Research
Development of Social Categorization
Social categorization emerges early in development as a fundamental tool for navigating the social world. In this line of research, I ask: what makes children more or less likely to rely on social categories? I approach this question by examining how the diversity of children's social environments — and the interaction between that diversity and children's own social identities — shapes the way they categorize others. For example, in one study I find that children's tendencies to categorize others by race and language depend on the interplay between their own background and the diversity of their social circle (Serbest, Tompkins, & Liberman, in prep).
Children's Inferences Based on Others' Religious Beliefs
Adults across cultures perceive atheists as less trustworthy and less prosocial than theists. When and why do these biases emerge? In this line of research, I investigate how children form expectations about others based on their beliefs about God. My cross-cultural work comparing children in Turkey and the United States shows that expectations favoring theists over atheists appear early in childhood (Serbest, Soley, & Liberman, under review; Serbest & Soley, under review). In follow-up work, I examine the mechanisms underlying these early biases — including the role of family religiosity, religious diversity in children's immediate social circle, and the broader cultural context in which children develop (Serbest, ..., Liberman; in preparation).
Children's Inferences Based on Others' Beliefs Beyond Religion
This line of research builds on my work on anti-atheist bias to ask a broader question: are religious beliefs a special cue in children's social reasoning, or do children draw similar inferences from other types of beliefs? For example, do children form the same prosociality expectations based on others' scientific beliefs as they do based on others' religious beliefs? Building on work examining how children reason about invisible scientific versus religious entities across cultures (e.g., Payir, Soley, Serbest, Corriveau, & Harris, 2024), my dissertation investigates whether belief-based biases extend beyond the domain of religion.
Publications
* indicates student author · 1 indicates co-authorship
Published
Payir, A., Soley, G., , Corriveau, K. H., & Harris, P. L. (2024). Religious polarization and the justification of belief in invisible scientific versus religious entities. Child Development, 95(5), 1723–1738. doi
Kurupınar, M.*1, 1, Yılmaz, D.*1, & Soley, G. (2024). Children's expectations about the stability of others' knowledge and preference states. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 240, 1–12. doi
Öner, G.*, Oğuz, N.*, Çetin, Ö.*, Ersönmez, S.*, Karan, P.*, Kurupınar, M.*, , & Soley, G. (2021). Online developmental research: Observations from moderated studies. Boğaziçi University Journal of Education, 38(1). link
Under Review
& Soley, G. (under review). Religiosity matters: Developmental insights into biases against religious and non-religious groups.
, Soley, G., & Liberman, Z. (under review). Robust anti-atheist bias in childhood: Cross-cultural evidence from Turkey and the United States.
In Preparation
, Tompkins, R.*, & Liberman, Z. Exploring the exposure effect in social categorization.
, & ..., Liberman, Z. The role of socialization in children's developing association between religiosity and norm following.
, & ..., Liberman, Z. Children's inferences based on others' religious versus non-religious beliefs.
Davoodi, T., Soley, G., , & ... Finding comfort in scientific and religious messages.
Selected Presentations
Serbest, O., Yau, E., & Liberman, Z. Cues of prosocial behavior reduce children's anti-atheist bias. Poster at the Cognitive Development Society Conference, Montreal, Canada.
Serbest, O., Moore, A., Soley, G., & Liberman, Z. No God, no norms: Anti-atheist bias in early childhood. Talk at the Human Behavior & Evolution Society Conference, Atlantic City, NJ.
Serbest, O., Moore, A., Soley, G., & Liberman, Z. Children use others' religiosity to predict their normative behaviors. Talk at the Southern California Meeting on Investigations in Developmental Science, San Diego, CA.
Serbest, O., Moore, A., Soley, G., & Liberman, Z. Children use religious belief to determine who will follow and break norms. Poster at the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.
Serbest, O., Liberman, Z., & Soley, G. A cross-cultural comparison of the role of background religiosity in children's normative expectations from religious groups. Talk at the pre-conference of the Cognitive Development Society Conference, Pasadena, CA.
Education
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University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD in Psychological & Brain Sciences · Developmental & Evolutionary Psychology
Advisor: Dr. Zoe Liberman · Expected Graduation: August 2027
Dissertation Committee: Dr. Zoe Liberman, Dr. Brandon Woo, Dr. Tamsin German, Dr. Leda Cosmides
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
MA in Psychological Sciences · Focus: Developmental Psychology
Advisor: Dr. Gaye Soley · GPA: 4.00/4.00
Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
BA in Psychology with High Honors
Valedictorian, Psychology Department · Top 3rd in Arts & Sciences · GPA: 3.92/4.00
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Erasmus exchange program, one semester
Awards & Fellowships
Conference Travel Grants, UC Santa Barbara
National MSc/MA Scholarship 2210/A, TÜBİTAK
Valedictorian & High Honors, Boğaziçi University
Erasmus Fellowship, Boğaziçi / Freie Universität Berlin
Teaching & Mentorship
Lab Instructor
Laboratory in Developmental Psychology
Spring 2025, Fall 2025Laboratory in Advanced Research Methods
Winter 2024, Spring 2024Introduction to Research Methods
Fall 2022, Winter 2023Teaching Assistant
Psychology of Conspiracy (Winter 2025), Evolution and Cognition (Fall 2024), Close Relationships (Spring 2023)
Mentorship
I am committed to mentoring students at every level. At UCSB, at the Social Cognitive Development Lab, I have supervised three undergraduate honors theses:
Lily Weiss — Masters student to be in Occupational Therapy at Columbia University
Emily Yau — Recipient of the UCSB Morgan Award for Academic Excellence, Masters student of School Counseling at San Diego State University
Amelia Moore
I also mentor undergraduates through the Access Grads program, which connects graduate students with undergraduates to help them explore career opportunities in science and build the skills and experience needed to reach their goals — with priority given to students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in science.
Beyond my own teaching, I participate in the UCSB PBS Teaching Assistant Advisory Program, where I mentor incoming graduate students as they begin their teaching roles in the department.
Science Communication
I also value science communication beyond academia. During my MA at Boğaziçi University, I co-led our Baby and Child Development Laboratory's social media accounts, sharing our research with the public and building community engagement around developmental science.
Languages
Turkish (Native), English (Fluent), German (Advanced), Spanish (Beginner), Bulgarian (Beginner)