Centre Name:	Centre for Applied Psychology
Chairperson:	Asst Prof Dr Lee Mah Ngee
Description of Centre:                                       Research area:	Vision The vision of the Centre of Applied Psychology (CAP) is to become a national and regional centre of excellence in the research area of applied psychology. Mission Statement To promote and pursue a rigorous R&D approach towards producing cutting edge research and expertise. To collaborate with various stakeholders for ensuring the maximum utilization of resources and expertise in the selected applied psychology disciplines. To inculcate appreciation of the rich diversity of research interest among academic staff and stakeholders, and abiding concern for the betterment of humans and the society. The Goals In carrying out its mission, CAP is committed to: Encourage multi and inter-disciplinary research among academic staff in applied psychology disciplines that fosters interaction and cooperation with various stakeholders (internal and external) in producing quality research. Become an avenue for students and staff to plan, discuss and democratically chart the evolution of R&D both within the university and out. Develop undergraduate and postgraduate academic apprentices through exposure to the activities of the centre. Promote a culture of intellectual socialization among academic staff in the applied psychology disciplines with the society and region. Support ongoing research projects by staff and students through administrative and managerial assistances in realizing their full potential   Educational psychology as in psychology of teaching & learning, educational intervention, and social psychology of school as organization Counselling psychology - personal and interpersonal functioning across life span; emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns. Industrial/organizational psychology - e.g. workplace behaviour, work performance, human resource Clinical psychology - assessment, diagnosis, treatment, & prevention of mental disorders Community psychology - quality of life of individuals, communities, & society Environmental psychology - interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between human & their surroundings Cognitive psychology/neuroscience - mental processes, pattern recognition, memory, creativity. Social and cultural psychology

 
Activities in 2013

Summary of activities 

No.	Date	Event
1	25 April 2013	Applied Psychology Seminar 2013
2	15 & 22 June 2013	LPI Consultancy during Festival of the Mind
3	11 July 2013	LPI Consultancy during R&D and GRC Exhibition
4	18 July 2013	Forum on Leonard Personality Inventory (LPI)
5	31 October 2013	Launching of UTAR Community Counselling Centre
6	23 November 2013	3rd Malaysian Psychology Conference

 

 Highlights of activities

CAP Applied Psychology Seminar 2013

25 April 2013

 
UTAR Centre for Applied Psychology organised the first Applied Psychology Seminar on 25 April 2013 in FAS/ICS Meeting room. Emphasising on multidisciplinary psychology, the seminar attracted participants from different background and interest.

This seminar commenced with a paper presentation by Dr. Priscilla Moses who highlighted the importance of student teachers to acquire a positive attitude towards the computer before utilizing it for instructional purposes in their classrooms. The next presentation was by Ms. Tan Swee Mee on her research finding about errors in question formation while making inquiries at faculty office counters by UTAR students. It was followed by Dr. Lee Mah Ngee who investigated whether or not employing strategies such as questions-and answer tasks, little games, line-dancing, and personal video-sharing could enhance students’ learning experience within the lecture theatre environment. Ms. Norazleen bt. Mohamad Noor continued the session by presenting facts and statements regarding the democracy of law media and how new media will not give an impact to achieve a democracy.
 

Ms. Annie Margaret took over after a short break and gave the audience an insight to the variances in individual jurisdiction to address suicide rates in Malaysia. Next, Dr. Kok Jin Kuan’s presentation focused on the link between linguistic studies and human existence by appropriating Bakhtin’s linguistic concept of unfinalizability to the dialogical relationship in counseling. Finally, Ms. Low Sew Kim shared with the audience the challenges that Malaysian school counsellors faced in the context of language and gender.

Although it was a small scale seminar, the question and answer session after each presentation was very lively. The seminar concluded with the presentation of certificates to the seven presenters by CAP Chairperson, Dr. Lee Mah Ngee.  

