Psychology – (Ph.D.)

Contents

To obtain a Ph.D., students with an undergraduate degree will complete at least 14 courses (max. 6 years), while those with a Master’s degree will complete at least 7 courses (max. 4 years).

The Cognitive Program in Psychology* provides students with advanced background in cognition, examining mental processes such as learning, perception, attention, memory, decision-making, and language with the option of specializing in cognitive and/or behavioral neuroscience. Research is central in our graduate training in this program. Students begin research immediately and have the chance to work with core cognitive faculty members as well as collaborate with faculty in related programs. With the acquired broad knowledge in cognition and the extensive research experience gained from this program, students acquire the necessary tools to develop their independent research careers.

* This program does not offer a terminal Master’s degree

Course Descriptions

Required Courses (3 courses in total from the following link):

PSYC 600 Advanced Research Seminar

PSYC 505 Culture and Self

This is a required course for both Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology doctoral programs. The formation of the self and its interaction with social-psychological-cognitive processes are studied in socio-cultural context and from developmental, cultural, and cross-cultural perspectives. The main topic of this course is the self, which has its antecedents in the beginnings of American psychology on the one hand, and in social psychological and sociological symbolic interactionism on the other hand. It is emphasized that self is the key to individual-society interface and is important for the theoretical advancement of both universal psychology and also for psychological applications directed at human well-being.

PSYC 509 Developmental Psychopathology

The field of developmental psychopathology seeks to describe and explain the etiological role of developmental processes in the formation of adaptive and maladaptive behavioral patterns in adulthood. To that end, the course readings emphasize the nature of cognitive, emotional, and motivational deficits that characterize disorders in adulthood and empirical research into their developmental roots in childhood and adolescence. In addition, an individual difference perspective is adopted to examine the risk and protective factors that predict the emergence of adaptive and maladaptive behavior patterns.

PSYC 517 Advanced Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Theories, Methodologies and Practices. The course will focus on state-of-the-art theoretical and methodological approaches in IO Psychology. Most recent research and theories on some of the most important subjects of the field like “criteria definition”, scientific bases of personnel decisions and industrial development will be discussed. Also in order to encourage students to have research experience in these areas, they will be asked to conduct a research project.

PSYC 552 Advanced Social Psychology

This is in an entry level course that involves discussion of some of the central theories and models and examination of most recent approaches and research in the field of social psychology. Another goal of this course is to provide the students with an overview of the methods and paradigms used by social psychologists.

PSYC 526 Cognitive Models and Theories History of cognitive psychology, models and theories about basic cognitive processes and the relationship of these theoretical approaches to attention, memory, knowledge representation, information processing, and problem solving, different approaches and methods to conceptualization of human mind.

ENGL 500 Graduate Writing

This is a writing course specifically designed to improve academic writing skills as well as critical reading and thinking. The course objectives will be met through extensive reading, writing and discussion both in and out
of class. Student performance will be assessed and graded by Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

Elective Courses (4 courses in total from the following list):

PSYC 512 Language Development

Theories and applications: Theoretical and measurement approaches to language development from infancy to school-age; language comprehension and production skills, narrative competence, role of environmental factors in the emergence and the development of language.

PSYC 617 Changing Family Structure and Dynamics

The family as a social system, a changing family system in a changing world: divorce, single-parent families, adoptive families, changing structure and dynamics of the Turkish family, family in the rural vs. urban contexts, gender roles in the Turkish family, Turkish migrant families.

PSYC 605 Cognitive Psychology and Aging

Cognitive changes accompanying aging, direct and indirect consequences of aging, problems of memory, problem solving, decision making, and attention.

PSYC 508 Human Memory

Theories of memory, methods of studying memory processes, the relationship between memory and other processes and contemporary research in memory.

PSYC 507 Evolution of Human Mind

The study of the structure of human mind and processes from an evolutionary perspective to understand the types of mental structures supported by natural and social conditions and the role of evolution in language, morality, cooperation, and theory of mind.

PSYC 608 Readings and Research in Autobiographical Memory

The history of autobiographical memory theoretical approaches, examination of literature, and participation in laboratory research.

PSYC 611 Psychology of Stress

This course examines the stress response at the physiological, endocrinological and psychological levels of analysis. Theoretical and empirical work will examine individual differences in the stress response, coping patterns and utilization of social support networks in terms of their relevance to stressors typically encountered in the family and work contexts. A portion of the course is designed to introduce stress management techniques and evaluate their relative effectiveness.

PSYC 523 Psychology of Close Relationships

Course readings and discussion will focus on theoretical and empirical work on the formation, maintenance and dissolution of close relationships. Readings will emphasize the role of cognitive factors, e.g. attributions, and emotional factors on interpersonal communication in the context of close relationships and they will cover marital relationships, friendships, parent-child, and family relationships. A portion of the readings will emphasize the social and policy implications of this research for issues such as divorce and family violence.

