[1] Mehmet Doğan Cüceloğlu was born as the youngest of eleven children in the Mukaddime neighborhood of Silifke district in Mersin,[2] southern Turkey on 9 February 1938.

He lost interest in going to school and then fell ill. An injection by an untrained nurse from the neighborhood led to a lifelong handicap of his one leg.

[1] Influenced by a nationalist literature teacher during his high school years in Ankara,[2] Cüceloğlu enrolled in Istanbul University to study psychology.

[2] After returning to Turkey, Cüceloğlu married Yıldız Hacıevliyagil (born 1966), who is a writer on human, societal, and personal development.

[4][2] In 1975, Cüceloğlu received a Fulbright Program scholarship to conduct scientific research at the University of California, Berkeley as a visiting professor.

[1] Cüceloğlu's inspirational life story was chronicled in his book titled İnsanı Ararken ("Searching For Human").

[5] He was interred at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery following a religious funeral service held at Levent Afet Yolal Mosque.