Psycholinguistics Laboratory

Appplied Memory and Forensic Psychology Lab

Cognition in Action Lab

Place-Identity-Memory (PIM) Research Group

Diverse Social Psychology Lab

Sleep Behaviours Research Group

Psycholinguistics Laboratory   

The Psycholinguistics Lab aims to explore how human language is presented and processed in our minds and brains and how these representations and processes interact with other domains of cognition. Our research is primarily experimental and interdisciplinary that spans various areas and topics in the language sciences such as linguistics. We are specifically interested in investigating language processing in understudied languages with unique orthographies.  Areas of interest include, but not limited to, reading, typical and atypical language development, developmental dyslexia, the development of normative and diagnostic tools to assess literacy skills, cognitive neuropsychology of language such as acquired dyslexia and aphasia as well as the relationship between language and other cognitive systems, such as exploring the role of memory in bilingualism and Alzheimer's.  

Director 
Professor Dr Ilhan Raman 
BSc(Hons), PhD, PGCertHE, AFBPsS
Chartered Psychologist
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK 
Department of Psychology, EMU 

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Applied Memory and Forensic Psychology Lab  

The Applied Memory and Forensic Psychology Lab was founded in 2022 and led by Assist. Prof. Dr. Dilek Çelik and Assist. Prof. Dr. Burcu Kaya Kızılöz. Our lab has a reading group consisting of graduate and undergraduate students, where we discuss theories, methodological issues, and practical applications of eyewitness memory research. Our primary objective is to carry out research on memory's role in forensic settings. For this purpose we examine the impact of various system variables, such as the type of interview, interview instructions, misinformation effect, and estimator variables like witnesses' age, gender, suggestibility, and the characteristics of the witnessed event on eyewitness memory and confidence accuracy.

Cognition in Action Lab   

Cognition in Action Lab carries out research trying to understand the cognitive processes involved in how people control their behaviour implicitly as well as explicitly. Example research questions include

• How early can people detect that they made (or about to make) an error?
• How does one's skill level affect their awareness of their movements?
• Is conscious awareness of an error necessary for detection and correction of errors?
• What kinds of inputs are needed and used by the cogntive control system to monitor performance to achieve high accuracy?

We use behavioural as well as electrophysiological data to test hypotheses regarding questions similar to those above. A priority is to use ecological tasks like typing when testing competing theories.

Our lab is equipped with a 32 channel EEG system, a high speed keyboard and specialized computer software that allows us to create and use a wide range of research designs and carry out advanced data analysis.

If you are interested in becoming a member of our team, please reach out at cigir.kalfaoglu@emu.edu.tr

​​Place-Identity-Memory (PIM) Research Group

​​How do our perceptions, emotions, and discourses about the house, neighborhood, city, and country we live in occur? What are the reflections of spaces in our minds, or how are they represented in our minds? What is the role of design on our spatial experiences? Where do we feel at home and where do we feel like outsiders? Why do we miss our hometown or school, or avoid going to a certain place?  What are the social and cultural bases of our spatial memory? Can our collective memory be considered apart from our spatial memory? Do our social identities have spatial boundaries? What are the spatial factors that contribute to social harmony or inter-group conflicts?

​Our research group, established in 2024, searches for the answers to the above and similar questions in view of the concepts and theories of social and environmental psychology disciplines. It aims to contribute knowledge production through various field studies. The group's student members can participate in various field studies to gain research experience and observe real-life reflections of the social-psychological concepts and theories they have learned. In pursuing these goals, they can use both qualitative and quantitative research methods. 

Contact information: pimresearchgroup@gmail.com ; pelin.karakus@emu.edu.tr 
Group's instagram account: @pimresearchgroup​
Assist. Prof. Pelin Karakuş Akalın
EMU, Department of Psychology

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Diverse Social Psychology Lab

 ​The Diverse Social Psychology Lab aims to bring together students interested in topics of human interaction and societal influences as they relate to diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Our key research areas include:
Intergroup Relations: Examining how individuals from different social, ethnic, or cultural groups interact, and the dynamics of prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping.

Prejudice Reduction: Exploring strategies and interventions aimed at decreasing negative attitudes, stereotypes, and discriminatory behaviors toward individuals based on their group membership, such as increasing intergroup contact & fostering empathy.

LGBTI+ Psychology: Understanding the experiences, well-being and mental health of individuals who identify as LGBTI+ and other diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Particularly focusing on the impact of stigma and discrimination on LGBTI+ individuals.

