Elanur Ulakci has been a doctoral researcher in the Perception and Action Lab at the IWM since July 2026. Her research in machine psychology applies the methods of cognitive psychology to large language models and asks how artificial systems compare with human cognition. A further focus is how humans and AI shape one another when they think, learn, and decide together, and how this reciprocal influence changes our understanding of human cognition.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Yaşar University, graduating as the highest-ranked student of the university, her faculty, and her department. She completed her master’s degree in psychology at the University of Tübingen as a recipient of the Deutschlandstipendium.

Main research topics

• Machine psychology
• Large language models as models of human cognition: comparing human and model judgments
• Hybrid and distributed cognition in human–AI interactions
• Users’ mental models of AI and the role of interaction design
• Metacognition and self-monitoring in humans and language models