// Archives

Interview with Business FM

On Thursday February 2, Dr Steve J. was interviewed by Business FM. In the interview, he talked about autobiographical memory, which is people’s recollection of events that they have personally experienced. Autobiographical memory includes any personal event; from everyday events, such as what you had for breakfast, to highly significant events, such as when you …

The true percentage of scientific articles that never get cited

Every so often I see a message passing on social media in which someone claims that ‘90% of scientific articles will never be cited’. While I do not agree with the notion that a publication’s value is solely determined by the number of citations it receives, such statements can be damaging to science, because they …

Last Minute Tips… (Exams!)

The end of the academic year is just around the corner, and soon the senior students will be getting ready for their graduation, while the others prepare for their internships or holidays or a combination. This only means that it’s that time of the year (EXAMS!) where the night owls in us are awakened, and …

Does Listening to Music Help Improve Our Productivity?

When I first found myself working in an office shared with about 25 other people, I was a little overwhelmed from my colleagues busily typing away on their keyboards and laptops. So, to cope with that, I started plugging in my headphones with the playlists of the day on loop. The music did help with …

What Does Your Musical Preference Reveal About You?

I’ve always been fascinated by a person’s music preference, from the tunes he/she chose to play in the car to their CD collection. To me a person’s music taste acts as a window to the person’s personality. Intrigued by this notion, I decided to Google for some answers. The main research that was cited time …

How Your Job Affects Your Memory?

One of our assistant professors, Dr Jessica Price along with her PhD student, Wei Lin Poh were interviewed by DJ, Lee Chwi Lynn, one of the hosts of ‘The Bigger Picture’ programme on BFM radio on Monday, 14th April 2014. Dr Price specializes in written language comprehension in healthy ageing. She is also interested in …

Life of the Rich & Famous: The Psychology of Celebrity Worship

Channel E!, JustJared.com, US Magazine, TMZ, People Magazine, the list is endless, the obsession with celebrities is everywhere, it has become a part of our lives. “Did you see the dress Sarah Jessica Parker wore to the red carpet last weekend?” “Did you see what JLaw did at the Oscars last night?” The lives of …

Photoshop and Real Beauty

Has Photoshopped images of models and public figures gone too far? With the recent rise of celebrities taking a stand against digitally altered photographs of themselves (e.g. Kate Winslet slamming GQ magazine back in 2005 for making her body unrealistically thin, Brad Pitt requesting for unedited portraits for his W Magazine cover in 2009), and …

Life of an Intern: Cerca Insights, Penang

Last summer, two of our undergraduate students had the opportunity to intern at Cerca Insights, Penang, a Contract Research Organization (CRO) which specialized in behavioral pharmacology. Here are the summaries of their internship experiences: Marine Alneel (Year 3 Student in BSc (Hons) Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience): The opportunity of interning at Cerca Insights definitely was …

Life of an Intern – Memory & EEG

When I initially read the e-mail announcing various internship opportunities available over the summer break, my mind immediately got into action. I was extremely determined to secure a position as a summer intern and thus started going over the research interests of our faculty members. While doing so, a clear, easy decision was made. And …