The reliability of eyewitness memory, which contains information about a witnessed or experienced event, remains a subject of ongoing debate. Research on eyewitness memory accuracy highlights the importance of various factors, including the characteristics of the witness and the suspect, as well as the procedures used during the inquiry process (e.g., presenting different alternatives, involving multiple experts, conducting identification only once, and the type of feedback provided). However, metacognitive judgments about the accuracy of remembered information are believed to play a crucial role in understanding these factors. In line with this, the present study examines the impact of correct and incorrect feedback on the accuracy of remembered information in eyewitness memory, as well as its influence on related metacognitive judgments.
Project Team: Aleyna Elmaslı, Ceyda Yalçın, Halid Oğuz Serçe, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Mentalizing, Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms, and Eyewitness Memory
The eyewitness memory literature suggests that various cognitive processes (e.g., need for cognition, mentalizing) contribute to memory distortions. However, the impact of mentalizing on eyewitness memory accuracy in individuals with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms remains unexplored. Individuals with OC symptoms often exhibit heightened mentalizing processes, particularly when encountering disgust-inducing stimuli, which can lead to contamination-related distress. This study aims to examine how exposure to disgust-inducing videos influences eyewitness memory processes. It is hypothesized that individuals with OC symptoms will engage in more intense mentalizing when experiencing contamination and disgust, resulting in increased eyewitness memory errors.
Project Team: Metehan Irak, Hıdır Arslan, Halid Oğuz Serçe
-Topic: Comparison between neural basis of decision making and metacognitive processes using event-related potentials. (Supported by TÜBİTAK 1001 program)
The neural basis of decision-making and metacognitive processes remains an open question, particularly regarding whether they rely on distinct neural mechanisms and which neural structures contribute to different stages of metacognitive judgments. This project aims to address two fundamental scientific questions. The first question investigates whether the neural basis of metacognition differs from that of decision-making. The project’s primary contribution lies in examining this critical issue using specially designed tasks and diverse analytical methods. A key hypothesis is that the level of uncertainty during decision-making will indicate whether these two cognitive processes share a common neural basis or rely on distinct mechanisms. The second question explores whether decision uncertainty influences the relationship between metacognitive and decision-making processes. This aspect represents the project’s second major contribution: for the first time in the literature, it will assess the effect of uncertainty on the metacognition–decision-making relationship and examine how this effect varies based on task type and different metacognitive judgments (judgment of learning [JOL], feeling of knowing [FOK]). The study will utilize event-related brain potentials (ERPs), source localization, and power spectrum analysis to analyze decision evaluations (decision, re-decision, and decision confidence).
Project Team: Metehan Irak, Can Soylu, Soner Yücetepe, Busenur Akbaş, Öznur Çamoğlu
-Topic: The effect of worry on metamemory judgments: An event-related-potential study
Worry, as the cognitive component of anxiety, plays a crucial role in metamemory and metacognitive judgments. It is a psychological construct characterized by distressing and intrusive thoughts about future events. During episodes of worry, individuals often experience a diminished sense of control and attempt to redirect their attention elsewhere. This study examines the temporal dynamics of worry’s influence on learning decisions and feeling-of-knowing judgments within an episodic memory task. Participants will be categorized into two groups—low worry and high worry—based on their scores on the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ).
Project Team: Metehan Irak, Öznur Çamoğlu
-Topic: Investigating the Effect of Feeling-of-Knowing Paradigm and Encoding Method on the Consistency of Metacognitive Judgments
In the classic Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) paradigm, participants provide FOK judgments only for items they fail to recall. However, some studies extend FOK judgments to all items, regardless of recall success. Due to this methodological variation, the classic FOK paradigm has been compared to the all-items paradigm in both episodic and semantic memory contexts. Findings indicate that FOK judgment consistency increases when all items are evaluated, suggesting that higher FOK scores observed in certain studies may stem from methodological differences rather than experimental manipulations. A second experiment investigated how encoding strategies influence the consistency of FOK judgments when all items are assessed. For episodic memory, encoding strategy was manipulated through instructional variations. Word concreteness was controlled, and during the learning phase, one group received visual imagery instructions, while the other was instructed to generate sentences. Results showed that participants in the sentence generation group exhibited more consistent FOK judgments. Additionally, analyses based on word concreteness revealed that concrete word pairs were better remembered across recall, recognition, and FOK measures.
