PhD position in Communication Science: Explaining Susceptibility to Health Hacks

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU); Netherlands; On-site; EUR 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday leave entitlement 232 hours

8% holiday allowance

8.3% end-of-year bonus

Commuting expense support

Personalized benefits package

Access to sports facilities

Job summary

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) invites applications for a full-time four-year PhD position in Track B of Hooked by the Health Hack, focusing on how young adults encounter and evaluate online health hacks. You will design panels, run experiments, perform content analysis, and integrate findings with Track A, under supervision in the Department of Communication Science; start 1 January 2027.

Applicants must hold a research Master’s degree and have strong quantitative skills and English writing

Qualifications

• Completed (research) Master’s degree in Communication Science or related social science discipline.
• Strong quantitative research skills including survey design and experimental design.
• Proficiency in statistical analysis, preferably in R, with experience in advanced methods.

Responsibilities

• Conduct multimodal content analysis of hazardous online health hacks.
• Design and field large-scale panel surveys on susceptibility factors.
• Conduct online and laboratory experiments on intuitive and reflective processing.
• Evaluate intervention strategies and publish results.

Education

Master’s degree in Communication Science

Tools

R

Job description

Communication sciences » Science communication

Organisation / Company Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU)
Research Field Communication sciences » Science communication
Communication sciences » Media studies
Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1)
Application Deadline 26 Oct 2026 - 22:59 (UTC)
Country Netherlands
Type of Contract Temporary
Job Status Not Applicable
Hours Per Week 38.0
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

Social media are full of "health hacks": short, practical tips promising quick improvements in health, wellbeing, or appearance. While many are harmless, others are misleading or even hazardous, ranging from extreme detox regimens and homemade sunscreen recipes to unproven remedies promoted as alternatives to medical treatment.

This PhD position is part of Hooked by the Health Hack, a four‑year research project funded by NWO (Open Competition SSH) and carried out by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam. The project examines how young adults encounter and evaluate health hacks, and why some hacks are so persuasive, focusing on the interplay between individual characteristics, features of the online context, and cognitive processing during exposure.

The project focuses on young adults aged 18–25. In this life stage of growing independence and identity exploration, health beliefs, routines, and self‑perceptions are actively taking shape. This makes young adults a particularly relevant group for understanding both the appeal and the consequences of online health hacks.

The project will generate knowledge to inform user‑centred strategies that strengthen resilience to misleading and harmful health advice online. These strategies aim to support critical evaluation while respecting people's autonomy in making their own health decisions.

The project brings together communication science, health psychology, and behavioural and cognitive science in an integrated mixed‑methods design. Two closely aligned PhD tracks follow a shared three‑stage research route: (1) identifying key individual and contextual factors, (2) examining the cognitive processes through which these factors shape evaluations during exposure, and (3) translating these insights into intervention strategies.

Track A uses participatory research methods; Track B uses survey and experimental research. The two PhD candidates work closely together to develop a shared conceptual model and co‑create interventions. This vacancy concerns Track B, based at the Communication Science department of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Track B — Survey and experimental research

Track B provides the explanatory, mechanism‑testing perspective within the project: it examines how and why individual and contextual factors make people susceptible to hazardous health hacks, by testing the cognitive processes at work during actual exposure to these hacks. Your work draws on dual‑process theories of reasoning, distinguishing fast, intuitive processing from slower, reflective evaluation.

Your work will include:

• Conducting a multimodal content analysis of hazardous online health hacks.
• Designing and fielding a large‑scale panel survey on individual and contextual susceptibility factors.
• Conducting controlled online and/or laboratory experiments on intuitive and reflective processing during exposure to health hacks.
• Experimentally evaluating intervention strategies co‑developed with Track A.
• Integrating quantitative findings with Track A’s participatory research in a joint mixed‑methods synthesis.
• Publishing research, presenting at conferences, and contributing to knowledge exchange with practice partners.
• A completed (research) Master’s degree in Communication Science, (Media, Social, or Cognitive) Psychology, or a related social science discipline, obtained by the start of the position.
• Strong quantitative research skills, including survey design and experimental design.
• Proficiency in statistical analysis (e.g., in R) and, preferably, experience with advanced techniques such as multilevel modelling, mediation/moderation analysis, or structural equation modelling.
• Affinity with, or willingness to quickly develop expertise in, dual‑process theories of reasoning and cognitive processing paradigms.
• Genuine interest in health communication, misinformation, and the psychology of persuasion.
• Excellent academic writing and communication skills in English.
• A collaborative mindset and willingness to work closely with a parallel PhD track with a different methodological orientation, and to contribute to genuinely interdisciplinary integration.
• The ability to work independently and take ownership of a substantial part of a multi‑year, multi‑stage research project.

Additional Information

• A full‑time PhD position for a total of four years (initial contract of one year, extended after a positive assessment), embedded in the Department of Communication Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and its graduate school. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract.
• A salary of € 3.204,00 (PhD) and maximum € 4.051,00 (PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full‑time employment.
• Close supervision, embedded in a well‑resourced, interdisciplinary team.
• A genuinely collaborative research environment, with a sister PhD position (Track A) at Erasmus University Rotterdam and links to national networks in media literacy and digital wellbeing.

Benefits

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and arrangements. Some examples:

• A full‑time 38‑hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part‑timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end‑of‑year bonus
• Contribution to commuting expenses
• Optional model for designing a personalized benefits package
• A wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

Interviews (in Amsterdam or online) are expected to take place between 2-14 November. Expected start date is 1 January 2027.

For questions about the position, please contact dr. M.A. Tanis, [e-mail].