Gender Psychology: Investigating how social, cultural, and psychological factors shape gender identities, roles, and expectations as well as how societal norms and stereotypes contribute to gender inequalities. 

Intersectionality: Exploring how overlapping identities (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation) influence experiences of discrimination or privilege.

Microaggressions: Research on the subtle, often unintentional, forms of discrimination and how they impact marginalized individuals.

Social Change and Activism: Understanding how collective action and movements for social justice emerge.

Cultural Psychology: Examining how culture shapes thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, including cultural differences in values, norms, and communication styles.

If you are interested in any of these topics please contact: shenelhusnu.raman@emu.edu.tr for further information. 

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Sleep Behaviours Research Group  ​

Sleep Behaviours Research Group (UDAG, i.e. the Turkish abbreviation of Lab's name), established and led by Assist. Prof. Gökçe Yılmaz Akdoğan has involved several undergraduate and graduate students as research assistants since 2020.​

Our mission is to understand the development and predictors of sleep behaviours and sleep problems in infants, children, adolescents, and emerging adults and establish culturally sensitive and effective intervention programs.  

So far, two projects, namely, the effectiveness of internet-based behavioural sleep interventions for Turkish infants, and the effectiveness of a self-management education program for university students with insomnia, have been completed and the publication process continues. In addition, one master's thesis is completed, and three master's theses are still in progress.

Our vision is to provide high-quality research about sleep development and interventions to both Turkish and worldwide sleep literature;  to allow EMU psychology students to participate in the processes of single-case experimental research;  to provide information for people who are interested in reading articles about sleep (normative), behaviourism, sleep behaviours and sleep problems in the general population by sharing our knowledge via our Instagram account.

For more information please email gokce.akdogan@emu.edu.tr or visit @dau.udag​ on Instagram.​
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Welcome to the Laboratory for Clinical and Lifelong Developmental Studies (Klinik ve Yaşam Boyu Gelişim Çalısmaları Laboratuvarı) ​

Objective

We aim to study lifelong developmental and clinical processes which enable human beings to adapt to their environment in a functional way. We are currently working towards a project on exploring the underlying processes of parenting and child development in the context of North Cyprus examined in a longitudinal design which is planned to cover lives of parents and their children from antenatal through to adulthood periods. 

​People

Graduate students

To join our lab as a graduate student, please contact us!

Undergraduate students

To join our lab as an undergraduate student, please contact us!

Collaborators

​Lab Directors

Fatih Bayraktar

Associate Professor

Head of EMU Department of Psychology

Professional Background

Dr. Fatih Bayraktar completed his BSc degree in Middle East Technical University Psychology Department in 1998. He started his MSc education in Developmental Psychology at Ege University while working in various Special Education Centers. His master thesis titled “The Role of Internet Usage among Adolescents" was successfully defensed in 2001. He then returned to North Cyprus to finish the military service. Meanwhile he started to give lectures in Developmental Psychology in a private university and worked as school psychologist in a private college. In 2005 he was accepted to the Developmental Psychology PhD program in Hacettepe University Psychology Department. In 2006 he started to work as a research assistant in Psychology Department of Ankara University. In 2008 he moved back to North Cyprus as a full-time lecturer in Eastern Mediterranean University. Between years 2011-2012 he was the vice dean of Faculty of Arts & Sciences. In 2013 he won a scholarship by EU for post-doc in Masaryk University Faculty of Social Sciences Institute for Research on Children, Youth and Family. In 2015 he was promoted to associate professorship in Developmental Psychology. In 2018 he was elected as the chair of Eastern Mediterranean University Psychology Department.

Some of his research interests are as follows: Prosocial-antisocial behaviors among adolescents; Internet use/misuse among adolescents; Resilience; Bullying/cyberbullying; Minority children/adolescents and their online risks/opportunities; Parental mediation strategies.

Recent Publications

Tufan, İ, & Bayraktar, F. (in press). The Predictors of Time Perspectives: A Comparative Study from Cyprus. Nesne Psikoloji Dergisi.

Bayraktar, F., & Wright, M. F. (2020). The longitudinal associations of cyberbullying and cybervictimization: Preliminary Findings from a Two Wave Study. In  M.F. Wright & L. Schiamberg, (Eds.). Child and Adolescent  Online Risks Exposure: An Ecological Perspective, pp. 129-147, Elsevier, San Diego, USA.

