PhD Position in Developmental Psychology: Tracking How 3–5-Year-Olds Remember Past Events (75% position)

PhD Position in Developmental Psychology: Tracking How 3–5-Year-Olds Remember Past Events (75% position)

TU Dortmund’s w55-26 post asks how episodic memory develops between ages 3 and 5, combining a longitudinal study with computational collaboration at Bochum’s Institute for Neuroinformatics. Its main scientific opportunity is to connect developmental measurement with a theory of how memories are constructed. The challenge is to distinguish changes in memory from changes in language, task familiarity and measurement reliability.

The planned 75% TV-L E13 appointment runs from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2030, subject to final third-party approval and funding. A relevant psychology Master’s, fluent spoken and written German and English, and excellent methodological, programming and statistical skills are required. The employer PDF recorded on 26 October 2026 gives 10 November 2026, with no closing time or timezone. Confirm the accepted submission route and receipt: it lists a postal address and an email for questions. TU Dortmund developmental psychology recruitment w55-26, International doctoral enrollment at TU Dortmund.

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

The Dortmund post investigates how episodic memory develops in children aged 3–5 through a longitudinal study. Within the Scenario Construction Framework, recollection combines traces of a particular episode with semantic information to generate a mental simulation of the past. The scientific challenge is to connect this account with measurements that remain interpretable as children's language, social understanding and cognition change.

The doctoral researcher plans, implements, analyses and publishes the Dortmund longitudinal study, working closely with Bochum and its Institute for Neuroinformatics on computational accounts of memory. The role also includes supervising or co-supervising student assistants and research students, proactively exchanging ideas across the CRC’s disciplines, presenting at internal and external events and conferences, and regularly contributing to public relations and science communication. These are distinct responsibilities alongside the thesis research. Unlike the Bochum advertisement, the Dortmund description explicitly identifies the computational-modelling collaboration; it does not name a computational co-supervisor, model or software stack.

The public material does not define cohort size, follow-up spacing, memory tasks, imaging or an individual modelling workload. Reliability, attrition and comparability across developmental ages are therefore central feasibility questions. A changing task score could reflect memory development, language demands, task familiarity or measurement error; a replicable group average alone does not establish an interpretable individual trajectory. These are analytical questions, not an announced protocol. The related self, temperament and false-belief studies below show different aspects of this problem; none is a completed test of the new preschool episodic-memory project.

The Neuroinformatics institute's actual episodic-memory programme supports the plausibility of the interdisciplinary interface, but its existing papers do not identify the new project's assigned personnel. FOR2812 supplies theoretical network background and is not proof of final approval for the advertised CRC funding. The partner RUB post is a separate recruitment with its own employer, site and deadline. TU Dortmund developmental psychology recruitment w55-26, RUB Neuroinformatics, Infants sense of self revisited.

School, Programme and Field Context

TU Dortmund University is the employer and intended degree-awarding university, through the Institute of Psychology and the faculty covering Education, Psychology and Educational Research. Bochum's Institute for Neuroinformatics is a collaborator; no joint or double degree is advertised. THE places TU Dortmund in the 451–500 overall band for 2027 and Education Studies at 251–300 in 2026. A numeric Psychology rank was not located; education is not a substitute psychology measure and RUB's stronger subject rank cannot be assigned to Dortmund. The specific longitudinal design and computational collaboration are more relevant comparison points than an unverified subject-ranking claim.

Formal doctoral admission requires supervision approval and a faculty doctoral-committee decision, separate from employment. The current faculty hub still links a 2011/2013 regulation. Its stated award is Dr. phil.; it allows a German or English thesis and a cumulative work of published/accepted papers with a connecting interpretation and clearly separable individual contribution. Papers are generally expected within five years; no universal fixed paper count was located. The applicable 2027 rules should be confirmed against the university's 2024 framework and current committee guidance.

That linked regulation describes a route combining a relevant Master’s qualification, 300 credits and the German grade “good” (2.5) or equivalent alternatives; routes with fewer credits may require preparatory studies, including at least two semesters/60 credits under the stated conditions. Foreign equivalence is assessed by the committee. Do not convert these into a single Chinese percentage or assume an employment offer resolves admission.

The currently linked 2015 structured programme specifies 30 credits, an individual plan agreed by the end of the first semester and activities such as methods/theory seminars, colloquia and conferences. It excludes papers already incorporated in the thesis from the listed publication credit. Its three-year planning footnote does not shorten the four-year advertised contract. Separately, optional Graduate Center career certificates require 80 work units, typically 45 minutes each; these units are not the faculty's 30 credits. Training includes research/writing, management, communication and careers. Confirm the current individual curriculum and protected thesis time. Faculty of Education, Psychology and Educational Research doctoral hub, Faculty doctoral regulations currently linked (2011/2013), Faculty structured doctoral programme (2015 current link), THE TU Dortmund profile.

