Melis Muradoglu

All Publications

• Why a culture of brilliance is bad for physics NATURE REVIEWS PHYSICS Muradoglu, M., Arnold, S. H., Poddar, A., Stanaland, A., Yilmaz, D., Cimpian, A. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s42254-023-00685-x

  View details for Web of Science ID 001138120800004

• A Growth Mindset Scale for Young Children (GM-C): Development and validation among children from the United States and South Africa. PloS one Muradoglu, M., Porter, T., Trzesniewski, K., Cimpian, A. 2024; 19 (10): e0311205

  Abstract

  Beliefs about the malleability of intellectual ability-mindsets-shape achievement. Recent evidence suggests that even young children hold such mindsets; yet, no reliable and valid instruments exist for measuring individual differences in young children's mindsets. Given the potential relevance of mindsets to children's achievement-related behavior and learning, we developed and tested the psychometric properties of the Growth Mindset Scale for Children (GM-C). Among other psychometric properties, we assessed this instrument's (a) factor structure, (b) measurement invariance, (c) internal consistency, (d) temporal stability (test-retest reliability), (e) concurrent validity, and (f) cross-cultural robustness in samples of US children (Study 1; N = 220; ages 4 through 6; 50% girls; 39% White) and South African children (Study 2; predominantly grades 4 and 5; N = 331; 54% girls; 100% non-White). The GM-C scale exhibited four factors, representing beliefs about the instability of low ability, the malleability of low ability, the instability of high ability, and the malleability of high ability. The GM-C scale also demonstrated invariance across age, acceptable internal consistency (alphas between .70 to .90), and moderate temporal stability over approximately one month (rs between .38 to .72). Concurrent validity was supported by significant relations between children's scores on the subscales about low ability and their goal orientations (Studies 1 and 2), challenge-seeking behavior, and achievement in math and English (Study 2). These findings suggest that the GM-C scale is a promising tool for measuring mindsets in young children. We offer practical recommendations for using this new scale and discuss theoretical implications.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0311205

  View details for PubMedID 39374215

• “What Does It Take to Succeed Here?”: The Belief That Success Requires Brilliance Is an Obstacle to Diversity Current Directions in Psychological Science Muradoglu, M., Arnold, S. H., Leslie, S., Cimpian, A. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1177/09637214231173361

• Mixed-Effects Models for Cognitive Development Researchers Journal of Cognition and Development Muradoglu, M., Cimpian, J. R., Cimpian, A. 2023

  View details for DOI 10.1080/15248372.2023.2176856

• Formal explanations shape children's representations of animal kinds and social groups. Developmental psychology Muradoglu, M., Marchak, K. A., Gelman, S. A., Cimpian, A. 2022

  Abstract

  In certain domains, people represent some of an individual's properties (e.g., a tiger's ferocity), but not others (e.g., a tiger's being in the zoo), as stemming from the assumed "essence" of the individual's category. How do children identify which properties of an individual are essentialized and which are not? Here, we examine whether formal explanations-that is, explanations that appeal to category membership (e.g., "That's ferocious because it's a tiger")-help children to identify which properties are essentialized. We investigated this question in two domains: animal kinds (Study 1) and social categories (specifically, gender; Studies 2 and 3). Across studies, we introduced children to novel behaviors and preferences of individuals using either a formal explanation or closely matched wording that did not express a formal explanation. To measure the extent to which children essentialized the novel properties, we assessed their inferences about the stability, innateness, and generalizability of these properties. In Study 1 (N = 104; 61 girls, 43 boys; predominantly White and multiracial children from high-income backgrounds), we found that formal explanations led 5- and 6-year-old children to view novel properties of individual animals as more stable across time. In Studies 2 and 3 (total N = 163; 84 girls, 79 boys; predominantly White, Asian, and multiracial children from high-income backgrounds), we found that formal explanations led 6-year-olds, but not 5-year-olds, to view novel properties of individual girls and boys as more stable across contexts. These studies highlight an important mechanism by which formal explanations guide conceptual development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/dev0001447

  View details for PubMedID 36136783

• An Emphasis on Brilliance Fosters Masculinity-Contest Cultures PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Vial, A. C., Muradoglu, M., Newman, G. E., Cimpian, A. 2022; 33 (4): 595-612

  Abstract

  Women are underrepresented in fields in which success is believed to require brilliance, but the reasons for this pattern are poorly understood. We investigated perceptions of a "masculinity-contest culture," an organizational environment of ruthless competition, as a key mechanism whereby a perceived emphasis on brilliance discourages female participation. Across three preregistered correlational and experimental studies involving adult lay participants online (N = 870) and academics from more than 30 disciplines (N = 1,347), we found a positive association between the perception that a field or an organization values brilliance and the perception that this field or organization is characterized by a masculinity-contest culture. This association was particularly strong among women. In turn, perceiving a masculinity-contest culture predicted lower interest and sense of belonging as well as stronger impostor feelings. Experimentally reducing the perception of a masculinity-contest culture eliminated gender gaps in interest and belonging in a brilliance-oriented organization, suggesting possible avenues for intervention.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/09567976211044133