The itinerary of the seminar is as follows:

No	Title	Speaker	Time
OPENING CEREMONY (12.00pm – 12.15pm)
1.	A Preliminary Study: Student Teachers’ Attitude Towards Computers	Dr. Priscilla Moses Assistant Professor, Department of Languages and Linguistics	12.15pm -12.45pm
2.	An Analysis of Enquiry Questions Formed by UTAR Students	Ms. Tan Swee Mee Lecturer, Department of Languages and Linguistics	12.45pm – 1.15pm
3.	Blending Interactive Behavior into Introduction to Positive Psychology: An Action Research	Dr. Lee Mah Ngee Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling	1.15pm – 1.45pm
4.	Media Baru dan Demokrasi in Malaysia: Ke Arah Perpaduan Nasional instead of Integriti Menangani Rasuah	Ms. Norazleen bt Mohamad Noor Lecturer, Department of Journalism	1.45pm – 2.15pm
TEA BREAK (2.15pm – 2.45pm)
5.	Suicidal Prevention Using Jurisdiction	Ms. Annie Margaret Lecturer, Department of Psychology and Counseling	2.45pm – 3.15pm
6.	Applying Bakhtin’s Unfinalizability and Dialogic in Counselling	Dr. Kok Jin Kuan Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling	3.15pm – 3.45pm
7.	Cultural Sensitivity in Counseling	Ms. Low Sew Kim Lecturer, Department of Psychology and Counseling	3.45pm – 4.15pm
SOUVENIR PRESENTATION (4.15pm-4.30pm)
INTERACTIVE SESSION AND ENDING (4.30pm-5.00pm)

 

LPI Consultancy

The LPI consultancy was conducted during two major events in UTAR by some CAP members who are licensed LPI trainers. 

During the 9th Malaysia Festival of the Mind held at Dewan Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik in UTAR Perak Campus on 15 and 16 June 2013, a team of CAP members participated as LPI consultants.

The LPI Software was used to determine the exact personality profile of people from all walks of life who wish to know their emotional orientations and preferred behavioural orientations. A booth was also set up during R&D and GRC Exhibition at Block A Heritage Hall on 11 July 2013. Similarly, the LPI Software was used. 

Students were given a promotional fare of RM10 and public/staff at RM20 per session in both events. The response, mainly from students, was overwhelming.

 

To be in line with the university’s vision to become a global university of educational excellence with transformative societal impact, the LPI forum was held of 18 July 2013. Prof. Dr Leonard Yong Mee Seng, the adjunct professor of Faculty of Arts and Social Science, also an industrial and educational psychologist was the invited coordinator.  Based on his pioneering work on the LEONARD Personality Inventory (LPI) and the LPI Software, and its use in helping individuals to develop their Emotional Intelligence (EQ) & creativity, Prof. Yong has consulted and conducted numerous training workshops on EQ and Creative Thinking for leaders in various organizations. His books namely Creativity: A Study of Malaysian Students, Pemikiran Kreatif and The LEONARD Personality Inventory are sought after internationally.
 
In general, the LEONARD Personality Inventory (LPI) was designed by Professor Dr. Leonard Yong to profile behavioural preferences of individuals. The LPI is formulated based on the Five Factors Model (FFM) of human personality. It is anchored under the Types & Traits Theory of classical personality theories. The LPI Software is a user-friendly computer program that can be used to determine the exact personality profile of the individual. 

The objectives of this forum are: a) to ensure CAP members to stay updated with the current academic and industrial needs of the LPI related personality profiling and; b) to identify opportunity for future research collaboration between LPI and CAP. Prof. Yong started the forum by highlighting the benefits of collaborating with Leonard Corporation. Besides answering questions posed by CAP members, he furnished CAP members with ideas that could bring CAP to greater heights such as steps to convert CAP to a consulting unit, publicity methods and so on.

 

Aiming to serve the UTAR community and the public, the University's Centre of Applied Pyschology (CAP) established the UTAR Community Counselling Centre at UTAR Perak Campus. The centre, which is the first of its kind in Perak, was launched by UTAR Council Chairman Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik on 30 October 2013. UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato Dr Chuah Hean Teik, UTAR Planning and Development Committee Advisor Tan Sri Dato Hew See Tong, UTAR Council Member Mr. Hew Fen Yee and Kampar District Police Chief Supt Ng Kong Soon were invited to witness the launching of this centre. All of them were accompanied by Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Dr. Cheah Phaik Kin, Chairperson of Centre for Applied Psychology Dr. Lee Mah Ngee and FAS Department of Psychology and Counselling lecturer Ms. Low Sew Kim. 