Supervisor, Primary Studies and Research Resources

Professor Norbert Zmyj has held the W3 developmental-psychology chair at TU Dortmund since 2015, after a junior professorship at RUB and a Leipzig Max Planck postdoc. His 2009 doctorate examined selective imitation in one-year-olds. Contact: norbert.zmyj@tu-dortmund.de, +49 231 755 6571. The current institutional inventory supports infant/social-cognitive and longitudinal research. It does not establish a completed preschool episodic-memory cohort, an individual supervision schedule or a doctoral employment-outcome rate. Three direct primary publications within the last five years help evaluate methods and fit:

• Zmyj and Klein-Radukic, Infants’ sense of self revisited, International Journal of Behavioral Development 50(3), 326–333 (2026 print; 2025 online), DOI 10.1177/01650254251340915: Group-level results differed between the two studies. Study 2 retested 30 approximately six-month-old infants within the same visit after a short interval. A delayed-feedback group preference was replicated there, but individual cross-test correlations were not significant and test–retest ICC intervals were wide. Very high agreement between video coders measures a different property from stability across tests. The discussion also considers familiarity/novelty effects during repeated measurement, so the absent correlation does not establish that infants lack a stable self-related ability. The project-relevant lesson is to examine what a measurement can support before interpreting individual developmental change; this task is not preschool episodic memory.
• Franziska Sieber and Norbert Zmyj, Infant Behavior and Development 67, 101714 (2022), DOI 10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101714: the primary abstract reports two German longitudinal samples at specified infant/toddler ages. The infant IBQ-R yielded two factors rather than the assumed three, whereas the toddler ECBQ yielded three. Temperament ratings nevertheless showed stability within and across developmental periods. A changing factor structure therefore does not mean that all individual stability disappears. This informs developmental measurement and factor interpretation, not an episodic-memory outcome; the subscription article body was not read.
• Witt, Seehagen and Zmyj, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 222, 105467 (2022), DOI 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105467: the primary abstract examines four-year-olds’ false-belief attribution with accent and gender group cues, without a consistent group-membership effect. The authors leave open whether other cues or contexts matter. This supports preschool experimental experience and a bounded interpretation of null findings; it establishes neither that group membership is always irrelevant nor a result about episodic recollection. The subscription article body was not read.

The first paper offers selected methods/results/discussion evidence about measurement reliability; the other two supply original author abstracts and metadata. The distinct reading scopes limit the conclusions that can be drawn. Feasibility of this new project still depends on participant access, existing measures, ethics/data governance, student-assistant resources and daily quantitative/computational support. Professor Norbert Zmyj profile and publication inventory, Infants sense of self revisited, Stability and structure of infant and toddler temperament in two longitudinal studies in Germany., The influence of group membership on false-belief attribution in preschool children..

Employment, Tuition and Living Cost

The advertised appointment is 75% TV-L E13 employment until 31 December 2030, intended from 1 January 2027, conditional on final third-party approval and funding. It is a four-year plan, not an unconditional award or guaranteed extension. The exact weekly hours, personal step and take-home pay require TU HR confirmation; do not import Bochum's 29.87-hour statement, teaching exemption or interview-cost rule into this separate contract. The generic TU funding page says research associates normally teach, but this specific call does not resolve teaching duties.

Official 2027 TdL tables give full-time E13 Stufe 1 at €4,759.37 for January–February and €4,854.56 for March–December. At 75%, illustrative gross amounts are €3,569.53 and €3,640.92 respectively. They assume entry step 1, not a confirmed salary quote. Recognised experience, progression, deductions and family/tax/insurance circumstances change the individual result; no net-pay estimate is verified.

TU's doctoral funding page explicitly states no doctoral tuition. Its approximate €315 semester fee is superseded for the current semester by the International Office: €339.70 in winter 2026/27; summer 2027 will be published in January 2027. All enrolled doctoral students pay regardless of nationality. The current page allows 14 days after the payment request. Generic uni-assist fees for other admissions should not be added automatically to this doctoral recruitment route.

TU’s general living-cost page reproduces a 2021 national student average of €940, including €380 rent and €198 food. These dated national figures are not a 2027 Dortmund employee budget. A separate local university’s approximate student guidance lists room costs €450–600, food €200, media about €18, phone/internet €20, materials €30 and leisure €60, with insurance and semester reserves additional. Its €992 headline does not reconcile with the components, and its €330 semester reference is not TU’s fee. Employee payroll insurance also differs from the €125–150 student examples. Build an annual itemised budget from an actual lease, included utilities, payroll deductions, semester contributions, deposit, arrival/family costs and inter-site travel. The partial student categories cannot establish complete employee expenditure or savings; the unpublished summer contribution must not be copied from winter.

TU's Welcome Services housing sheet identifies guest-house/guest-apartment and private options but is dated 2023 and makes no priced 2027 offer. No accommodation or student-dorm eligibility is guaranteed here. Budget separately for deposits, initial travel, furnishings and any inter-site journeys. Ask about reimbursement before spending; the partner university's policy does not determine this post's interview or research travel terms. Current International Office fee schedule, Official TV-L January–February 2027 general salary table, Official TV-L March–December 2027 general salary table.