PSYC 614 Language-thought interfaces

The relationship of the linguistic system with other cognitive processes; the influence of language on perception and memory, crosslinguistic research, the role of general cognitive development on language development

PSYC 616. Pragmatic development

The role of language in forming oral narratives; language use in peer interactions; visual perspective taking and language; role of cognitive and social development on language competence.

PSYC 528 Socialization

Historical overview of socialization research and theory, socialization within biological frameworks, socialization across the lifespan, socialization with and outside the family, cultural perspectives on socialization, targets of socialization.

PSYC 520 Attitudes, Persuasion and Social Influence

This course will provide an overview of classic and recent research on attitudes and persuasion. Content will include broad coverage of the issues of major importance to attitude theory, but will focus on more recent issues and controversies that have captured the interest of researchers in the field. The class will cover topics such as structure and functions of attitudes, measurement, the role of memory, models of attitude change and persuasion, resistance, message design and evaluation. Students who take this course will become familiar with research methods and major issues in attitudes research and will have a better understanding of how individuals form, use, and maintain their evaluations. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to critique existing research and formulate new research ideas. Applications in the context of health, consumption, politics, and advertising will be covered throughout.

PSYC 524 Social Development

Social development in childhood; prosocial behavior, aggression, empathy, emotional and behavioral regulatory skills, examining how these skills and behaviors, individual and environmental factors affect development.

PSYC 521 Cognitive development

Theoretical and measurement approaches to children’s understanding of the physical and the mental world; assessment of intellectual development, language competence and communicative skills.

PSYC 525 Applied Developmental Psychology

This course will help develop the students' understanding of how the science of human development may contribute to address individual, familial, social, political, and economic problems. It will address how human potential can be realized at an individual level and how societal resources can be created, mobilized, and utilized to facilitate the realization of human potential.

PSYC 630 Research Practicum

Students are familiarized with problems that are frequently encountered during different phases of empirical research. Subsequently, students are guided through problem solving in an ongoing research project. Students gain experience in documentation, resolution, and the implementation of the solutions of problems in empirical research.

PSYC 532 Individual-Environment Interactions in Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology generally focuses on the effects of various aspects of the environment on individual attributes. However, contemporary theories of human development posit that the relation between the individual and the environment is bidirectional. Students are introduced to the theoretical and applied significance of studying such bidirectional influences. Next, data and methods that are required for the study of bidirectional individual-environment influences are discussed.

PSYC 531 The Role of Culture in the Theories and Methods of Developmental Psychology

Nearly all dominant contemporary theories and methods of developmental psychology were advanced by studying families and children in indivualistic cultures. Systematic investigation of these theories and methods are required in order to establish their universal validity or to revise them in order to attain universal validity. Students are introduced to the ways in which culture may influence theories and methods. Based on systematic investigation and empirical testing, students learn how to effectively revise developmental theories and methods.

PSYC 534 Selected Topics in Quantitative Psychological Research

There are a few problems that are frequently encountered in quantitative psycological research: modeling of longitudinal data, handling of multimethod measurements, use of ecological data that are clustered at different levels, modeling of ordinal data, and the influence of missing data on statistical modeling. The students will be familarized with contemporary approaches to these problems. With the help of the software that facilitate the implementation of these approaches, students tackle applied problems.

PSYC 635 Introduction to Behavioral Genetics

Behavioral genetics posit that individual characteristics are determined jointly by genetic and envronmental influences, and that it is impssible to determine the influence of the environement without recognizing the genetic influences. The students learn this approach to psychological phenomena. Data and methods that are required to identify genetic influences are introduced. Contemporary behavioral genetics research and findings are discussed and simple applications are practiced.

PSYC 556 Advanced Organizational Behavior

The course will focus on classical as well as most recent theories and research on the key topics in OB including leadership, teamwork, communication, organizational attitudes and organizational change and development. Interactive nature of the course will be enhanced by case analyses.

PSYC 555 Applied Social Psychology

Applications of social psychological theory, research, and methods to such domains as education, environment, the media, mental health, physical health and community.

PSYC 584 Theory and Research Methods in Cross-Cultural Psychology

The course is designed to discuss the theory and research strategies in cross-cultural psychology research. The discussions start with the epistomological approaches to cross-cultural research. The most recent advancements including multilevel theory and analyses will be introduced.

PSYC 664 Social Cognition

This course involves an in-depth analysis of socio cognitive theories regarding how people make sense of other people, themselves, and social situations. Social cognition is an approach to studying. The course will cover selected topics including factors that affect information processing, the role of emotions and memory, errors and biases, and the development of self-concept.

PSYC 506 Policy and Practice in Psychology

This course examines how social science, in particular psychology, can become relevant to social policy. The accountability of the psychologist to society can go beyond the individual and can inform policy in the service of human well-being. Examples from Turkey and around the world are examined. Students conduct projects regarding applications and policy recommendations.