Mooted by Ms. Low Sew Kim, the objectives of the UTAR Community Counselling Centre include creating a friendly, harmonious and psychologically healthy society, discovering and nurturing the unused potential in every individual, instilling positive attitudes and values in the society, helping every individual to live to his or her fullest and searching for meaning in life and finding one's true self. The centre has dedicated volunteers and students trained by professional counsellors. Currently, there are five types of counselling rooms, namely the Group Counselling Room, Sandtray Therapy Room, Individual Counselling Room, Psychology Room and Observation Room. The centre is also collaborating with colleagues from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences on psychiatric counselling and treatment. 

The UTAR Community Counseling Centre can be contacted at 05-4658451 (Fax: 05-4667597) and opens from Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm (except for public holidays). Services offered include face-to-face counselling and these services also cater to the public (non-UTAR staff/students).

 

3^rd Malaysian Psychology Conference

23 November 2013

The Psychology departments from different universities had come to a consensus to organise the Malaysian Psychology Conference (MPC) annually on a rotation basis after the formation of the Psychology Head of Department Committees in 2010. The committees of the Psychology departments include the following: Department of Psychology and Counselling at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman; Department of Psychology at Monash University; Faculty of Behavioural Science at HELP University; School of Psychology at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus; Department of Psychology at International Medical University (IMU), Department of Psychology at UCSI University; Department of Psychology at Sunway University and Faculty of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences at Perdana University.

The first MPC conference was organized by the School of Psychology at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in 2011, followed by the Department of Psychology at Monash University in 2012. This year, the Department of Psychology and Counselling at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman has volunteered to organize the 3rd MPC conference under the Centre of Applied Psychology (CAP).
 
Themed “Psychology: Present and Future”, the one-day conference was officiated by UTAR Vice President of R&D and Commercialization, Prof. Ir. Dr. Lee Sze Wei and witnessed by Assoc. Prof. Dr Rozmi Ismail, President of Malaysian Psychological Association (PSIMA) and. One of the major highlights of this conference was its plenary sessions where the 9 following plenary speakers furnished the participants with psychological knowledge used to solve arising problems in Malaysia. 

       Dr Goh Chee Leong, Vice Chancellor  from HELP University – Reducing Racial Prejudice in Malaysia: Lesson from Psychology

      Dr Eugene Tee from HELP University – A Review of Emotions Research in Malaysia

        Prof. Peter Mitchell from University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus – The Development of Mindreading as a Transactional Process: Insights from Autism

        Assoc. Prof. Rozmi Ismail from PSIMA – Rehabilitation Program for Mat Rempit in UKM

      Ms. Lavanya Selvaratnam  from UCSI University – Dance Therapy

      Dr Gavin Macdonell from International Medical University – Current State of Knowledge and Recommendations for Evidence based Practice

       Dr Ke Guek Nee from International Medical University – Preliminary Intervention Programme for Problematic Internet Use among University Students

        Dr Alvin Ng Lai Oon from Sunway University – Stories from Psychological Science: Making Theories Relevant in Daily Life and Mindfulness Symposium

        Dr Tam Cai Lian from Monash University – Understanding the Youth Perception: Drug Abuse, Relapse and Treatment Effectiveness

      Dr. Lee Mah Ngee from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman – Embracing Positive Psychology to Daily Life

A  total of 800 participants and presenters from both public and private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bangladesh and Hawaii attended the one-day conference.  There were 125 research papers presented at the conference. Thirty-five merit awards were given away by the Dean of Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Dr.Cheah Phaik Kin. The list of merit award recipients is as follows. They will be invited to submit their full paper to the special issue of Journal of Malaysian Psychology. 