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required Background and Skills

A master's in Psychology or a closely related subject, fluent spoken/written German and English, excellent methodological/programming/statistical skills, interest in developmental memory research, proactive interdisciplinary teamwork and enjoyment of working with parents/children are required. No exact language-test score or programming language is specified. German fluency should not be replaced by an assumption that an international team works only in English.

Preferred Experience and Suggested Preparation

Research practice with infants/young children and previous interdisciplinary work are desired. Suggested evidence includes a personal research contribution, quantitative analysis, reliable family-facing work and an explanation of developmental measurement limitations. These suggestions are not additional mandatory techniques. Ask whether behavioural data analysis, computational-model implementation or both are expected from this position.

Chinese nationality is not excluded. For a master's completed abroad, TU's actual international doctoral-enrolment page asks for faculty admission, identification, bachelor's/master's certificates and transcripts, and sworn German/English translations. It lists APS for Chinese educational certificates if applicable; clarify applicability or exemption rather than asserting universal exemption or universal ineligibility. Processing can take weeks in receipt order and is not prioritised by request. Academic admission, employment and the appropriate research/study residence process are distinct; HR and Welcome Services should establish the route from the actual contract and the statutory hosting/contract conditions.

The employer PDF asks for a CV, copies of degree certificates and referees’ names/contact details, by 10 November 2026, reference w55-26. It lists TU Dortmund University, Chair of Developmental Psychology, Norbert Zmyj, Emil-Figge-Straße 50, 44227 Dortmund; norbert.zmyj@tu-dortmund.de and +49 231 755 6571 are given for questions. It does not identify a dedicated upload portal or an exclusive email application rule. Confirm the accepted route and receipt rather than using the separate RUB vacancy portal or the international office’s doctoral-enrolment email process. The earlier description additionally listed a language certificate, while the current employer PDF specifies no named examination or proof format; fluent German and English remain mandatory. The older 27 October date is a source discrepancy, not evidence of a confirmed extension history. TU Dortmund developmental psychology recruitment w55-26, International doctoral enrollment at TU Dortmund, Faculty doctoral regulations currently linked (2011/2013).

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

Confirm w55-26’s accepted submission route/receipt and German/English evidence with the scientific contact, and prepare the CV, certificates and referee contacts for the current 10 November 2026 deadline. Check personal degree eligibility, funding approval and whether immigration permits the intended January start. Begin Bachelor’s/Master’s certificates, transcripts, sworn translations and applicable APS checks; employment, doctoral admission and enrolment are separate processes.

At Interview

Discuss the longitudinal cohort and measurement readiness, attrition/recruitment support, student assistants and data governance. Clarify the division of Zmyj's supervision and the computational partner's work, model implementation expectations, inter-site travel and a feasible cumulative thesis if collection is delayed. Ask specifically about teaching and protected thesis time rather than borrowing the partner post's teaching exemption.

Before Accepting

Obtain final funding approval and the written four-year contract, weekly hours, E13 step/progression and individual payroll estimate. Confirm the applicable degree/regulation, cumulative-paper and training rules, formal admission, residence route, current semester fees, accommodation/deposit and research/travel reimbursement. No funded extension beyond December 2030 is established.

TU Dortmund developmental psychology recruitment w55-26, International doctoral enrollment at TU Dortmund.

Evidence and Sources

The employer PDF recorded on 26 October 2026 lists 10 November 2026, while an earlier listing gives 27 October. The reason for the discrepancy and any extension history remain unconfirmed; current vacancy availability is not established by these dated records. The doctoral regulations, cost references and paper evidence retain the date and scope limits stated above.

Project and training

• TU Dortmund developmental psychology recruitment w55-26
• RUB Neuroinformatics: nature and function of episodic memory
• FOR2812 scenario-construction research network
• Becoming a doctoral researcher at TU Dortmund
• International doctoral enrollment at TU Dortmund
• Faculty of Education, Psychology and Educational Research doctoral hub
• Faculty doctoral regulations currently linked (2011/2013)
• Faculty structured doctoral programme (2015 current link)
• TU Graduate Center transferable skills
• TU Graduate Center career certificates
• THE TU Dortmund profile
• RUB distinct partner vacancy ANR6187
• German Residence Act section 18d research

Supervisor and primary research

• Professor Norbert Zmyj profile and publication inventory
• Infants sense of self revisited: mixed evidence from two studies
• Stability and structure of infant and toddler temperament in two longitudinal studies in Germany.
• The influence of group membership on false-belief attribution in preschool children.

Funding and living

• Doctoral funding and tuition policy
• Current International Office fee schedule
• TU Dortmund student cost reference and dated survey
• Dortmund local university cost guidance
• TU Welcome Services housing information (2023)
• Official TV-L January–February 2027 general salary table
• Official TV-L March–December 2027 general salary table