Memory and Cognition Laboratory

Rice University, Houston, TX

Vita of Gunes Avci

Education

PhD                   Cognitive Psychology                                        May 2010 (Expected)

                          Rice University

                          Advisor: Jessica Logan ( January 2008- present)

                          Michael J. Watkins (August 2005-December 2007)

MA                    Cognitive Psychology

                          Bogazici University July 2005

                          Advisor: Ali Tekcan

BA                     Psychology

                          Bogazici University July 2002

                          Advisor: Ali Tekcan

 

Academic Honors

Rice University Graduate Fellowship, Rice University

             Given for doctorate studies in psychology (2005-2010)

 

Research Experience

Task-switching in older people: How to improve task performance of older people in

multi-task situations

             Spring 2008- Present

             P.I.: Dr. Jessica Logan

             Evaluation of the multi-task performance of older people and how to improve their

             performance.

Foraging words from memory

             Fall 2005- Present

             P.I.: Dr. Michael J. Watkins

             Exploration of how people seek, gather and consume information from semantic

             domains.

Which linguistic variables promote developments of theory of mind: Evidence from

Turkish children.

             Fall 2001 – Fall 2004

             P.I.: Dr. Ayhan Aksu-Koc (Bogazici University)

             Exploration of the role of Turkish mental verb “sanmak” (think) on the performance

             of Turkish children on representational change and false belief tasks and the

             contribution of epistemic markers and complement sentence production to theory of

             mind competence. The first part of the study was presented SRCD in Tampa, April

             2003. The follow-up study was presented International Congress for the Study of

             Child Language in Berlin in June 2005.

The effect of bilingualism on the occurrence of false memory

             Spring 2003 – Fall 2004:

             P.I.: Dr. Ali Tekcan (Bogazici University)

             Investigation of the effect of bilingualism on the false memory by utilizing DRM

             paradigm. The presentation and testing language were manipulated on subjects so that

             the encoding and retrieval language would determine the performances of the subjects

             in DRM lists.

The effect of visual imagery on the production of false memory

             Fall 2003 – Spring 2005:

             P.I. : Gunes Avci (Master thesis)

             Evaluation of the effect of imagination on false memory by utilizing the DRM

             paradigm.

 

Publications

Avci, G. & Watkins, M. J. Foraging Words from Memory: Exploring the Costs of

Switching between Semantic Domains (Manuscript in preparation)

 

Conference Presentations and Posters

Avci, G. & Watkins, M. J. (2007). Foraging Words from Memory: Exploring the Costs of

Switching between Semantic Domains (Aka Armadillo), Lubbock, Texas.

 

Avci, G. & Watkins, M. J. (2006).Foraging words in episodic and semantic memory.

Poster Presented At Texas Cognitive Conference (Aka Armadillo), Lubbock, Texas.

 

Aksu-Koc, A, Avci, G., Aydın C., Sefer, N. & Yasa, Y (2005). “Developmental

Relations between language and Theory of mind” Paper presented at the International

Congress for the Study of Child Language, Berlin, Germany.

 

Aydin, Ç., Avci, G., Granti, T., Sefer, N., Yasa, Y. & Aksu-Koc, A. (2002). Which

linguistic variables promote the development of theory of mind? Evidence from Turkish

children. Poster presented at the Biennial meetings of Society for research in child

development (SRCD), Tampa, Florida, USA

 

Guest Lectures

Spring 2008 Lecture on Observational and Correlational Studies to the Research

             Methods Class

Fall 2007 Lecture on False memory and Deese-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm to

             the Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Class

Spring 2005 Lecture on General Linear Model Application in SPSS to Experiment

             Psychology Class.

 

Invited Talks

March 2006 Presentation on Foraging Words from Different Semantic Domains at

             the Departmental Cognitive Seminar

April 2005 Presentation on Memory Foraging from Episodic and Semantic

             Memory at the Departmental Cognitive Seminar

 

Teaching Experience

Spring 2008 Teaching Assistant Research Methods Rice University

             Grading exams and research reports, and meeting with students who had

             questions or concerns about the course material.

Fall 2007 Teaching Assistant Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Rice University

             Creating and grading exams, grading research reports, and meeting with

             students who had questions or concerns about the course material.

Fall 2006 Teaching Assistant Memory Rice University

             Grading exams and research reports, and meeting with students who had

             questions or concerns about the course material.

Fall 2005 Teaching Assistant Introduction to Psychology Rice University

             Grading exams

Fall 2004 Teaching Assistant Introduction to Statistics Bogazici University

             Conducting problem and laboratory sessions and grading homework and

             exams

 

Related Professional Experience

07/2003-07/2005          Departmental Assistant, Bogazici University

                                       Conducting and organizing administrative works of the faculty

                                       members

05/2004-07/2005          Psychology Tutor

                                       Assisting two university level students with their psychology

                                       classes including cognitive psychology, memory, statistics,

                                       developmental psychology, social psychology, SPSS, personality.

09/2002-01/2004          Special Project Student, Bogazici University

                                       Developmental relations between language and theory of mind”.

                                       Collaborating the research with Prof. Aksu-Koc

 

References

Michael J. Watkins Professor of Psychology

Jessica Logan Associate Professor of Psychology, Rice University, Houston

Ali Tekcan Professor of Psychology, Bogazici University, Istanbul Turkey

Dr. Ayhan Aksu-Koc, Professor of Psychology, Bogazici University, Istanbul Turkey