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Language and Cognition Lab

The Language and Cognition lab at Koç University investigates the relation between language and various thinking processes using multiple populations (children, adults, brain injured patients) and methodologies (e.g., looking time-eye tracking, act-out tasks, linguistic analyses). In particular, our developmental studies focus on how children learn their native language, what the precursors are for learning relational language (verbs and prepositions), and how other modalities such as gesture interact with these processes. Our adult cognitive studies examine the interaction of language with multiple domains such as time perception, time-space interaction, and motion events. In most of our research questions, we closely examine the role of gestures in thinking, communicating, and executing information. In this line of research, we also investigate the questions related to understanding and comprehending gestures. For more information please visit our Language and Cognition Lab webpage.

Research Areas

• Early language development
• Causal understanding and causal language
• Language and thought (time & space, time & language, spatial events)
• Gesture (gesture comprehension, gesture & language)
• Neuropsychology of language
• Development of aesthetics

People

Current Post-Docs and Graduate Students

• Burcu Arslan
• Gyulten Hyusein
• Emir Yiğitcan Akbuğa
• İpek Gürbüzsel
• İbrahim Akkan
• Begüm Yılmaz
• Can Avcı
• Hazal Civelek

Undergraduate Independent Study/Honors Students

• Süleyman Can Ceylan
• Arda İçen

Alumni

• Salih Can Özdemir - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at University of California, San Diego)
• Şeref Can Esmer - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at Yale University)
• Burcu Arslan - (PhD student, Current Position: Post-doc Koç University)
• Dilay Karadöller - (Post-doc, Current Position: Asst. Prof. at METU)
• Ceylan Beşevli - (PhD student, Current Position: Post-doc at University College London)
• Işıl Doğan - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at University of California, Davis)
• Demet Özer - (Post-doc, PhD & MA student, Current Position: Asst. Prof.at Kadir Has University)
• Esma Nur Asalıoğlu - (MA student)
• Erim Kızıldere - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at University of California, Davis)
• Mert Kobaş - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at New York University)
• Zeynep Adıgüzel - (MA student)
• Aslı Aktan Erciyes - (Post-doc, Current Position: Asst. Prof. at Kadir Has University)
• Junko Kanero - (Post-doc, Current Position: Asst. Prof. at Sabancı University)
• Gökçe Elif Baykal - (PhD student, After the lab:Post-doctoral researcher at Aarhus University, Current Position: Asst. Prof. at Özyeğin University)
• Ahmet Börütecene - (PhD student, Current Position:Post-doctoral researcher at Linköping University)
• Sümeyra Saatçi - (MA student, Current Position: MA student in Clinical Psychology At Koç University)
• Zeynep Aslan - (MA student,Current Position: PhD Student at University of Chicago)
• Hazal Kartalkanat - (MA student, Current Position:Project Coordinator at Social Innovation Center)
• Seda Akbıyık - (MA student,Current Position:PhD Student at Harvard University)
• Niloofar Akhavan - (MA student, Current Position:PhD Student at UCSD-San Diego State University)
• Esra Nur Çatak - (MA student, Current Position:PhD Student at Bilkent University)
• Ayşenur Karaduman - (MA student, Current Position:PhD Student at Bilkent University)
• Eylül Turan - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, After the lab: MA Student at University of Amsterdam, Current Position: PhD Student at KU Leuven)
• Orhun Uluşahin - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, After the lab: MA Student at Radboud University, Current Position: PhD Student at Max Planck Psycholinguistics)
• Can Çarkoğlu - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, After the lab: MA Student at University of Chicago, Current Position: PhD Student at Purdue University)
• Yağmur Deniz Kısa - (Undergraduate student, Current Position: PhD Student at University of Chicago)
• Melis Çetinçelik - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, Current Position: PhD Student at Radboud University)
• Deniz Çetin - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, Current Position: PhD Student at Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
• Sevgi Bahtiyar - (Undergraduate Honors Thesis student, Current Position: PhD Student at Radboud University)

Current Collaborators

• Prof. Aylin Küntay - (Koç University, Department of Psychology)

• Asst. Prof. Özlem Ece Demir-Lira (University of Iowa, Department of Psychology)

• Asst. Prof. Aslı Aktan-Erciyes (Kadir Has University, Department of Psychology)

• Prof. Oğuzhan Özcan – (Koç University, Department of Media and Visual Arts - Design Lab)

• Asst. Prof. Aykut Coşkun – (Koç University, Department of Media and Visual Arts - Design Lab)

• Prof. Deniz Yüret - (Koç University, Department of Computer Engineering)

• Assoc.Prof. Aykut Erdem – (Koç University, Department of Computer Engineering)

• Assoc.Prof. Erkut Erdem – (Hacettepe University, Department of Computer Engineering)

• Assoc. Prof. Nazbanou Bonnie Nozari - (Carnegie Mellon University, Department of Psychology)

• Assoc. Prof. Alex Kranjec - (Duquesne University, Department of Psychology)

• Prof. Julio Santiago - (University of Granada, Department of Psychology)

• Assoc. Prof. Çağla Aydın - (Sabancı University, Department of Psychology)

• Prof. Sabine Stoll (University of Zurich, Department of Linguistics)

• Prof. Moritz Daum (University of Zurich, Department of Psychology)

• Asst. Prof. Nate George (Adelphi University, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies)

• Prof. Roberta Golinkoff – (University of Delaware, Department of Psychology)

• Prof. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek - (Temple University, Department of Psychology)

Last Modified:July 2023