PSYC 565 Selected Current Topics in Social Psychology

The goal of this course is to survey some of the current topics that engage social psychologists nowadays. Social psychological approaches to issues regarding education, health, politics and consumption will be examined at different time periods. Students will develop projects on topics of interest. Prerequisite: Advanced Social Psychology

PSYC 567 Attitudes and Persuasion

This course will provide an overview of classic and recent research on attitudes and persuasion. Content will include broad coverage of the issues of major importance to attitude theory, but will focus on more recent issues and controversies that have captured the interest of researchers in the field. The class will cover topics such as structure and functions of attitudes, measurement, the role of memory, models of attitude chaneg and persuasion, resistance, message design and evaluation. Students who take this course will become familiar with research methods and major issues in attitudes research and will have a better understanding of how individuals form, use, and maintain their evaluations. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to critique existing research and formulate new research ideas. Applications in the context of health, consumption, politics, and advertising will be covered throughout.

PSYC 572 Social Psychological Perspectives in Health Psychology

This course provides an introduction to the theoretical and methodological approaches that social psychologists have brought to the study of health behavior. People’s beliefs and practices about health and illness and how these health beliefs and practices affect their health related choices and behaviors will be examined. In examining these issues, special emphasis will be placed on evaluating theoretical models that have been developed to explain and change people's health practices. Program development and evaluation applications will be covered throughout the course.

PSYC 566 Cross-cultural approaches to Human Resource Management

Most contemporary application trends in human resources and how these trends are being affected by global work culture and local cultural context will be examined. HR specialists will be invited as guest speakers to talk about the correspondence between theory and practice. A research project will be conducted to increase exposure of students to the scientific literature in this area.

PSYC 511 Cognitive Neuroscience

This course gives a broad overview of the neural bases of cognition. It covers basic neuroanatomy, a description of the neuroscience methods, and a survey of fundamental topics such as neural basis of vision, executive function, learning and memory, attention, emotion, thinking and problem solving, and social cognition.

PSYC 515 Neural Bases of Memory

The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of the neural basis of memory. This course covers topics in cutting edge research related to the cognitive neuroscience of human memory, including neural correlates of working memory, cognitive control of memory, long-term memory encoding, long-term memory retrieval, and the impact of aging on various memory processes.

PSYC 527 Conditioning and Learning

This course involves a detailed study of major theories in the area of conditioning and learning. Topics covered include habituation, sensitization, classical conditioning, instrumental conditioning, stimulus control, aversive control, extinction, and motivation. In addition, the neural basis of these behavioral processes and the experimental paradigms are described in detail.

PSYC 550: Physiological Psychology

This course is an introduction to physiological psychology. During this course students will learn about the physiological mechanisms that underlie psychological processes of sensation, motivation, learning, memory, and emotion. Other topics include neurological disorders, schizophrenia, affective disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychopharmacology.

Accreditation

• One of 229 academic institutions worldwide to adopt the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), as determined by a group of scholars at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in July 2007.
• College of Administrative Sciences and Economics and Graduate School of Business accredited by the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS), making Koç University the first and only Turkish university with EQUIS accreditation and one of the select group of 115 EQUIS accredited institutions in 33 countries worldwide.
• First Turkish university to be recognized in the Financial Times ranking of top international universities; Executive MBA program ranked 57th in the world
• Executive MBA program listed as one of Europe’s best 20 programs in Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper rankings, 2004.
• Koç University selected as the CFA Institute’s first program partner in Turkey and one of only 40 CFA program partners in Europe, affirming that the university curriculum adheres to professional practice standards and successfully prepares students for the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) exams.

Funding details

Koc University graduate programs (MA and Ph.D.) admit all students with full tuition waiver: admitted students do not pay tuition.

All admitted students also receive the following benefits:Office space and laptop; Free housing nearby campus.

Faculty

Faculty Profile

Çigdem KAGITÇIBASI Prof.
Phd University of California, Berkeley, 1967

Social Psychology, Culture and Human Development

Sami GÜLGÖZ Prof., Dean
Phd University of Georgia,1989

Experimental Psychology, Human Memory

Zeynep AYCAN Prof., Director of GSSSH
Phd Queen's University,1996

Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management

Aylin KÜNTAY Prof.
Phd University of California, Berkeley 1997

Development Psychology, Language and Communication Development

Nazli BAYDAR Assoc. Prof.
Phd Verije University Brussels 1984

Parenting: Normative Development, Behavior Genetics

Bilge YAGMURLU Asst. Prof.
Phd University of Melbourne 2003

Developmental Psychology, Socio-Emotional Development

G. Tarcan KUMKALE Asst. Prof.
Phd University of Florida 2004

Social Psychology,Attitudes and Persuasion

Zeynep CEMALCILAR Asst. Prof.
Phd University of Texas at Austin 2003

Social Psychology,Program Evaluation

Banu ÇANKAYA Asst. Prof.

Ilke ÖZTEKIN Asst. Prof.
PhD New York University, 2008

Fuat BALCI Asst. Prof.
PhD Rutgers University, 2007