Postdoc Position in Computational Modelling of Agency and Resilience

Department of Psychology **Postdoc Position in Computational Modelling of Agency and Resilience 80 %** ============================================================================= Start of employment 1st April 2027 or by agreement, temporary The Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral position within the SNSF-funded project “Building Resilience: A Lab-to-Life Investigation of How Control Beliefs and Active Coping Develop in Stressful Transitions”, led by Dr. Laura Meine. Moving beyond predicting who will be resilient, the project aims to investigate how resilience is actively built and sustained during stressful life transitions. Specifically, it examines how self-efficacy beliefs and coping strategies develop in response to unfamiliar stressors and contribute to psychological resilience. To this end, the project will combine computational modelling of data from laboratory experiments, pupillometry, and ecological momentary assessments in everyday life. The findings are expected to advance knowledge about the dynamic mechanisms underlying resilience and may inform interventions to support mental health during demanding life transitions. The successful candidate will play a leading role in the computational modelling components of the project and contribute to the advancement of innovative approaches for linking laboratory-based measures of agency with real-world behaviour and mental health outcomes. They will develop computational models, advance reproducible analysis pipelines, and support open science practices. The successful candidate will be embedded within a supportive, multidisciplinary, and internationally connected research group with opportunities for scientific exchange and collaboration. The position offers excellent prospects for professional and academic development in computational psychology, resilience research, and intensive longitudinal methods, including opportunities to contribute to the scientific direction of the project, take the lead on several publications, and supervise a PhD student alongside the principal investigator. Particular emphasis will be placed on supporting the successful candidate in developing an independent research profile and securing future funding. **Your responsibilities** ------------------------- * Adapt and extend computational models of self-belief updating and instrumental action across laboratory and real-world settings * Process, analyse, and integrate behavioural, psychophysiological (pupillometry), ecological momentary assessment, and longitudinal data to characterise individual differences in agency and resilience * Develop reproducible analysis pipelines and open-science workflows * Contribute to study design, implementation, and data collection * Lead the preparation of scientific manuscripts for peer-reviewed journals and present findings at national and international conferences * Supervise Master's theses a