PhD in AI psychology | Trust in large language model communication

PhD in AI psychology | Trust in large language model communication

Quick Decision

Recommendation: Strong but verify fit. This is a three-year, full-time salaried PhD at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), studying how people trust or distrust communication generated by large language models. It is most directly aligned with applicants who hold a relevant Psychology master's degree or equivalent and can show experimental-design and quantitative-analysis skills. The advertised salary is normally NOK 580,000 gross per year, with a 2% pension contribution deducted; the application date is 30 November 2026. The captured notice does not state the closing hour or timezone. Captured official vacancy PDF

The research question is timely and connected to a defined doctoral programme and an interdisciplinary decision-AI centre. Before submitting, clarify two unfinished editing prompts in the notice: one inside the benefits list and another in the application-language sentence. Treat listed benefits as unconfirmed until NTNU says which apply. English proficiency is required, but the notice does not reliably settle which language(s) may be used for application files. Social Sciences PhD admission requirements

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

The project asks how people develop trust or distrust in LLM-generated communication. The notice identifies comparisons with human conversation and other forms of AI, whether disclosing the communicator as AI changes responses, and whether LLMs can affect decisions in ways that create trust. The proposed approach is primarily quantitative and experimental; the research may use professional partners from the centre as cases, but no partner or case is named. The researcher is expected to complete doctoral study, conduct and publish research, communicate it to wider audiences, contribute to the Citizens, Environment and Safety group and aiD, and take part in international research activities. These are the advertised tasks; the final protocol, sample, models, outcomes and partner access remain open or unspecified. Captured official vacancy PDF · aiD centre mission and research areas

Recent primary studies suggest that “trust in AI communication” is not one outcome with one settled direction. In an experiment on statement accuracy, people who were not told the author tended to trust statements they believed were human-written more than ChatGPT-written; when authorship was explicit, participants showed similar skepticism toward both. A 2026 study of emotional online conversation found greater interpersonal closeness for AI-generated responses only when they were labelled as human, while the AI label reduced—but did not eliminate—closeness. In two 2025 trust-game experiments, AI-assisted writers built similar behavioral trust more efficiently, including when disclosed. A separate chatbot-disclosure experiment found no difference in self-reported intimacy of disclosure between human and chatbot conditions. Human versus ChatGPT authorship and trust · AI label and interpersonal closeness · AI-assisted writing and trust-building efficiency · Chatbot disclosure and intimacy

These studies differ in what they measure—belief in factual accuracy, interpersonal closeness, disclosure intimacy or trust-game behavior—and in the interaction setting. They motivate the vacancy's comparisons and decision-related questions without establishing a universal trust penalty or benefit. A useful question for the project team is how it will distinguish perceived trust from actual decision behavior and decision quality. That is an analytical suggestion, not an advertised protocol.

School, Programme and Field Context

NTNU is the named employer and the official doctoral route is its Social Sciences PhD programme, Psychology specialization. NTNU describes the programme as a three-year full-time doctorate in Trondheim, normally building on a five-year master's or equivalent, with at least 30 credits of doctoral coursework and an independent research thesis. Admission requires a relevant master's of 120 credits, including an independent thesis of at least 30 credits, and normally a B average. The vacancy requires the candidate to gain admission to the programme within three months after employment starts; employment is adequate funding but does not itself confer admission. Confirm the separate application and faculty decision timeline in advance. No joint or double degree is stated, and the partner network does not imply a second degree-awarding institution. NTNU Social Sciences PhD programme · Admission requirements and funding · NTNU doctoral education

The Department of Psychology describes an interdisciplinary research environment and lists CES among its research groups. The 2027 QS World University Rankings profile places NTNU #264 overall; this is a broad institutional ranking, not a Psychology subject ranking or a measure of this project's supervision. Department of Psychology research · QS NTNU profile, 2027 overall ranking

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

The vacancy lists Professor Christian A. Klöckner as a contact. NTNU identifies him as a professor in social psychology and quantitative methods and a leader of CES. The group page also names Isabell Richter as a group leader and lists current PhD candidates. CES works across human factors, communication, safety and environmental behaviour; NTNU reports that the group received its 2026 Award for Outstanding Research and Artistic Development. These facts indicate active behavioral and quantitative research capacity. The notice does not identify Klöckner—or any other named contact—as the formal main supervisor; it says the direct leader is the head of the academic unit. Confirm the supervisor, co-supervisor and meeting arrangement directly. Christian A. Klöckner's NTNU profile · CES research group

Three recent works provide useful, bounded context:

• Decision quality (2026): Klöckner is among the authors of a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary framework for defining and evaluating decision quality in decision-support tools. It fits aiD's decision-outcome emphasis, but is conceptual rather than a trial of LLM trust. Paper record
• Identity and user experience (2025): A paper on identity and emotion in virtual-reality preparedness examines multiple user-experience outcomes and reports differentiated effects, including null results. It shows recent quantitative work involving identity cues, but VR experience is not the same as trust in generated communication. Virtual Reality article
• Psychology and AI adoption (2025): A study of Norwegian preferences for automated vehicles compares psychological predictors with demographic, socioeconomic and travel factors. It is relevant to technology acceptance, not direct evidence about conversational trust. Article manuscript in the University of Leeds repository

A 2025 study by Klöckner and a co-author on social perceptions and willingness to pay for innovations is another example of work connecting social beliefs to technology adoption; it does not test LLM trust. Article record

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The captured notice states a three-year full-time employment contract, with usual gross salary of NOK 580,000 per year, depending on qualifications and seniority. It says 2% is deducted as the statutory pension contribution. The Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund explains that this is the employee's usual contribution and that the employer covers most pension cost; verify membership and payroll details in the contract. NTNU's faculty admission guidance says employment as a PhD candidate provides adequate funding for admission and that faculty candidates receive working capital for project expenses. The specific amount, eligible uses and timing for this project are not stated. Captured official vacancy PDF · SPK pension explanation · Faculty PhD admission and funding

