Dr. Goh, who currently serves as the Vice President of HELP University, is the Dean of the Faculty of Behavioural Sciences at HELP University, Kuala Lumpur, which accommodates one of the largest psychology programmes in South East Asia. He received his PhD in Psychology from the University of Otago, New Zealand with research in developmental cognition. 

 

He has a vast amount of experience from taking up positions such as the past President for both the ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Societies (ARUPS) and the Malaysian Psychological Association (PSIMA). As of now, he serves as the treasurer for the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) as well as a Consultant Psychologist for MENSA Malaysia to boot.

 

Specializing in the application of psychology, his fields include:

 

• talent management

• change management

• conflict mediation 

• customer service 

• people management

• stress management

• leadership

 

Dr. Goh has also served as an external consultant and trainer with various organizations. Amongst them are Shell, Ogilvy and Mather, Petronas, Maxis, MISC, CIMB, Public Mutual, Prudential, Standard Chartered Bank, Digi, Great Eastern, Kraft, Sime Darby, Back Negara, Prudential, Hitachi, Mimos, Toyota, and BASF. 

 

As far as lending a helping hand to the Malaysian society, he has invested his energy working as a project leader for 8 UNICEF projects. Some examples include a capacity building project in Tsunami impacted communities in Kedah, the development of national child trauma response team, a bully prevention intervention in Malaysian schools and a positive discipline initiative in schools.

 

Dr. Goh's speech is titled "Implications of the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolution" where he will be discussing the repercussions of the quality of our life facing both the 4th and 5th revolutions. Placing emphasis on the field of psychology, he will be deliberating on the changes brought upon scopes such as practice and research as well as career options for psychology graduates. Similarly, questions about the new role of psychology amidst the age of robotics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing will also be addressed.

Dr. Alejandro graduated with a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. During his PhD, he investigated the mechanisms involved in the identification of a particular face as the own. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. 

 

His main research interest is in face processing. More specifically, this interest centers in three different lines:

 

•    The process(es) involved in the perception of faces of different familiarity (i.e., are different processing strategies involved depending on the familiarity with a face?)
•    Face familiarization (i.e., when and how an unfamiliar face becomes familiar).
•    The concept of self-identity and its relationship with the knowledge we have about our own face.

 

On the other hand, Dr. Alejandro is also interested in mathematical cognition. Particularly, in the different cognitive mechanisms involved in the resolution of different arithmetical operations such as multiplication vs. subtractions. In his research, he employs techniques such as: 

 

•    psychological
•    eye-tracking
•    psychophysiological and neuroscientific
              - EEG and Event-Related Potentials
              - Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

 

 

His talk, “Face Identification: Perception, Recognition, and Individual Differences” will describe the differences and similarities between different face identification tasks used in both laboratory and natural scenarios such as ID verification. The talk will also explore how the study of individual differences in these tasks can help us to unravel different aspects associated with our visual system, in general, and our face identification system, in particular, and why this is particularly important in those countries, such as Malaysia, with a multiethnic populace.

Dr. Lee Ai-Suan is currently an Assistant Professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kampar, Perak. She completed her PhD at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on cross-cultural face perception, under the supervision of Dr. Ian Stephen, Dr. Elizabeth Sheppard, and Dr. David Keeble.

 

Her PhD examined the role of language and culture on looking and verbal description strategies in face and scene processing. Having worked with two eye-tracker systems during her PhD, she is familiar with eye-tracking methods in research.

 

Dr. Lee has won the Ernst Mach Grant – Worldwide, to collect data at the University of Vienna, Austria, and a Poster Award at the 21st ISHE meeting in Vienna, Austria.

 

Her research interests include:

 

• Face and body perception

• Cross-cultural perception

• Language relativity

 

She will be conducting a workshop titled “Eye on the world: A hands-on introduction to eye-tracking methods”, where she will be providing an overview of how eye-tracking technology is used in consumer and research settings, followed by a hands-on introduction to eye-tracking methods with a Tobii eye-tracker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. David is a Reader and Deputy Director at the newly established Perdana University Centre for Psychological Medicine. Having graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and MRes. Research Methods from the University of Strathclyde, he continued to pursue a Postgraduate Certificate of Special Study in Supporting Learning from the University of Westminster.

