At the DeCKS Lab, we study how preschool children become social learners: whom they copy, whom they trust, and how they come to understand and follow social norms. Below are our ongoing empirical projects and the stage each one is at.
Ongoing Projects
Overimitation Functions
When learning a new skill, do children prefer to copy a teammate (even if they are not knowledgeable) or someone knowledgeable (even if they are not a teammate)?
Lead Researcher: Yağmur Esendemir
Overimitation Language
Does hearing language during a demonstration lead preschoolers to copy the demonstrator’s manner more faithfully, and how is this related to the way mothers use instructional language when scaffolding their children?
Lead Researcher: Ezgi Özgan
Trust Parenting
How do parents’ supportive guidance and use of white lies influence their children’s tendency to copy actions and select who to trust for new information?
Lead Researchers: Hasan Deniz Baran and Ezgi Özgan
Trust Reflection
When children choose a reliable person over an unreliable one, do they truly understand the concept of trust, or are they just avoiding the person who was wrong?
Lead Researchers: Ezgi Özgan and Ertaç Yılmaz Beşpınarlı
Overimitation Reasons
How does a violation of cultural customs, whether by a native or a foreigner, affect preschoolers’ subsequent trust in that individual as a source of cultural information?
Lead Researcher: Ezgi Özgan
Grants
The Role of Epistemic Reflection in Preschoolers’ Social Learning (225K175)
Funder: TÜBİTAK 1001 – Scientific and Technological Research Projects Funding Program
Duration: April 2026 – December 2027
Related Projects:
Join Us as a Research Assistant
We welcome undergraduate students interested in developmental psychology and cognitive science. Research assistants take part in data collection with children in preschools, coding of video data, and literature reviews.
To apply, send an email with your CV and a short note about your interests to deckslab@bilkent.edu.tr.
Families interested in taking part in our studies can reach us through the Contact page.