Moral Intuitions Lab

GET INVOLVED

At the Moral Intuitions Lab (MINT Lab), we welcome motivated, curious, and ambitious students who want to contribute to cutting-edge research on morality, belief systems, and decision-making. Joining MINT Lab means becoming part of a structured, mentorship-driven environment where students are trained not only as assistants but as active collaborators in nationally and internationally funded projects.

Students at MINT Lab gain hands-on experience in experimental design, data analysis, and scientific writing, while benefiting from a centralized data workflow that ensures all research outputs are standardized, transparent, and reusable. This system enables students to learn quickly, contribute meaningfully, and transition from training into independent research roles.

For Undergraduate Students (KHAS & External)

KHAS students may join through our annual internship announcement, which includes a science exam and selection process. Successful applicants are prioritized for paid assistantships (TÜBİTAK bursiyer positions) and are encouraged to apply for TÜBİTAK STAR scholarships.

External undergraduates may participate only through the TÜBİTAK STAR program on projects supervised by Dr. Onurcan Yılmaz or Dr. Burak Doğruyol due to capacity limits.

For Graduate Students (MA, PhD, KHAS & External)

Prospective MA and PhD students can join by applying to the Kadir Has University Psychology graduate programs and selecting Dr. Onurcan Yılmaz or Dr. Burak Doğruyol as advisors. All accepted graduate students receive a 100% scholarship and priority for paid assistantships.

We prioritize quality over quantity: recruitment decisions vary annually based on the lab’s scope and standards.

Occasionally, we post openings for graduate research assistants on our website. These roles allow graduate students enrolled at other institutions to work with MINT Lab on a part-time basis.

All prospective students—undergraduate and graduate—are expected to familiarize themselves with selected key readings (provided below) to ensure alignment with the lab’s research focus before applying.

For undergraduate students

Isler, O., & Yilmaz, O. (2019). Intuition and deliberation in morality and cooperation: An overview of the literature. In J. Liebowitz (Ed.), Developing Informed Intuition for Decision-Making (pp. 101-113). Taylor & Francis.

Yilmaz, O. (2019) Evolutionary perspective. In: Shackelford T., Weekes-Shackelford V. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham.

Yılmaz, O., & Bayrak F. (2022). Ahlak psikolojisine giriş: Temel kavramlar, kuramsal yaklaşımlar ve tartışmalar [An introduction to moral psychology: Basic concepts, theoretical approaches, and debates]. Reflektif Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 3(1), 27-50. doi: 10.47613/reflektif.2022.53.

Yılmaz, O (2023). Evrimsel psikolojiye dair çok bilinen yanlışlar. Onto Psikoloji Dergisi (Evrim ve İnsan özel sayısı), 24, 20-26.

For graduate students

The articles mentioned above are also essential for graduate student applicants. Additionally, we recommend that prospective graduate students review the following references for a more comprehensive understanding before applying.

Baron, J., Isler, O., & Yilmaz, O. (2023). Actively open-minded thinking and the political effects of its absence. In: Ottati, V. & Stern, C. (eds) Divided: Open-Mindedness and Dogmatism in a Polarized World, Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/g5jhp.

Isler, O., & Yilmaz, O. (2023). How to activate intuitive and reflective thinking in behavior research? A comprehensive examination of experimental techniques. Behavior Research Methods, 55, 3679–3698. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-022-01984-4

Isler, O., Yilmaz, O., & Maule, J. (2021). Religion, parochialism and intuitive cooperation. Nature Human Behaviour, doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-01014-3.

Isler, O., Yilmaz, O., & Doğruyol, B. (2021). Are we at all liberal at heart? High-powered tests find no effect of intuitive thinking on moral foundations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 92, 104050. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104050

Yilmaz, O. (2021). Cognitive styles and religion. Current Opinion in Psychology, 40, 150-154. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.09.014

CONTACT INFORMATION

Department of Psychology
Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Türkiye

e-mail

mintlab (at) khas.edu.tr