For context, NTNU's student-facing Trondheim estimate is NOK 5,000–6,500/month for a single room with shared bath and kitchen, including utilities, and at least NOK 3,600/month for food. These are not a full employee budget. Researcher housing is unsubsidized at private-market rates and can take up to four weeks to process. Student transport, tuition and semester-fee rules should not be assumed to apply to an employed doctoral candidate; the faculty states PhD candidates do not have student status in Norway. No private studio cost, employee transit entitlement, after-tax pay or exact mandatory fees was established. NTNU living-expense estimates · NTNU housing information · NTNU housing for researchers and PhDs

The benefits section of the captured PDF begins with “Evaluate and remove/add what is relevant for the position.” The subsequent list—including mentoring, working capital, language training and other benefits—should be confirmed item by item rather than treated as a complete promise. Faculty guidance independently supports general working capital for employed PhDs, but not a project-specific amount. The PDF also contains the unfinished instruction “decide on this - remove if not applicable” in its application-language sentence. These are editing leftovers, not job conditions.

Required documents listed in the notice include a CV, undergraduate and master's transcripts and diplomas, a copy of the master's thesis (a draft may be used if recently submitted), relevant publications or certificates, and the names/contact details of three referees. Applicants with foreign education must explain its scope and quality and provide supporting documents; clarify documentation needs with NTNU. NTNU's general process for temporary academic positions includes professional assessment, interview and approval in advance for PhD admission. The notice says materials are assessed as received by the deadline and that a public applicant list after the deadline may include name, age, job title and municipality; a reasoned request for exemption is assessed under applicable rules. NTNU academic application process · Captured official vacancy PDF

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required by the notice: a relevant Psychology master's degree or equivalent (normally a five-year course with 120 ECTS at master's level and an independent thesis of at least 30 ECTS); a strong academic record, normally B or better; eligibility for the Social Sciences PhD programme; good spoken and written English; and documented skills in experimental design and quantitative analysis. The faculty programme independently lists the degree, thesis and grade expectations. Applicants should show concrete evidence of methods competence in the CV, thesis or research outputs. Faculty admission requirements

Preferred or advantageous: prior work on interpersonal trust or human-machine trust, empirical fieldwork, interdisciplinary teamwork, and Norwegian/Scandinavian language ability. These are not stated as hard requirements. A primarily technical AI profile without a relevant Psychology degree or equivalent may be a weaker documentary match, but only NTNU can assess equivalence. English proficiency does not resolve the application-file language placeholder.

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before applying

• Ask which language or languages are accepted for application documents and what exact hour/timezone applies to the 30 November 2026 deadline.
• Ask which benefits in the edited list apply, and the amount, permitted use and access timing of project working capital.
• Confirm whether any programme, semester-welfare or other mandatory fees apply, and what foreign-degree documentation NTNU expects.
• Build the application around the required Psychology qualification, thesis, experimental design and quantitative analysis; keep preferred experience separate.

At interview

• Confirm the formal supervisor/co-supervisor, supervision cadence and division of responsibilities.
• Ask which project questions, LLM systems, comparisons and outcome measures are fixed, and what the candidate may shape.
• Clarify the potential partner case, access to participants/data, research-ethics approval and operating budget.
• Confirm expected conference/travel participation and whether duties change during the contract.

Before accepting an offer

• Check salary progression, payroll/tax estimate, pension membership and deductions in the written contract.
• Confirm the three-year duration and any additional duties.
• Ask whether researcher housing is available for the start date and obtain current market-rate options; confirm fees and candidate-paid costs.

Norway's recent doctoral employment data indicate multiple sectors, but they are national, all-field context. Statistics Norway reports that among nearly 22,000 graduates admitted to doctoral education since 2005 who had completed by 2024, 48% were employed in Norwegian academia in 2024, 32% in business or the public sector, and about 20% were not employed in Norway. A 2026 Ministry-hosted NIFU note also describes public research and health organizations as employers and private-sector demand particularly in technology and natural sciences. These sources do not predict outcomes for Psychology/LLM-trust specialists. Human-AI research, behavioral evaluation, UX/user research, responsible-AI analysis or public-sector decision support are skill-based possibilities, not verified vacancies. Statistics Norway doctoral employment monitor · Ministry-hosted NIFU note

Evidence and Sources

Vacancy evidence

• Official vacancy notice (captured PDF)

School, doctoral programme and research environment

• NTNU Social Sciences PhD programme
• NTNU Social Sciences PhD admission requirements and funding
• NTNU doctoral education
• NTNU temporary academic application process
• NTNU Department of Psychology research
• Citizens, Environment and Safety group
• Norwegian Centre on AI for Decisions (aiD)
• QS NTNU profile, 2027 overall ranking

Supervisor and recent research

• Christian A. Klöckner's NTNU profile
• Decision quality and decision-support framework (2026)
• Identity and emotions in VR experience (2025)
• Social perceptions and innovation adoption (2025)
• Norwegian automated-vehicle preferences (2025)

LLM communication, trust and career context

• Human versus ChatGPT authorship and trust (2024)
• AI-assisted writing and trust-building efficiency (2025)
• AI label and interpersonal closeness (2026)
• Chatbot disclosure and intimacy (2024)
• Statistics Norway doctoral employment monitor
• Ministry-hosted NIFU note on doctoral employment

Funding and Trondheim living costs

• Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund pension explanation
• NTNU Trondheim living-expense estimates
• NTNU housing information
• NTNU housing for international researchers and PhDs