Meet Our Team!
Lab Director:
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Dr. Meltem Yucel (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. She completed her NIH-funded (NRSA; F32) postdoctoral research at Duke University's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Virginia in 2021.
Dr. Yucel was named a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science, received both the SAGE Emerging Scholar Award and the SAGE Early-Career Trajectory Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and is a fellow of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Dr. Yucel is interested in the development of social cognition and morality. Using behavioral, eye-tracking, pupillometry, and social network analysis methods, she investigates how people, both young and old, make sense of different norms and those who violate them. |
Lab/Recruitment Coordinator
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Abigail Brooke
Abigail Brooke is the lab manager/recruitment coordinator for the Moral Minds Lab. She is a psychology major with minors in cognitive science and human behavior & social services. Her research interest is in the intersection of severe mental illnesses and race, class, and gender. After undergrad, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. |
Graduate Students
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Kenya Mulwa
I’m a fourth-year graduate student in the MML lab. My research focuses on understanding what goes on in our heads when we form impressions of people— and identifying the particular features that drive those impressions. In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, going to concerts, and watching stand-up comedy. Website: https://kenyamulwa.wordpress.com/ Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QDUDUzMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao |
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Yanzhe (Austin) Zeng
I'm a first-year graduate student in the MML lab. My research focuses on how people define and apply moral principles. I'm currently interested in understanding what people use to determine whether an advantage is fair and permissible in competitive settings. Outside of research, I enjoy exploring different cuisines and watching documentaries. |
Postbaccalaureate Research Assistants:
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Sema Merve Balçık
Merve is a virtual research assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. She has completed an M.A. in Developmental Psychology. Her research interests center on understanding how children develop social-cognitive skills, particularly in relation to fairness, cooperation, and moral decision-making, and how these processes are shaped by cultural and contextual factors. She is especially interested in exploring these processes from a cross-cultural perspective, examining how children’s moral reasoning and prosocial behavior are influenced by norms across different cultural contexts. She is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in the near future. |
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
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Deniz Akinci
Deniz is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. |
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Haley Butkovich
Haley is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. For her second year in the lab, Haley is running her independent study regarding "Gossip as an Obligation". Majoring in psychology with a minor in health promotion, she plans to pursue the fields of clinical and health psychology. Using the skills and knowledge she has gained from the lab and her undergrad, she plans to continue her education after receiving a B.S. in Psychology. |
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Teagan Carty
Teagan is an undergraduate Research Assistant within the Moral Minds Lab. She is currently studying psychology at Michigan State. Social cognition, decision making and the development of moral thinking are her particular areas of intrigue. She plans to gain valuable insight from research and her classes in order to pursue higher education in the field following graduation. |
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Drew Delvaux
Drew is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. |
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Shreya Mishra
Shreya is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. She is majoring in Neuroscience and Psychology with a minor in Cognitive Science. Her research interests lie in seeing how nature vs. nurture vs. society impacts decisions when faced with choices of varying intensities. Her post graduate plans range from going to med school to become a psychiatrist or becoming a professor. |
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Sarah Peracha
Sarah is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. |
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Aayla Qureshi
Aayla is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Law, Justice, and Public Policy. She has great interest in child development, and what drives the behaviors and decisions of children. Additionally, she is passionate about the brain mechanisms behind mental disorders and strives to improve mental health outcomes through her work. She hopes to use the skills gained from her undergrad and research experience to further her studies to one day become a Clinical Child Psychologist. |
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Avery Shippe
Avery is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. She is a third-year senior, and is conducting an independent study on storytelling between authority figures and peers. Avery is double-majoring in psychology and political science, though she is particularly interested in how mental health and eating correlate with the mind and decision-making. Avery is planning on attending graduate school, and is excited to use the skills she gained from the lab to elevate her future. |
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Nicole Thomas
Nicole is an undergraduate Research Assistant in the Moral Minds Lab. |
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<--- This could be you. |
Lab Alum:
- Kennedy Kaliszewski (MSU 2026)
- Emily Foltz (MSU 2025), next: Occupational therapy doctoral program at Western Michigan University.
Stay in touch!
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