Postdoctoral Scholar - Psychology

The Meta-Cognition and Applied Memory Lab at Tufts University invites applications for a postdoctoral research associate to contribute to ongoing NSF Growing Convergence Research projects examining how students experience and respond to uncertainty during STEM learning. In this work, uncertainty refers to situations in which learners encounter information they cannot immediately interpret, resolve, or integrate. This includes moments of confusion during problem solving, conflicting interpretations of data, incomplete or ambiguous explanations, and breakdowns in understanding while learning new concepts. These experiences can lead to productive engagement and deeper learning, or to disengagement and avoidance, depending on how they are interpreted and regulated.

The research focuses on identifying the cognitive, affective, and social processes that shape these responses. Current projects examine how students monitor and interpret their own confusion, how those interpretations guide attention and information seeking, and how patterns of responding to uncertainty develop over time. A central component of the work also examines autobiographical memory for past experiences of uncertainty in learning, including how individuals recall and reinterpret prior episodes of confusion and how those memories shape future engagement, persistence, and sense of agency in STEM contexts.

The postdoctoral associate will design and conduct experimental and field-based studies, analyze behavioral and related data, and contribute to manuscript preparation and project deliverables. The position involves collaboration with interdisciplinary partners and includes opportunities to mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Metacognition and self-regulated learning in STEM contexts
• Cognitive and affective responses to confusion, ambiguity, or unresolved information
• Autobiographical memory and its role in shaping learning or decision-making
• Experimental design and quantitative analysis (e.g., mixed-effects models or related approaches)
• Research conducted in classroom or other in situ learning environments
• Modeling based approaches

This position offers the opportunity to contribute to a set of coordinated projects examining how students interpret and respond to uncertainty in STEM learning and how those processes can be leveraged to support sustained engagement and effective learning.

Applicants should have a Ph.D. in psychology, cognitive science, education, or a related field by the start date. Strong methodological and analytical skills are required.

The appointment is for one year, with the possibility of renewal based on performance, funding, and mutual agreement.