Oztekin, R.H. & Bayraktar, F. (2019). How Decisiveness, Self-Efficacy, Curiosity and Independent/Interdependent Self-Construals Are Related with Future Hopefulness among Senior Students.  Behavioral Sciences, 9, 1-11.

Bayraktar, F. (2019). Individual level predictors of face to face bullying: The findings of a two-wave longitudinal study. In I. V. Ancho, & K. R. Palces (Eds.) School Violence: Risk Factors, Prevention and Challenges,pp. 23-47, Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers.

Wright, M. F., Yanagida, T., Machackova, H., Dedkova, L., Sevcikova, A., Aoyama, I.,Bayraktar, F., Kamble, S. V., Li, Z., Soudi, S., Lei, L., & Shu, C. (2018). Face-to-face  and cyber victimization among adolescents in six countries: The interaction between attributions and coping strategies. Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma,11, 99-112.

Ugur, S. & Bayraktar, F. (2018).  The role of status related and parental variables on adolescents' bullying behavior. Journal of Global Research in Education and Social Science, 12, 180-191.

Wright, M.F., Yanagida, T., Aoyama, I., Ševčíková, A.,  Macháčková, H., Dědková, L., Li, Z.,Kamble, S.V., Bayraktar, F., Soudi, S., Lei, L., & Shu, C. (2017). Differences in Severity and Emotions for Public and Private Face-to-face and Cyber Victimization Across Six Countries.  Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48, 1216-1229.   

Bayraktar, F. (2017). Çevrimiçi Riskler ve Ebeveyn Aracılık Stratejileri: Avrupa ve Türkiye'de Yaşayan  Türk  Kökenli  Çocuk/Ergenlerin Karşılaştırılması. Eğitim ve Bilim [Education and Science],  190, 25-37.

Wright, M.F., Yanagida, T., Aoyama, I., Dedkova, L., Li, Z., Kamble, S.V., Bayraktar, F., Sevcikova, A., Soudi, S., Machackova, H., Li, L. & Shu, C. (2017). Differences in Attributions for Public and Private Face-to-face and Cyber Victimization among Adolescents in China, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, and the United States. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development, 178 (1), 1-14.

Bayraktar, F. (2016). Does culture matter? Cyberbullying perpetration and Cybervictimization in Mediterranean Sea Region. In M.F. Wright  (Ed.). A Social-Ecological Approach to Cyberbullying, pp.253-268, Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers.  

Bayraktar, F., Barbovschi, M., & Kontríková, V.  (2016) Risky sociability and personal agency: Offline meetings with online contacts among European children and adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 70, 78-83.

Wright, M.F., Yanagida, T., Sevcikova, A., Aoyama, I., Dedkova, L., Cerna, A., Li, Z., Kamble, S.V., Bayraktar, F., Soudi, S., Li, L. & Shu, C. (2016). Differences in Coping Strategies for Public and Private Face-to-face and Cyber Victimization among Adolescents in Six Countries. International Journal of Developmental Science, 10, 43-53.

Wright, M. F.,Barbovschi, M. & Bayraktar, F. (2016). Do parents' attitudes toward outdoor play and hanging out influence adolescents' technology use? Journal of Global Research in Education and Social Science, 6 (4), 244-254

Bayraktar, F. (2015). A step toward understanding cross-cultural and cross-national variances in cyberbullying.  In Cheever, N.,  Rosen, L.,  Carrier,M.  (Eds.). The Handbook of Psychology, Technology, and Society, pp.158-175, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK. 

Bayraktar, F., Machackova, H., Dedkova, L., Cerna, A., & Sevcikova, A. (2015). Cyberbullying: The discriminant factors among cyberbullies, cybervictims, and cyberbullies/victims in a Czech adolescent sample.  Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30 (18), 3192-3216.

Bosman, J., Bayraktar, F., & d'Haenens, L. (2015). Children's digital media practices within the European family home: Does perceived discrimination matter? Journal of Children and Media, Special Issue: Children and Media in the Family Context, 77-94. 

Recent Presentations

Bayraktar, F. (2019, July). The Longitudinal Associates of Cyberbullying and Cybervictimization in a Turkish Cypriot Adolescent Sample. Paper presented at XVI. European Congress of Psychology, Moscow, Russia.

Öztekin, R.H., & Bayraktar, F. (2019, July). How Decisiveness, Self-Efficacy and Independent/Interdependent Self-Construals Are Related With Future Hopefulness Among Senior Students. Paper presented at XVI. European Congress of Psychology, Moscow, Russia.