 

With an interest in Psychology, Dr. David graduated with a PhD from the University of Westminster, London with his research area in:

 

• Schizotypy: A Multi-Country Study of Psychometrics

• Socio-Cultural Influences

• Cognitive Processes 

• Electrophysiological Markers   

 

Additionally, he has been actively involved in research related to psychology, particularly with personality facets, and has published extensively in various acclaimed international journals. Dr. Barron has also taught across a wide range of psychological topics through positions at numerous universities.

 

Regarding professional memberships, he is a member of the Schizophrenia International Research Society, an associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), and a Board Member to the Asian Psychological Association, Social Psychology Branch.  

 

Dr. David's central research scope is in the personality dimension schizotypy which specifically encompasses the role of culture, social influence, and ethnicity plays with schizotypy. He has examined these factors in relation to this personality dimension and also investigated neurocognitive and electrophysiological correlates. His involvement with publishing work includes areas of body image, conspiracy theories, and thinking styles. Similarly, having an interest in psychometrics, he has published a wide range of scale development and cultural invariance studies.

 

 

His speech, "When East Meets West: A Guide to Publication and Test Adaptation", will unfold the challenges Asian Psychology face in establishing itself clearly and their progression into the future in scholarly publication. One of the obstacles being the measurement and the translation and adaptation of English measures into the local context. On that note, this talk will lay out the fundamentals of designing and research conduct, and in-depth research techniques in the frame of test adaptation. Furthermore, guidelines will be presented to tackle some problems that hinder basic and applied psychological research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pioneer in the niche area of Clinical Neuropsychology in Malaysia, Dr. Vigneswaran, started his journey into the world of clinical neuropsychology with his Bachelor of Science degree in 1999, followed by a MEd Psychology qualification in 2004. Subsequently, in the pursuit of his training in Clinical Neuropsychology, he completed a Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Institute (HPNI) in Kailua, Hawaii where he was trained under the tutelage of the eminent Professor Dr. Kore Liow.

 

He then completed his doctoral training with a PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology (Neurosurgery) under the auspice of eminent Clinical Professors of University of Malaya, namely, Professor Dr. Dharmendra Ganesan (Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon) of University Malaya, Professor Dr Vairavan Narayanan (Consultant Neurosurgeon), Professor Dr. Norlisah Ramli (Neuroradiologist) and the world renowned Clinical Neuropsychologist, Professor Dr. Mark William Bondi of University of California San Diego, specialising into advanced neuroimaging, neuropsychological assessments and treatments for neurological disorders.

 

Dr. Vigneswaran has also completed various professional trainings and courses involving prestigious institutions such as University of Cambridge, UK, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, International Brain Injury Association, US Department of Defense and US Navy. Professionally, he holds full membership in the Div. 40 Society for Clinical Neuropsychology and American Psychological Association. He is also an Associate Member of the Neurosurgical Association of Malaysia and a Corresponding Member of European Society for Radiology. Dr. Vigneswaran was also recently inducted to be a part of the Special Interest Group for Disorders of Consciousness (DOC) under the International Brain Injury Association that is responsible for the development of standardized DOC Management and Treatment Guideline. He is currently the President of the newly minted Society of Clinical Neuropsychology (Malaysia). 

 

Dr. Vigneswaran is also among one of the very few clinicians in South East Asia trained in:

 

• awake brain surgeries

• WADA brain hemispheric dominance assessment

• intraoperative brain mapping

• pre/post subdural grid implantation neuropsychological mapping

•  functional/ advanced neuroimaging (DTI, fMRI, MRS)

• neurophysiological monitoring

 

 

In his current clinical practice, he routinely performs:

 

• various diagnostic/ comprehensive neurocognitive, neuropsychological and neurobehavioral assessments and monitoring

• frontal lobe assessment

• assessment of aphasia and language disorders

• neuro-anatomic functional lateralization for Awake Brain surgeries

•  multisensory stimulation/ cognitive reserve stimulation/ passive tactile simulation