  View details for Web of Science ID 000774027400001

  View details for PubMedID 35318861

• Women-Particularly Underrepresented Minority Women-and Early-Career Academics Feel Like Impostors in Fields That Value Brilliance JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Muradoglu, M., Horne, Z., Hammond, M. D., Leslie, S., Cimpian, A. 2022; 114 (5): 1086-1100

  View details for DOI 10.1037/edu0000669

  View details for Web of Science ID 000733344300001

• Children's Intuitive Theories of Academic Performance CHILD DEVELOPMENT Muradoglu, M., Cimpian, A. 2020; 91 (4): E902-E918

  Abstract

  How do children reason about academic performance across development? A classic view suggests children's intuitive theories in this domain undergo qualitative changes. According to this view, older children and adults consider both effort and skill as sources of performance (i.e., a "performance = effort + skill" theory), but younger children can only consider effort (i.e., a "performance = effort" theory). Results from two studies (N = 240 children aged 4-9) contradict the claim of theory change, suggesting instead that children as young as 4 operate with an intuitive theory of academic performance that incorporates both effort and skill as explanatory concepts. This work reveals that children's understanding of academic performance is more continuous across development than previously assumed.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/cdev.13325

  View details for Web of Science ID 000491592700001

  View details for PubMedID 31631332

• Explanation as a Cognitive Process TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES Horne, Z., Muradoglu, M., Cimpian, A. 2019; 23 (3): 187-199

  Abstract

  Understanding how people explain is a core task for cognitive science. In this opinion article, we argue that research on explanation would benefit from more engagement with how the cognitive systems involved in generating explanations (e.g., attention, long-term memory) shape the outputs of this process. Although it is clear that these systems do shape explanation, surprisingly little research has investigated how they might do so. We outline the proposed mechanistic approach to explanation and illustrate it with an example: the recent research that suggests explanations exhibit a bias toward inherent information. Taking advantage of what we know about the operating parameters of the human mind is likely to yield new insights into how people come up with explanations.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2018.12.004

  View details for Web of Science ID 000458506700003

  View details for PubMedID 30658885

• Associations between oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) methylation, plasma oxytocin, and attachment across adulthood INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Ebner, N. C., Lin, T., Muradoglu, M., Weir, D. H., Plasencia, G. M., Lillard, T. S., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Cohen, R. A., Carter, C., Connelly, J. J. 2019; 136: 22-32

  Abstract

  The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been implicated in a wide range of affiliative processes. OT exerts its functions via OT receptors, which are encoded by the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Epigenetic modification of OXTR through the process of DNA methylation has been associated with individual differences in behavioral phenotypes. Specifically, lower levels of OXTR methylation have been linked to better social and affective functioning. However, research on epigenetic mechanisms of OXTR is scarce in non-clinical populations, and even less is known about epigenetic variability across adulthood. The present study assessed methylation levels at OXTR CpG site -934 and plasma OT levels in 22 young (20-31 years, M = 23.6) and 34 older (63-80 years, M = 71.4) participants. Lower levels of OXTR methylation and higher plasma OT levels were associated with less self-reported attachment anxiety in young but not older participants, with largely independent contributions of OXTR methylation and plasma OT levels. In contrast, in the overall sample, lower levels of OXTR methylation were associated with higher self-reported attachment avoidance. Age analysis suggested that these results were largely driven by young adults. Plasma OT levels were unrelated to attachment avoidance. Taken together, these findings support the emerging notion in the literature that epigenetic properties of OXTR, in addition to endogenous OT levels, are related to adult attachment. Further, the age effects observed in the associations between OXTR methylation, plasma OT, and adult attachment emphasize the importance of adopting a developmental perspective when studying properties of the OT system and their relation to affiliative processes. Findings contribute to growing evidence suggesting that epigenetic modification of genes regulating OT pathways and endogenous OT levels are associated with the way people form and maintain intimate social relationships.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.01.008

  View details for Web of Science ID 000459644600004

  View details for PubMedID 29410310

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6072619

• Dissecting Spear Phishing Emails for Older vs Young Adults: On the Interplay of Weapons of Influence and Life Domains in Predicting Susceptibility to Phishing Oliveira, D., Rocha, H., Yang, H., Ellis, D., Dommaraju, S., Muradoglu, M., Weir, D., Soliman, A., Lin, T., Ebner, N., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2017: 6412-6424

  View details for DOI 10.1145/3025453.3025831

  View details for Web of Science ID 000426970506019