Bayraktar, F. (2018, July). The predictors of hedonistic and future oriented time perspectives in a sample of Turkish Cypriot adolescents . Poster accepted to be presented at ISSBD 2018, Gold Coast Queensland, Australia. 

Uğur, S., & Bayraktar, F. (2018, July).  The role of individual, peer related and parental variables on bullying in a Turkish Cypriot adolescent sample. Poster accepted to be presented at ISSBD 2018, Gold Coast Queensland, Australia. 

Tufan, İ., & Bayraktar, F. (2018, July). The associations between time perspectives and psychological difficulties: Sample with and without traumatic tendency. Poster accepted to be presented at ISSBD 2018, Gold Coast Queensland, Australia.

Bayraktar, F. (2018, July). Personality related, emotional and behavioral predictors of cyberbullying and cybervictimization in a sample of Turkish Cypriot adolescent. Poster accepted to be presented at ISSBD 2018, Gold Coast Queensland, Australia. 

Bayraktar, F. (2016, July). The predictors of hedonistic and future oriented time perspectives among Turkish Cypriot adolescents. Paper presented at XXXI. International Congress of Psychology, Yokohama, Japan.

​Yılmaz, O., & Bayraktar, F. (2016, July).The role of personality traits, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control in Internet and gaming dependency. Paper presented at XXXI. International Congress of Psychology, Yokohama, Japan.

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 Gökçe Yılmaz Akdoğan

Assistant Professor

Professional Background

Dr. Yılmaz Akdoğan completed her bachelors in the Department of Psychology at Middle East Technical University, Turkey (2005). She completed her MSc in Child Development (2009) at Hacettepe University, Ankara-Turkey on psychological assessment of sexually abused 6-12 year-old children using Kinetic Family Drawings while working at the Child Protection Centre in Gazi University Hospital. Dr. Yılmaz Akdoğan then moved on to private practice in paediatric settings, working with families who seek consultancy for their infants' development and self-regulatory skills. In 2014 she moved to Christchurch, New Zealand and received a Postgraduate Diploma on Child and Family Psychology (PgDipSc) and completed her Ph.D. in Psychology at University of Canterbury (2018) focusing on the effects of behavioural sleep interventions for infant sleep problems on infant attachment quality.

Her area of research includes but not limited to infant sleep problems, behavioural sleep interventions, and the development of self-regulation and attachment through infancy and toddlerhood.

​Selected Publications

Kutsal, E., Pasli, F., Sahin, F., Isikli, S., Yilmaz, G. & Beyazova, U. (2011). Preliminary validation of The Child Abuse Potential Inventory in Turkey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(14), 2856-2865.

​Selected Presentations

Akdogan, G. Y., France, K. G., & Blampied, N. (2017). What parent and child factors predict parental help-seeking for paediatric sleep disturbance (PSD)? Sleep Medicine, 40, e355.

Boran, R., Beyazova, U., Yılmaz, G., İlhan, M.N., Şahin, F., Çamurdan, A.D. (2011). Factors affecting the maternal bonding of mothers in a well-child clinic of a university hospital (in Turkish). 1st National Congress on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics; Ankara, Turkey.

Şerif Türkkal Yenigüç

Professional Background

Şerif Türkkal Yenigüç completed her bachelors at METU in Psychology (2011). In her Masters training she studied Child and Adolescent Psychology at Leiden University in the Netherlands (2012). During her masters training at Leiden, she worked as a research assistant in the Brain and Development Lab. She completed her master thesis on The Role of Parental Over-Protection on Rumination Mediated by Negative Self-Beliefs under Dr Miers' and Dr Blöte's supervision. Her master thesis was part of a project leaded by Prof. Michiel Westenberg on Social Anxiety and School Refusal in which the maturation of behavior and brain function in social anxiety is investigated in relation to genes versus environment.

She finished her PhD in Clinical Psychology at University of Nicosia. Her dissertation is on Identity in Cyprus and Its relation with Psychological Health. As part of her PhD she completed over1500 hours of practice under supervision at KESY, which is a Counseling Service run by University of Nicosia. Also as part of her training, she worked at Kırıkkale University Hospital, Psychiatry Department both in inpatient and outpatient services as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist. Her area of research includes but not limited to social and personal identity, self-continuity, cognitive dissonance, parenting, anxiety, psychological well-being.

