Tiltfactor Seeking Postdoctoral Researcher

UPDATE: Position has been filled. Thanks to all who applied!

The Tiltfactor game design and research laboratory at Dartmouth College (https://tiltfactor.org) is seeking applications for a full-time postdoctoral research position in social psychology for the 2015-2016 academic year. Tiltfactor Lab at Dartmouth College designs, creates, and studies games for social impact. The lab’s projects include games that address (and change) biases and stereotypes; games for health, which seek to educate players about issues in public health and health care delivery; and crowdsourcing games, which aim to harness the power of crowds to gather new information.  The postdoctoral researcher will design and conduct formal empirical studies on games.  The lab’s previous games include board games, card games, sports, and digital games. A suite of games addressed gender bias in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), such as the lab’s party games Awkward Moment, Awkward Moment at Work, and Buffalo The Name Dropping Game. Currently, we are working on a National Science Foundation-funded project that uses “interactive text adventures” to improve the classroom climate for underrepresented students in STEM classrooms.  Other current projects focus on topics ranging from counteracting climate change to modeling effective bystander interventions in cases of potential sexual assault.

Given the multidisciplinary, evidence-driven nature of our projects, the candidates for the position will have excellent experimental design expertise and will likely have interests that span several disciplines and domains, including, but not limited to, psychology, narrative, learning sciences, games, and human-computer interaction.

The researcher’s work will include informal playtests and focus groups with games in development; quick, tactical assessments of a particular game’s efficacy and impact; as well as longitudinal studies testing the long-term effects of a game on players’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. In addition, the researcher will work closely with the design team to ensure the conception and execution of the lab’s games are informed by relevant theory and current research findings from psychology and related fields, and contribute novel research questions about games and their impact.

A background in psychology, learning science, or educational technology is essential, and experience with experimental design and both qualitative and quantitative research methods is required. Candidates should have a Ph.D. in a relevant field, or be on track to finish by August 2015. The position is contingent upon funding.

The candidate’s passions should be well aligned with ours, which would allow the candidate to build his/her research profile within our community. Collaborating on and submitting articles to peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, as well as working on grant proposals, will be expected, as will a high level of mentoring of the lab’s diverse and talented team of undergraduate design and research assistants. No formal teaching requirement is anticipated, but teaching possibilities might open up over the course of the candidate’s time with the lab.. We provide a provocative, central role in digital culture creation on campus, with regular open houses, demos, and game nights in our lab space in Dartmouth’s Visual Arts Center, and the lab prides itself on being an eclectic, active, lively hub of creativity and innovation.

Review of candidates will begin upon receipt of materials, with interviews being scheduled mid April 2015. The process will continue until the position is successfully filled. This position is renewable upon successful completion of first year. We expect applicants to be familiar with our work and to be able to discuss specific ways they could contribute.

Applicants should apply via email by submitting

  1. A letter of intent
  2. CV
  3. Research statement
  4. Reprints or preprints of 2 relevant publications
  5. URLs (if applicable)
  6. Contact information for three academic references

Please send this material to: geoff(at)tiltfactor(dot)org.

Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a strong commitment to diversity. In that spirit, we are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of people, including women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, veterans or any other legally protected group.

Essential Qualifications: To be considered, candidates should have a Ph.D. in psychology or learning sciences, or be on track to finish by August 2015. We unfortunately cannot accept ABD students for this position.

Education Required: Doctorate Degree