Scientist
Dr. Ayse Candan Simsek
Dr. Ayse Candan Simsek
Member of the Perception and Action Lab
Ayşe Candan Şimşek has been a postdoctoral researcher at IWM in the Perception and Action Lab since August 2023. She studies visual perception, the use of artificial intelligence agents and multimodality in educational settings, event cognition and film perception. Her research aims at understanding the basic processes behind the perception of dynamic visual events to transfer the knowledge to applied settings.
She received her doctorate in perception, cognition and development at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, United States in 2017. After her graduation, she worked as an Assistant Professor at Yasar University Psychology Department in Turkey for five years. There, she ran her own laboratory, taught undergraduate and graduate courses in cognitive psychology, mentored students, and advised master theses. She also conducted research that has been funded by university grants. She has many external collaborations such as with University College Dublin, Ireland, and German Institute for Adult Education / Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning in Bonn, Germany.
Dr. Ayse Candan Simsek
Schleichstr. 6
72072 Tübingen
Room 6.619
+49 7071 979-280a.simsek@iwm-tuebingen.deLab membership
Projects
Projects with a current term and projects that have taken place in the last 5 years are shown.
Psychological explorations of Artificial Intelligence
Perception and Action lab
Duration 07/2023 - open
Go to ProjectNatural and mediated perception of dynamic events
Perception and Action lab
Duration 09/2022 - open
Go to Project
Publications
Articles (peer-reviewed)
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., Demirgüneş, E. A., & Şafak, P. A. (2025). Space in movies: Continuity and perceptual load guide spatial judgements. Art & Perception. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134913-BJA10068
Open AccessDataStudy materialCode
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Huff, M. (2024). How does it end? Endpoints of boundaries lead to completion in macro-events. Memory & Cognition. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-024-01657-x
Open AccessPreregistrationDataStudy materialCode
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Ozkan, Z. G. (2024). One perspective or two? Viewpoint dependency in visual events. Current Psychology, 43, 8624–8635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04997-0
- Candan Şimşek, A., & Kurum, E. (2024). Remembering cinematic sequences: Boundaries disrupt memory in fast paced visual events. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000661
- Candan Şimşek, A., Karaca, N., Kirmizi, B. C., & Ekiz, F. (2023). What makes a visual scene more memorable? A rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) study with dynamic visual scenes. Visual Cognition, 31(6), 452-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/13506285.2023.2288361
Research data
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., Demirgüneş, E. A., & Şafak, P. A. (2025). Space in movies: Continuity and perceptual load guide spatial judgements [Data set]. https://doi.org/10.1163/22134913-BJA10068
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Ozkan, Z. G. (2024). Dataset for: One perspective or two? Viewpoint dependency in visual events [Data set]. https://osf.io/qx5hd/
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Huff, M. (2024). How does it end? Endpoints of boundaries lead to completion in macro-events [Data set]. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-024-01657-x
View dataPreregistrationStudy materialCode
- Candan Şimşek, A., & Kurum, E. (2023). Dataset for: Remembering Cinematic Sequences: Boundaries disrupt memory in fast paced visual events. https://osf.io/fks8e/
- Candan Şimşek, A., Karaca, N., Kirmizi, B. C., & Ekiz, F. (2023). Dataset for: What makes a visual scene more memorable? A Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) Study with Dynamic Visual Scenes. https://osf.io/pj2uv/
Presentations und Conferences
Talks
- Candan Şimşek, A., Anders, G., Göth, J., Specht, L., & Huff, M. (2025, August 25-29). The role of AI-generated summaries and questions in learning from educational videos. Learning With, Not Just Learning From, Videos – Interactivity as Key Element in Video-based Learning. EARLI 2025 Conference. University of Graz, Austria. [Talk]
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Rooney, B. (2024, June 7). Breaking the 4th wall in movies: Mental attributions and narrative engagement. 2024 Conference of the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI). Budapest, Hungary. [Talk]
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Huff, M. (2023, September 6-9). Remembering everyday events: Boundaries promote event completion through backwards inferences. 23th Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP). Porto, Portugal. [Talk]
- Candan Şimşek, A. (2023, December 6). Visual cognition across media: Viewer perception of dynamic events. Kambeitz Lab University of Cologne. [Talk]
Poster presentations
- Candan Şimşek, A., Aydın, T., & Huff, M. (2024, November 21-24). How does it end? Endpoints of boundaries lead to completion in macro events. 65th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society. New York City, NY, USA. [Poster presentation]
Teaching
- Candan Şimşek, A. (Summer semester 2025). PSY - FS WKM (Vertiefung Anwendung)/FS WKM: Cognitive processes behind visual media perception: The case of movies. Seminar (Bachelor). Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.
- Candan Şimşek, A. (Summer semester 2024). Forschungsseminar in der Wirtschaftspsychologie (Cognitive processes behind visual media perception). Seminar (Bachelor). Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen.
- Buder, J., Candan Şimşek, A., Fischer, H., Ditrich, L., Utz, S., Klein, S. H., Mayer, M., Lermann Henestrosa, A., Hoch, E., Schwan, S., & Gerjets, P. (Winter semester 2024/25). Knowledge media in education, work, and leisure. Lecture (Master). Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.
- Candan Şimşek, A. (Winter semester 2024/25). Projektarbeit (PA) Vertiefung Wirtschaftspsychologie: Cognitive processes behind visual media perception: The case of movies. Seminar (Bachelor). Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.