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Emre Alpay

Professional Background

Emre Alpay is PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Mersin. He worked as psychologist in juvenile court and state hospital. Then, he spent 6 years as research assistant in Mersin University. He joined EMU psychology department in 2019.

Emre is currently working on his dissertation about maternal narcissism, self-criticism and psychopathology.  His  research interests focused on parenting, self-criticism, personality disorders, emotion dysregulation, narcissism and childhood traumas.

​Publications

Belli, H., Özçetin, A., Ertem, Ü., Alpay, E., Bahçebaşı, T., Kıran, Ü. K., ... & Bayık, Y. (2007). Şizofreni hastalarında bazı sosyodemografik özellikler ve tedavi ile ilişkili etkenler. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 8(2), 102-12.

Belli, S., Belli, H., Bahcebasi, T., Ozcetin, A., Alpay, E., & Ertem, U. (2008). Assessment of psychopathological aspects and psychiatric comorbidities in patients affected by tinnitus. European archives of otorhinolaryngology, 265(3), 279-285.

Alpay, E. (2017). Çocukluk çağı ihmal ve istismarının nörobiyolojik sonuçları: bir gözden geçirme. Journal Of Neurobehavioral Sciences, 4 , 126-133.

Alpay, E. H., Aydın, A., & Bellur, Z. (2017). Çocukluk Çağı Travmalarının Depresyon ve Travma Sonrası Stres Belirtileri İle İlişkisinde Duygu Düzenleme Güçlüklerinin Aracı Rolü (Tur). Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi, 20(3), 218-226.

Bellur, Z., Aydın, A., & Alpay, E. H. (2018). Mediating role of coping styles in personal, environmental and event related factors and posttraumatic growth relationships in women with breast cancer. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi, 21(1).

Alpay, E. H., Bellur, Z., & Aydin, A. (2018). The reliability and validity of the Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale (ICES)–Turkish Version. Dusunen Adam-Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences, 31(1), 40-49.

Presentations

Alpay, E., Aydın, A. & Bellur Z. (2017).The mediating role of the emotion dysregulation on the relationship between childhood traumas, post traumatic stress symptoms and depression. XVII World Congress of Psychiatry; Berlin, Germany

​Bellur Z., Aydın, A. & Alpay, E. (2017). Turkish translation and psychometric properties of the invalidating childhood environment scale (ICES).  XVII World Congress of Psychiatry; Berlin, Germany

Hasan Ergüler

Professional Background

Hasan Ergüler (MSc) completed his undergraduate trainings in Neuroscience (University of Edinburgh, 2010) and Psychology (Eastern Mediterranean University, 2015) prior to completing the MSc program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ankara, in 2017. Currently, he is a full-time PhD student in the General Psychology programme of the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. He is currently progressing in the data collection stage for his thesis focusing on the links between dispositional mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and psychological well-being, under the supervision of Dr. Nuno Ferreira.

Hasan is currently a part-time faculty in Eastern Mediterranean University and has teaching experiences on the introductory psychology, theories of personality, psychopathology, and clinical psychology courses. His research interests focus on secular Buddhist insights on psychology, ACT processes, mindfulness-based interventions, and future thinking in people suffering from depression as well as anxiety symptoms.

Publications

Ergüler, H. & Durak Batıgün, A. (2018). Geleceğe Yönelik Öngörüler Ölçeği (GYÖÖ)  Geçerlik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması - Subjective Probability Task: Validity and Reliability. J Clin Psy, 21, 168-176, DOI:10.5505/kpd.2017.76376.

Ergüler, H. & Durak Batıgün, A. (2020). "Depresyon ile Gelecege Yonelik Ongoruler ve Yurutsel   Islevler Degiskenleri Arasindaki Iliskilerin Incelenmesi - Examination of the Relationship Between Depression, Future Expectations, and Several Executive Function Variables. J Clin Psy, in press (ref.no:KPD-41033).

Upcoming Projects

EMU Longitudinal Study on Child Development, Parenting, and Adaptation

​The effectiveness of internet-based behavioural sleep interventions in Turkish families: A single case experimental study using multiple baseline across participants. Gökçe Yılmaz Akdoğan

​​Contact

If you are interested in joining our lab, participate in our research, or receive further information, feel free to email us:

fatih.bayraktar@emu.edu.tr 

gokce.akdogan@emu.edu.tr

emre.alpay@emu.edu.tr