Project Team: Yiğit Onur Şen, Mustafa Yavuz, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Relationships Between Delusion-Like Experiences, Lack of Control, Pattern Perception, Memory Errors, and Decision-Making
Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between delusion-like experiences (DLEs) and irrational beliefs. A widely held assumption is that DLEs are associated with an increased sense of lack of control. Additionally, DLEs involve behaviors commonly linked to irrational beliefs. However, as a direct relationship between DLEs and clinical delusions has yet to be established in the literature, this study aims to explore their connection through two key hypotheses. First, the relationship between DLEs and perceived control is examined using a visual noise task in which participants' sense of control is experimentally manipulated. Second, the study investigates whether the jumping-to-conclusions bias, assessed via the bead task, is predicted by DLEs.
Project Team: Görkem Çetin, Gizem Merve Tüzel, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Investigation of The Relationship Between Encoding Differences and Feeling of Knowing Performance of Individuals with OCD
This study aimed to investigate memory processes in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by examining their memory encoding, learning, and recognition performances, as well as comparing these to their Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) judgment performances. The interaction between encoding, learning, and retrieval processes in memory is well established. To explore this relationship, we compared three different episodic memory performance measures alongside judgments of learning (JOL) and FOK judgments in individuals with OCD and healthy controls.
Project Team: Can Soylu, Sena Yüksel, Ozan Akbaş, Sevcan Öztoraman, Metehan Irak (BAU), Volkan Topçuoğlu (Marmara Psychiatry)
-Topic: Relationship between Executive Functions, Feeling of Knowing and Confidence Judgments in Semantic Memory: An ERP Study
This study aimed to investigate the Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) paradigm in semantic memory by examining its underlying neural mechanisms. To achieve this, 93 general knowledge questions were developed through a norming study and utilized within classical recall, judgment, and recognition paradigms (Hart, 1965) to assess semantic memory. The neural mechanisms of FOK and confidence judgments in a semantic memory task were analyzed using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), with a focus on the accuracy of FOK judgments. Additionally, set-shifting ability and cognitive flexibility were assessed to explore the sub-mechanisms of FOK and the contributions of executive functions to FOK judgments.
Project Team: Berna Güler, Can Soylu, Gözem Turan, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Investigation of the Effects of Mood on the Feeling of Knowing under the Face-Name Recognition Task
The Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) is a metacognitive judgment that reflects an individual’s ability to predict whether currently unrecalled information can be retrieved in the future. Research has demonstrated that mood influences various cognitive functions, including language and memory. However, few studies have examined the effects of mood on FOK, and those that have primarily employed experimental stimuli for mood manipulation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different mood induction procedures on FOK judgments during a face-name recognition task and to explore how these effects vary based on individual personality traits.
Project Team: Emir Akbuğa, Fatmanur Tunç, Begüm Yüksel, Elif Güldemir, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Standardization, Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Form of “Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C)”
The Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire for Children (MCQ-C), originally developed by Bacow et al. (2009), is based on the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire for Adolescents (MCQ-A), which was developed by Cartwright-Hatton et al. (2004). The standardization study began in May 2010, with 470 primary and high school students (205 females, 265 males) from 71 different public schools in Istanbul participating during the 2009-2010 academic year. In addition to the MCQ-C, the State-Trait Anxiety Scale for Children and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory were also administered.
Project Team: Bahçeşehir University Department of Psychology 3rd year students, Metehan Irak
-Topic: The Effect of External Feedback on the Feeling of Knowing Performance
Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) is a type of metacognitive judgment. Fundamental theories in this field emphasize the significance of monitoring and control processes in metacognition. FOK judgments occur during or after learning and involve estimating the likelihood of recalling currently unavailable information in a future memory test. Unlike traditional methods of measuring FOK, this study investigates the impact of different types of external feedback on FOK judgments.
Project Team: Cansın Özgör, Fatih Yıldızhan, Metehan Irak
-Topic: The Relationship of Directed-Forgetting with Different Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms
Do we process information differently when instructed to "forget" versus "remember"? This project explored this question using a directed forgetting task, examining the relationship between such manipulations and specific obsessive-compulsive symptoms (e.g., washing and checking behaviors). To investigate this, specially designed tasks were administered to both healthy volunteers and individuals diagnosed with OCD. The study was conducted in collaboration with Marmara University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.
Project Team: Dicle Çapan, Pınar Erçelik, Zülal Oğuz, Hazal Çelik, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Age-Related Changes in Metacognitive Processes.
The literature highlights the significance of ages 13 to 18 in the development of metacognitive beliefs. This study employed a cross-sectional design to examine age-related changes in metacognitive beliefs using both the Adult and Child forms of the Metacognitive Scale. The sample consisted of 2,251 individuals aged 8 to 65, representing diverse educational backgrounds and genders.