• adaptive motor and skills training and monitoring

• various neurocognitive rehabilitation and functional neurorehabilitation for various neurological disorders including but not limited to:

             > stroke

             >traumatic brain injury (TBI)

             >neurovascular/ cerebrovascular diseases (AVMs, aneurysm)

             > neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, MCI, Dementia                           subtypes)

             >epilepsy

             >brain tumours and Disorders of Consciousness (vegetative                          state)

             >minimally conscious state

             >lock-in syndrome 

 

His specialty areas include:

 

• Clinical Neuropsychology

• Advanced Neuroimaging (Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Functional MRI)

• Intraoperative Brain Mapping and Functional Localization

• Neuropsychological and Neurocognitive Assessments

• Cognitive Rehabilitation 

• Multisensory Stimulation

 

Additionally, Dr. Vigneswaran's research interests lie in:

 

• Advanced Intraoperative Brain Imaging and Mapping

• DTI

• fMRI

• Evoke Potential

• Traumatic Brain Injury

• Neurodegenerative Diseases

• Disorders of Consciousness

• Microgravity and Neurocognition

 

 

His workshop themed as “ Clinical Neuropsychology: The Malaysian Journey” will explore the historical development of neuropsychology as a clinical specialty in Malaysia, the clinical area of practice (what do they do?), the recommended train pathways for Malaysians who aspire to be a registered clinical practitioner will be discussed. Additionally, the many different types of assessments methods, investigative tools, and treatment procedures performed by clinical neuropsychologist will be briefly explored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Yong is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Sunway University. She received her undergraduate degree from University Malaya Sarawak. Her PhD was on dogs' understanding of human emotions under the supervision of Professor Ted Ruffman, in the Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand.

 

Prior to joining Sunway University, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and a Researcher in the Department of Biology at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. Her PhD research focuses on social cognition across the human lifespan using social neuroscience techniques, particularly on older adults and infants. Her previous work in social cognition inter-species has generated plenty of academic and public interests. She has successfully gained competitive grant funding while working with both local and international academic and industry researchers.

 

In terms of academic qualifications, she was awarded scholastic awards such as the Chancellor’s Award for the best overall academic and curricular achievement, the Dean’s List for all undergraduate semesters and the Award for Achievement in Research for Early Career Researcher. She was also a scholarship recipient for both her undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

 

 

Dr. Yong's research interests involve:

 

• psychophysiological and behavioural responses in cognition

• social/emotional understanding across the human lifespan

• human-animal interaction for overall health and well-being

 

She will be presenting a talk on"Social and Emotional Understanding: Across age and species" describing the social cognitive views in regards to human and non-human, particularly domestic dogs. Her study compares both dogs and humans using sadness as a distress emotion which shows that dogs experience a form of empathy upon hearing a crying infant like humans. The findings of her study involving emotional contagion, which is sharing similar emotions and behaviours between dogs and humans, will be explored further.

Dr. Steve is working as an Associate Professor in Cognitive Psychology at the Malaysia Campus of the University of Nottingham. He obtained his PhD in Psychology from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at Duke University, United States, on a project with Professor David Rubin regarding the temporal distribution of autobiographical memory.

 

He then went on to become a postdoctoral research fellow at Hokkaido University, Japan, on a project with Professor Makiko Naka about cultural differences in autobiographical memory. Thereafter, he was a Vice-Chancellor's postdoctoral research fellow at Flinders University, Australia, working on a project about the self-enhancement function of autobiographical memory. He was a member of the Publications Committee of the Society of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition and has become an Associate Editor at Applied Cognitive Psychology. 

 

Dr. Steve's research has mainly focused on one of the most robust findings of autobiographical memory: the reminiscence bump, which is the effect that people tend to recall more personal events from the period in which they were between 10 and 30 years old than from adjacent time periods.

 

He will conduct a workshop on "An Introduction to Registered Reports and Open Science" where it will introduce students to the Replication Crisis, pre-registration, and Open Science. The Replication Crisis, which is the realization that many findings in the scientific literature cannot be reproduced has impacted the findings not only in psychology but also findings in other science fields. This crisis has been caused by the publication bias. Because journals have for many years avoided publishing null findings, researchers tended to submit mostly studies that supported the hypothesis.

