Ipek Guvensoy is a social psychologist with a specific focus on intergroup contact, prejudice, polarization and collective action. She got her first degree in Psychology from Uskudar University in 2019. During her undergraduate studies, she went on an overseas internship in Northern Ireland, Belfast. As a visiting researcher at Queen’s University Belfast, she studied intergroup contact under the supervision of Prof. Rhiannon Turner. She received her master’s degree at Koc University in the department of Social/Organizational Psychology in 2021. After that, she received her PhD degree at Sabanci University in 2025, where she studied meta-accuracy and meta-perceptions. During her doctoral studies, she also went on an overseas internship in Lisbon, Portugal. As a visiting researcher at ISCTE, she studied all-inclusive identities under the supervision of Rita Guerra. Her research appeared in the journal of Group Process & Intergroup Relations and Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

İrem Sakarya is pursuing a master's degree in Social Psychology at Sabancı University. She received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Bahcesehir University in 2022. Before starting her master’s program, she worked on various research projects, including studies on fat stigma, the role of emotions in the effectiveness of non-normative collective action, and speciesism. Her primary research interests include, intergroup relations, political correctness, attitude change, and human-robot interactions. Besides her academic interests, she enjoys traditional and digital drawing.

Ayberk received his bachelor's degree in psychology and political science/international relations at Sabanci University. His research interests focus on the interdisciplinary studies of social sciences, including political psychology, conflict analysis and resolution, and anthropological approach to social psychology. He writes poems, thought essays and short stories, and loves competitive strategy games. Oh - he also is a vocalist in several death metal bands.

Yasemin completed her bahcelor's degree in psychology at Sabanci University in 2025. Her research interests include but are not limited to pro-social behavior, social development, social policy, and  political psychology. Outside of her academic interests, she enjoys cooking, music and nature.

Helin İdil Özdemir is an MA student in Computational Social Sciences at Koç University. She completed a double major in Psychology and Sociology at the same institution. She has been involved in various psychology labs, working on topics ranging from stigma to motivated cognition. During her undergraduate years, she participated in two insightful international exchange programs at the University of British Columbia and Utrecht University. While she has diverse scientific curiosities, her primary research interest lies in the role of disability within social contexts, influenced by her own visual impairment. Beyond academia, she enjoys solo traveling, writing, and swimming.

​Dilara is a master’s student in Social Psychology at Sabancı University. She received her BA in Psychology from Istanbul Medipol University in 2024. Before starting her master’s, she completed an Erasmus+ internship at Tilburg University, where she contributed to projects on moral decision-making in video games. Her research interests include morality, prosocial behavior, intergroup relations, and human-robot interaction. She is particularly interested in how moral judgments and behaviors change when people interact with robots, both in children and adults. Beyond academia, she enjoys photography and painting.

Büşra is a master’s student in psychology at Sabancı University in Istanbul, Turkey. She graduated from Boğaziçi University's Psychology program. Her research interests mainly focus on social identity, acculturation, intergroup relations, political action, and social media studies. She currently works in projects about sexist humor on social media, attitudes towards veganism and vegetarianism, environmental attitudes, collective action tendencies among and towards sexual minorities in Turkey, and the impact of incompatible identities on collective action tendencies. She enjoys cooking, traveling, learning languages, and spending time with her friends. Besides, she is a big fan of Geoguessr!

Güneş completed her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2023. Her research interests focus on the psychological factors influencing environmental behavior, with a particular focus on the role of identification. She aims to examine how social identity, intergroup relations, social influence, and experiences of stigma and discrimination shape environmental attitudes and behaviors. Besides her academic interests, she enjoys exploring nature and trying out outdoor activities.

Mina received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology (2023) from TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Turkish Studies Program at Sabancı University, Istanbul. Before starting her master’s program, she studied as TUBITAK STAR assistant in a project about psychosocial resilience and earthquake preparedness. Besides her clinical internships, she also contributed to TEAM (Toplumsal Etki Araştırmaları Merkezi) as a research assistant for a year. Her primary research interests include political psychology,  group behavior, religious-political attitudes, voting behavior and social-political identities. Along with her academic interests, she enjoys cinema, travelling and modeling.

Bahar is a senior undergraduate Psychology student at Sabanci University. Her research interests include Industrial-Organizational Psychology and social psychological processes in the workplace, such as social identity, group dynamics, attitudes, norms, and organizational culture. She is particularly interested in understanding how interpersonal and group-level factors shape employees’ motivation, cooperation, and well-being in organizational settings. In addition to her academic pursuits, she enjoys sports and meditation.

Houmayrah Jeeawody is a Psychology Master’s student in the Erasmus Mundus Global-MINDS programme. She completed semesters at ISCTE–University Institute of Lisbon and the University of Limerick and is currently writing her thesis on contact theory and social change. She earned her BSc in Psychology from the University of Mauritius and worked as a research assistant with Dr. Dimitris Xygalatas at the Experimental Anthropology Lab, conducting fieldwork in Mauritius. Her research focuses on intergroup relations, social change, and collective action, with further interests in multiculturalism, decolonisation, and intersectionality. Beyond research, she enjoys traveling, exploring new cultures through language, and is passionate about coastal navigation.