Project Team: Dicle Çapan, Can Soylu, Metehan Irak
-Topic: Neurobiological Basis of Metacognition: Examining the Temporal Priority of Monitoring and Control Processes Through Event-Related Potentials, and Its Relationship with Attention and Perceptual Processes (Supported by TÜBİTAK 1001 program).
In the widely accepted Nelson and Narens (1990) model of metacognitive processes, it remains unclear whether monitoring or control processes hold temporal priority during Feeling-of-Knowing (FOK) judgments. This study had two primary objectives. The first aim was to examine whether monitoring or control processes occur first during FOK judgments, a key aspect of metacognition. Prior research indicates that FOK judgments are influenced by the type of memory task (Irak, 2005, 2009). Therefore, in this study, FOK judgments were assessed separately within semantic and episodic memory tasks. The second aim was to investigate how metacognition relates to attention and perceptual processes using ERPs. Specifically, the study examined whether ERPs recorded during the Stroop and Marking Test correlate with ERPs obtained during metacognitive performance.
Project Team: Can Soylu, Dicle Çapan, Cansın Özgör, Fatih Yıldızhan, BAU Psychology students and Metehan Irak
-Topic: The Effect of Addiction to Violent Video Games on Cognitive Processes and Event-Related Brain Potentials
Violent game addiction (VGA) is a serious threat to individuals' mental health and it brings various psychosocial consequences. It is emphasized that it leads to an increase in the rate of destructive and aggressive behavior, and this situation has the potential to adversely affect the natural development of the brain and is one of the factors that predispose to the emergence of different cognitive and behavioral problems in the long term. Studies have shown that obsessive behavior (such as gambling addiction) causes changes in brain activity as in substance addiction. From this point of view, it can be expected that game addiction may cause some changes in individuals' cognitive processes and brain functions. As a matter of fact, studies on internet addiction also support this assumption. An important feature that makes game addiction different from other addictions is that it also contains violent elements. From these points of view, it becomes important to examine what kind of changes with the exposure to violent games for a long time creates on cognitive, behavioral and neurobiological processes. The main purpose of the proposed project was to examine the effects of game addiction on the event-related brain potentials (ERP) and cognitive processes of the VGA.
Project Team: Can Soylu, Dicle Çapan, İnan Şen, BAU Psychology Students and Metehan Irak
-Topic: Neurobiological Bases of Adult Attachment and Its Relation to Cognitive Biases
Behavioral studies revealed that attachment theory is directly related to and has implications for everyday life such as interpersonal relationships, marriage, parental attitudes, parenting, mood disorders (such as stress, anxiety, and depression). Studies have shown that personal differences in attachment levels have various effects on different types of cognitive and emotional processes, especially in social situations that are suitable or unsuitable for attachment. Although information processing and emotion regulation models on this topic indicate that these effects may follow certain paths in the brain, the exact neural mechanisms and cognitive processes in relation to these effects and the type of biases in this process are still unexplored. From this point of view, the aims of the project were to reveal which different attachment levels are related to which brain structures, to examine how event-related potentials (ERP) to be obtained under different cognitive tasks differ according to their attachment levels, and to test the relationship of cognitive and neurobiological responses with physiological responses (skin conductivity responses).
Project Team: Can Soylu, Dicle Çapan, İnan Şen, BAU Psychology students and Metehan Irak
-Topic: Effects of Different Encoding Strategies on Metacognitive Judgments: An ERP Study
There are two main aims of this project. The first aim is to investigate whether there is a neural association between episodic memory encoding and later successful and unsuccessful recognition performance. The second aim is to investigate the relationships between episodic encoding processes and metacognitive judgments, namely FOK and JOL decisions by using ERPs method. It is assumed that some strong activations and representations during encoding could be predictive of unsuccessful episodic memory retrievals well as successful retrieval. Besides, FOK decisions, among the metacognitive processes, could be informative in explaining behavioral and neural basis of unsuccessful recall or recognition. Episodic memory and metacognitive judgments of the participants are measuring under three different episodic memory tasks consisted of stimulus from different modalities (e.g. familiar and unfamiliar words, places, and faces).
Project Team: Metehan Irak, Can Soylu, Berna Güler
-Topic: The Effect of Excessive Violent Video Game Playing on Working Memory and Response Inhibition: An Event-Related Brain Oscillations Study
Behavioral addictions have been associated with impulsivity and memory like problems similar to biological addictions. Hereby, in this study, the participants will be divided into two groups namely excessive violent video game players, and non-players. They will perform Go-No-Go task and N-Back Task which are measuring the response inhibition and working memory abilities.
Project Team: Özüm Karya Sakman, Elif Güldemir, Can Soylu, Metehan Irak
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