to the project and engage in other types of science communication (e.g., active participation in national or international conferences, workshops, seminars)
• As the ULB is a french-speaking university, some knowledge of French is a plus

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Research Field Psychological sciences » Other

Additional Information

In addition to a full-time scholarship (comparable to a competitive Belgian salary), you will benefit from health care and social security. There are also many on-site services at the ULB: medical centre, university hospital, sports centre, subsidised restaurants, cultural centre, crèche, activities for children, …

The position remains open until it is filled.

ULB's personnel management policy is geared towards diversity and equal opportunities. We recruit candidates on the basis of their skills, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, nationality, beliefs, disability, etc. Would you like to be provided with reasonable accommodation in the selection procedure because of a disability, disorder, or illness? Please contact Marie Botty, the person in charge of diversity aspects for the academic and scientific staff ( marie.botty@ulb.be ). Be assured of the confidentiality of this information. More details on the ULB gender and diversity policy are available at Diversit