PhD Candidate on defining and improving interpersonal understanding in dialogues

PhD Candidate on defining and improving interpersonal understanding in dialogues

Tilburg, Tilburg University

Sluitingsdatum: 12 mei 2024

Voor meer informatie: PhD Candidate on defining and improving interpersonal understanding in dialogues — AcademicTransfer

Job description
The purpose of this PhD project is to create a comprehensive understanding of what interpersonal understanding entails for interlocutors, whether and how it is co-created by interlocutors within the discourse, and what facilitates or hampers its establishment. This project thus attempts to create a holistic approach in examining not only wat makes interlocutors feel they understand each other, but also whether those feelings correspond to reality, and how interlocutors could improve their interpersonal understanding. This will be done by combining insights and methods from (social) psychology, sociology and (health) communication sciences, using a variety of research methods ranging from interviews to surveys and (observational) lab experiments. The focus will lie on interpersonal, organizational and medical conversations, so that you can take into account the different social dynamics that might impact interlocutors’ interpersonal understanding in dialogue. Not only will you focus on the (verbal) content of communication, but also on the manner (i.e., non-verbal and paralinguistic information) by which the content is relayed. You will also test the impact of different conversation techniques on interlocutors’ ability to achieve (better) interpersonal understanding. You will write a dissertation on the combined studies. We also ask you to spend 10% of your time on teaching in the department. 

Job requirements
We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate with a (research) master’s degree in a relevant discipline such as (health) communication sciences, (social) psychology, sociology, or a related field. You should have a strong interest in doing research in general and on this topic in particular. Further, you need to have critical analytical skills, excellent writing skills, and a good command of English. Speaking Dutch fluently is a prerequisite given the nature of this project. We expect you to be pro-active and have good organizational skills, and to be able to work and think independently but also collaborate with others. Knowledge of and experience with both (advanced) quantitative and qualitative research and data analytic techniques is a plus, as well as a willingness to further develop these skills. We also expect you to have a professional attitude with a strong commitment to integrity and research ethics.