Job Description

About us
UCL is a thriving world-leader for research and teaching. UCL is ranked top in the UK for research power in psychology, psychiatry, and neurosciences, and the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences (PALS) is ranked 2nd in the UK for Psychology in the latest THE rankings.
About the role
The post-holder will join the Causal Cognition Lab based in the Department of Experimental Psychology. The position is expected to start in November 2025 and is available for 15 months. The post-holder will work on the Templeton Foundation project 'Explaining Why: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Token Causality'. They will be supervised by Prof David Lagnado (UCL) and will work within an interdisciplinary team led by Prof Samatha Kleinberg (Stevens Institute, USA).
This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services-staff for more information.
The salary range for this post is: 45,103 - 46,261 per annum (inclusive of London allowance).
Interviews are scheduled for: 17 Nov 2025
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.
Research Fellows - Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD.
If you have any queries about the role, please contact Prof David Lagnado: .
If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact PaLS HR: .
The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work - please visit to find out more.
About you
Applicants should have a PhD in a relevant discipline (e.g. psychology, computer science, AI, health sciences etc) and knowledge of psychological models of causal judgment. The post-holder will contribute to theoretical work on causal judgment in decision making and the design and running of psychological experiments. They should have experience in programming online studies. Strong statistical skills and fluency with R (or equivalent) are also needed and the post-holder will take the lead in writing up some of the key publications from this project.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days' annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance

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Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.
Athena Swan Status Statement

• Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/
Available documents

Skills Required