Research Projects
Use of Real World Knowledge in Processing Local Meaning among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (2021-Present)
Collaborators: Mehtap Güven Çoban
This study aims to investigate the use of real world knowledge and detailed-focus processing among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to individuals with typical development (TD).
(in progress)
Effect of Age of Acquisition and Category Size on Verbal Fluency (2019-2021)
Collaborators: Furkan Atmaca and Kadir Gökgöz
Using a free-recall paradigm, we explored the effects of age of acquisition and category size on verbal fluency in Turkish Sign Language (TID). We studied the semantic and phonological fluency task performances of deaf native and deaf late adult signers. We measured the number of correct responses and performed a time course analysis to observe how signers engage in lexical retrieval. Each task parameter had three difficulty settings corresponding to the size of the selected phonological and semantic categories. The results show that native TID signers produced more correct responses. However, the results reveal no relation between the age of acquisition and the retrieval rate since participants maintained close subsequent response times. This indicates that participants had similar lexical access. Furthermore, the number of signs that the participants produced decreased as the level of difficulty (as a function of category size) increased. Therefore, phonological and semantic category size was found to be suitable measures for categorical difficulty in TID. We conclude that signers have similar updating abilities and lexical access, but delayed acquisition of TID results in a smaller search set in the mental lexicon.
Access our data and code here.
Age of Acquisition Effects on Reference Tracking in Turkish Sign Language (2019-2021)
Collaborators: Furkan Atmaca and Kadir Gökgöz
We investigated how native and late adult deaf signers of Turkish Sign Language (TID) track reference in discourse within a story-telling paradigm. This study provided support for over-redundancy among late adult signers who employ less null marking and perspective mixing in their narratives compared to native signers.
(in progress)
Emotion Word Choice Dependent on Language Mode and Proficiency (2020-2021)
Collaborators: Selen Pekuzun
Under this project, we investigated whether L1 Culture affects L2 emotional arousal levels by examining German, Turkish, and Japanese L1 speakers of L2 English through a text-based sentiment analysis. We found that participants’ emotional granularity labeling was consistent with the cultural orientation of their L1 Culture, possibly because of transfer effects. In a follow-up study, we investigated whether language choice and user proficiency in L2 are predictive of emotional arousal and dominance levels by examining L1 Turkish L2 English speakers through a text-based sentiment analysis. Our results suggested that the emotional granularity labeling of proficient speakers was consistent with the cultural orientation of the tested language. However, our intermediate learners were subject to L1 transfer effects.
Access our data and code here.