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Biography

Dr. Irem Korucu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Â鶹¾«Æ·ÊÓƵ. She received her bachelor’s degrees in chemistry with a double major in psychology and a master’s degree in developmental psychology from Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey. She earned her doctorate degree in human development and family sciences from Purdue University. After completing her doctoral studies, Dr. Korucu pursued postdoctoral training at Yale University Child Study Center. Before joining FAU, she held faculty appointments at the Yale University Child Study Center and Oregon State University.Ìý

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Child Study Center, Yale University

Ph.D., Human Development and Family Sciences, Purdue University

M.A., Developmental Psychology, Koç University

B.A. & B.S., Psychology & Chemistry, Koç University

Research Interests

• The development of executive function and self-regulation in early childhood
• Influences of early social contexts on children’s development, learning, and well-being across the lifespan
• Cognitive development in the face of adversity
• Risk and protective factors during early experiences
• Early childhood prevention and intervention programs targeting executive function and self-regulation development

Research Description

My research examines the development of executive function and self-regulation skills in early childhood and how contextual factors, such as the quality of early social contexts, contribute to or hinder children’s development, learning, and well-being across the lifespan. To study this, I focus on three related strands of research: 1) the complex relations between executive function and children’s academic and social outcomes, 2) the processes linking early social contexts to executive function development, academic skills, and well-being over time, 3) prevention and intervention programs designed to promote early executive function development for children from traditionally underserved communities. I primarily use longitudinal and experimental methods and use both community-level data sets and large-scale nationally representative data sets to answer these research questions. My research program has important implications for young children’s executive function and self-regulation development and how to strengthen these skills before formal schooling.

Prospective Students

Dr. Korucu will be accepting a graduate student for the 2026-2027 academic year. Prospective students should contact Dr. Korucu to discuss available opportunities.

Selected Publications

Korucu, I.,ÌýDuncan, R. J., Kenny, S. A., Gonzales, C. R., Ahmadi, A., Karing, J. T., & McClelland, M. M. (2025). The Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders Task as a Screening Tool for Kindergarten-Level Achievement. Behavioral Sciences, 15(11),Ìý1464.

Korucu, I., Paes, T. M., Costello, L.,^* Duncan, R. J., Purpura, D. J., & Schmitt, S. A (2023). The role of peers’ executive function and classroom quality in preschoolers’ executive function and academic skills. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 86, Ìý

Duncan, R. J., Korucu, I., & Schmitt., S. A. (2023). Variations in early life home environment quality and children’s academic achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 85.

Devlin, B. L., Paes, T. M., Geer, E. A., Bryant, L. M., Zehner, T. M., Korucu, I., Morse, K. E., Duncan, R. J., Purpura, D. J., Schmitt, S. A. (2023). Moving beyond dosage and adherence: A four-step protocol for capturing dimensions of young children’s engagement as a measure of implementation fidelity of social-emotional learning interventions. Frontiers in Psychology. Ìý

Korucu, I., Ayturk, E., Finders, J., Schnur, G.,^* Bailey, C. S., Tominey, S., & Schmitt, S. A. (2022). Self-regulation in preschool: Examining its factor structure and associations with pre-academic skills and social-emotional competence. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology.

Schmitt, S. A., Finders, J., Duncan, R. J., Korucu, I., Bryant, L., Purpura., D. J., & Elicker, J. (2021). Exploring longitudinal and bidirectional links between executive function and social-emotional competence in early childhood. Developmental Psychology, 57(12), 2093–2105.

Britto, P. R., Hanoz-Penney, S., Pontuga, L. A., Sunar, D., Issa, G., Hein, S. D., Rosario, M. C., Almuneef, M. A., Korucu, I., Togo, Y., Kurbonov, J., Choibekow, N., Phan, H. T. T., Fallon, S., Artukoglu, B., Hartl, F., Salah, R., Fitzpatrick, S., Connolly, P., Dunne, L., Miller, S., Pruett, K., & Leckman, J. (2020). Pathways to a more peaceful and sustainable world: The transformative power of children in families. Development and Psychopathology, 1–12.

Korucu, I., & Schmitt, S. A. (2020). The continuity and change in the home environment and associations with school readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 97-107. Ìý Ìý

Korucu, I., Litkowski, E., & Schmitt, S. A. (2020). Examining associations between the home literacy environment, executive function, and school readiness. Early Education and Development, 31, 455-473.

Korucu, I., Litkowski, E., Purpura, D. J., & Schmitt, S. A. (2020). Parental executive function as a predictor of parenting practices and children’s executive function. Infant and Child Development, 29, 1-16.

Korucu, I., Rolan, E., Napoli, A. R., Purpura, D. J., & Schmitt, S. A. (2019). Development of the Home Executive Function Environment (HEFE) Scale: Assessing its relation to preschoolers’ executive function. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 9-19.

Schmitt, S. A., Korucu, I., Napoli, A. R., Bryant, L., & Purpura, D. J. (2018). Using block play to enhance preschool children’s mathematics and executive function: A randomized controlled trial. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 44,Ìý181-191.

Korucu, I., Yagmurlu, B., & Harma, M. (2017). Self-regulation: Relations with theory of mind and social behavior. Infant and Child Development, 26, 1-23.