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GrouPsy-Lab

A Sabanci University based social psychology lab.

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About Us

The GrouPsy Lab, led by Prof. Dr. ÇiÄŸdem BaÄŸcı, is a social psychology research lab at Sabancı University. Our research interests include but are not limited to phenomena within intergroup relationships such as stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, intergroup contact, collective action; environmental behaviors, and human-robot interactions.

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Through cutting-edge research, our lab aims to deepen understanding of these critical social issues and contribute to the development of interventions that promote healthy cross-group communication and foster intergroup harmony.

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Our Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/groupsylab/

Ongoing Projects

Robot Threat and Collective Action Project

This study investigates whether robots and similar technologies can threaten our basic human needs, and further influence intergroup attitudes  and collective action intentions for humans and robots/AI. Prof. ÇiÄŸdem BaÄŸcı, Prof. Junko Kanero, Prof. Wang Xijing from City University of Hong Kong,  Selen Akay and Ä°rem Sakarya are collaborators on this project. 

Predictors of Pro Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors

This research investigates the role of contextual and individual level factors in shaping pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors with a longitudinal study. This project is funded by the TUBITAK 1001 grant. Prof. ÇiÄŸdem BaÄŸcı, Ä°pek Güvensoy, BüÅŸra Kaplan, GüneÅŸ SaÄŸanak and Ä°rem Sakarya are collaborators. 

Latest Publications

​Just kidding? Exploring the role of traditional versus counter-traditional gender role jokes on gender identity threat

Ipek Guvensoy, BüÅŸra Kaplan, Sabahat Cigdem Bagci, Irem Sakarya, Esra Kamacı, Irem Kuyucu, Duygu Yurt, Selen Akay, Emrah Kahraman

 

27 August, 2025  

While traditional gender roles have been examined in the context of online communication, less is known about the implications of encountering counter-traditional gender roles (e.g., depicting men as caring and women as independent) on social media. We investigated participants’ perceived gender identity threat upon exposure to traditional versus counter-traditional gender role jokes that targeted either men or women. An online experiment (N = 265) using a 2 (content: traditional versus counter-traditional gender roles) by 2 (joke’s target gender: men versus women) by 2 (participant’s gender: man versus woman) mixed design demonstrated that overall, jokes targeting women elicited greater identity threat and women perceived greater identity threat than men. Moreover, the three-way interactions showed that women, in particular, perceived greater identity threat from traditional gender role jokes targeting women. The current study highlights the damaging role of the spread of traditional gender roles through humor, particularly for women’s gender identities.

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