 

The crisis has been exacerbated by questionable research practices, such as HARK-ing, p-hacking, and using small samples. To minimize publication bias and questionable research practices, researchers have started to make their science more open. They have begun to pre-register their studies and to make their research practices more transparent. Journals, on the other hand, have begun to encourage sharing of materials, data, and code and to offer Registered Reports.

 

Dr. Andreas graduated with a PhD in Neuroscience from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. In his research, he explores the processes underlying the experience of the own body, particularly in the role of movements which combines questions of perception and motor research. He addresses these questions from both a psychological and neuroscientific perspective.

 

He is an editor and reviewer for a number of internationally renowned journals. He joined the University of Reading in August 2015 and the Malaysian Psychology Journal as an editor in 2018 involved in building its profile. 

 

Besides his research, Dr. Andreas has been involved in teaching for many years, particularly in topics relating psychology to brain science. He has also participated in a number of outreach events/projects and is currently a member of an NGO to promote science in public discussions.

 

His specialty areas include: 

 

• Cognitive neuroscience

• Experimental psychology

• Neuropsychology

 

Not only that, Dr. Andreas's research interests lie in many areas such as: 

 

• Neural and cognitive mechanisms of the experience of the body

• Body representation and its implications in neurological and psychiatric disorders

• Motor control/cognition

• Multisensory perception

• Embodied cognition

 

 

The title of his workshop is "How to get published in JPM". In this session, he will be introducing the Malaysian Psychology Journal (Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia), the journal of the Malaysian Psychological Association. JPM recently introduced new recommendations and guidelines for manuscript submissions. Hence, Dr. Andreas will be providing an overview of its publishing policies, and how to prepare a manuscript suitable for JPM. Moreover, he will further provide some recommendations for scientific writing in general, and how to deal with arguments from editors and reviewers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Adrian was awarded a BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford and, in 2005, earned his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Michigan. He uses EEG and peripheral psychophysiology measures to study various cognitive processes.

 

Prior to joining the University of Reading Malaysia in 2017, he was a Research Scientist in the Human Sleep lab and the Computer Science lab at SRI International where he was involved in research investigating sleep and memory. He has also conducted research in a wide variety of other areas around attention, working memory and executive control. 

 

Dr. Adrian's current research interests focus on multi-modal attention-that is, how we divide our attention between visual and auditory input, and how processing of one type of information affects processing of the other.

 

 

His specialty areas include: 

 

• Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive Neuroscience

• Biological Psychology

 

Additionally, Dr. Adrian's research interests consist of: 

 

• Attention and Memory

• EEG and Psychophysiology

• Error Detection and Action Monitoring

 

 

His workshop, "Brainwaves: What are they and what can they tell us?", focuses on the subject of Electroencephalography (EEG) which has been used in human psychology for 100 years. He will be giving a brief overview of what we have learned about the neural generation of EEG activity, how it can be analyzed (and interpreted), and what it has taught us about cognitive processing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In June 2018, fifteen second- and third-year BSc Psychology students from the University of Reading Malaysia volunteered and started their contributions towards the MAPSA 2018 Organising Committee. The committee members are dedicated into four units, which are the Programme Team, Publicity Team, Registration Team, and Logistics Team. At the same time, they also work in collaboration with each other under the coordination and guidance of three advisors, who are Dr. Rachel Pye, Dr. Tan Kok Wei, and Ms. Irfa Sazueinn Abdul Malik. Throughout regular meetings, this group of students is fully involved in organizing the overall flow and every single detail of this event. They are determined to ensure the smooth running of the conference through detailed planning.

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In this workshop on “How to Organise MAPSA 2018”, the committee members will discuss their five-month experiences in planning this conference. They will talk about the timeline of the event planning, including familiarisation with the responsibilities of each unit and task coordination between different units. They will also discuss some of the challenges they faced in organizing this conference and how they overcome the difficulties, as well as some reflections of their experiences.

 

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