No.	Name	Paper Title
1	Ms. Lee Yee Mun	“Investigating Malaysian drivers judgment on the appropriate speed to drive on roads”
2	Ms. Christine Leong Xiang Ru	“Do you hear this? or do you hear that? Spoken English Discrimination (SED) Training in Malaysian Chinese Speakers”
3	Ms. Poh Wei Lin	“Refreshing across languages among multi-linguals: accessing active  information in the reflective process between two different languages”
4	Ms. Azlina Amir Kassim	“Validation of the Alzheimer’s Disease Evoked Potential Test (ADEPT) as a Potential Diagnostic Tool for Alzheimer’s Disease”
5	Ms. Treshi-Marie Perera from	“That’s not my hand or is it: Visual manipulations of the hand differentially affect tactile perception”
6	Ms. Mass Misha'ari Weerabangsa	“Emotional language processing of English language stimuli in multi-lingual Malaysian citizens”
7	Mr. Shimul Asheek Hasan Rakibul	“Emotion & Episodic Memory: Does Congruity or Incongruity Matter?”
8	Ms. Saranya a/p Selvadorai	“A Predictive study of paternal parenting style and Malaysian Undergraduates Achievement Strategies”
9	Ms. Geoh Zie Shien	“Self-Expansion in Romantic Relationship and Happiness among Young Adults”
10	Ms. Theresa Wong Yuen Mun	“Proud of who I am: The role of authentic pride in adolescent’s satisfaction with personal identity”
11	Ms. Wong Joe Yee	“The Association between Parenting Styles and Career Decision Making  among Undergraduates”
12	Mr. Lee Boon Hock	“Perceived Stress and Self Esteem Among the Married Malaysian Adults and the Singles”
13	Ms. Carlyn Wong Yoke Y’ng	“Impact of Ethnicity in Referral and Recommendation Decisions for a Gifted and Talented Program”
14	Ms. Yap Chin Choo	“Psychosocial variables in affecting diabetes self-management and quality of life: A Pilot Study”
15	Mr. William Hoi Wei Yuan	“A Comparison Study on the Coping Strategies and Psychological Health of Undergraduates with different levels of Autism Spectrum Quotient”
16	Ms. Puvessha Jegathisan	“Factors Influencing Attitude Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Among Malaysians (Klang Valley)”
17	Ms. Adila Alias	“Stress Related Eating Behaviour”
18	Ms. Angela Natalia Nurdin	“The Effects of Viewing Urban versus Natural Settings on Selective Attention”
19	Mr. Raymond Tang	“Predictors of Sexual Experience: Comparison between Christianity and Chinese Religion”
20	Dr. Madihah Shukri	“The impact of socio-cognitive variables and work-family conflict on healthy eating in Malaysia”
21	Mr. Lai Wai Yoong	“Attending to Metaphor in Teenage Depression”
22	Mr. Tan Kok Wei	“Special salience of chrominance in face perception”
23	Ms. Jessica	“Perceived Stress and Life Satisfaction in Retirees: Personal Meaning as a Mediator”
24	Dr. Siah Poh Chua	“Preference for sons, perceived discrimination and belief in a just world”
25	Ms. Kang Mi Shel	“The Relationship between Leadership Styles, Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Styles in the Malaysian Banking Industry”
26	Ms. Ng Siew Mun	“The Mediating Role of Work Locus of Control on the Relationship between Conflict Resolution Styles, Organizational Citizenship Behaviours, and Mental Health among Nurses”
27	Ms. Ng Joe Xin	“A quantitative study: An analysis of emotional contagion in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment among Malaysian undergraduates”
28	Ms. Tan Lee Thong	“A study of the influence of positive gender stereotype on the visual performance among the university students in Malaysia”
29	Mr. Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin	“Personality traits as predictors of low self-control and aggressive behaviour: A study among Malaysian male murderers”
30	Ms. Fidelia Law Sing Erng	“The Effect of Approach-Avoidance Romantic Relationship Goals on Relationship Satisfaction”
31	Ms. Liew Wai Fong	“The Role of Body Size and Personal Characteristics Descriptions on Attitude towards Woman Manager in Malaysia”
32	Mr. Md. Salim Hossain	“Fine motor skills and accident proneness of garments worker”
33	Ms. Millie Ong from College	“Influence of slacktivism on traditional activism: The role of visibility of engagement”
34	Ms. Yvonne Teoh Kah Hooi	“Is Someone Watching You?: Judging Social Presence from Observing Emotional Reactions”
35	Mr. Alvin Tea	“Effects of Nostalgia and Music on Positive Affect and Branding in Advertising”

 

 

 

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