Merve Gölcük

Merve Gölcük serves as Assistant Professor and Department Head of Psychology at Antalya Bilim University since 2023, having joined the faculty in 2021 and previously serving as Vice Chair (2022-2023).

Her academic credentials include:

• Bachelor's in Psychology from Hacettepe University (2010)
• Master's in Developmental Psychology from Middle East Technical University (2014)
• Doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Middle East Technical University (2020)

Dr. Gölcük's research centers on parenting dynamics, emotion socialization behaviors, temperament across developmental stages, child emotion regulation, and theory of mind progression. Her work uniquely examines these constructs within Turkish cultural contexts and institutional care settings (notably the 'Turkish Care Types Study'), with recent emphasis on pandemic impacts on family systems.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant longitudinal investigation of child development trajectories, particularly exploring temperament-theory of mind interplay, parenting practice outcomes, and institutional care effects. The 2020-2025 corpus shows sharp pandemic-era focus on sibling dynamics and parental adaptation during crisis periods.

During graduate studies, she contributed to TUBITAK Projects 1001 and 1003 as research volunteer, demonstrating early engagement with nationally significant developmental research initiatives. Her current work continues to bridge empirical research with practical applications for Turkish child welfare systems.