Social sciences Psychology

In Hong Kong’s fast-paced lifestyle, many people need to multitask in order to get things done, and whether this ability is innate or can be developed through training has long been a subject of academic debate. A recent study by the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has found that multitasking is not a singular skill, but rather a composite of various cognitive abilities, and the research team suggests that systematic training has the potential to enhance performance across work and learning contexts. Their findings have been published in the prestigious international Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance and were selected as an editor’s choice article.

With youth mental health commanding increasing attention in recent years, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Psychological Counselling Alliance, composed of the Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre in the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University and 16 higher education institutions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), held a conference at the Lingnan@West Kowloon learning hub today, 16 June. The universities in the Alliance agreed to integrate Lingnan University’s Wellness Ambassador Programme (WAP) training modules into their peer counselling programmes in order to support students’ psychological development and improve mental health on campuses and in communities.

To increase academic exchanges and collaboration between the two psychology institutions, a delegation from the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University visited the School of Psychology at Shenzhen University on 4 June, and was warmly received by Prof Chen Qi, Dean of the School of Psychology of Shenzhen University, and members of the faculty. They discussed new directions for disciplinary development,and decided to begin preparatory work officially for a joint master’s double-degree programme in applied psychology.

Cosmic hide-and-seek, Controlling quantum light, Thinking face robot, Live DNA folding & Menopause-dementia link. Plus latest SciCom Coffee talk. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

A well-timed “furrowed face”—a subtle expression we instinctively recognize as “thinking”—can make androids appear less creepy and more relatable to humans.

A virtual reality experiment suggests that fear, pain, and expectations shaped by prior experiences can disrupt the mind’s grip on the body.

To encourage the university community to take regular exercise and think positively through physical activities, Lingnan University in Hong Kong held a fundraising film screening of the documentary Four Trails in Yuen Long yesterday, 7 March. A group of runners, along with the film’s production team, attended the post-screening sharing session, where they chatted with students and faculty, sharing behind-the-scenes stories. The event attracted an audience of about a hundred, and all proceeds will be donated to the Outstanding Athletics Awards Fund for students at the University.

The intersection of technology and psychological health has become a critical area of enquiry in interpersonal, workplace and organisational contexts in the digital era. With the support of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance, the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University in collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University and Renmin University hosted the inaugural International Conference and Workshop on Health and Well-being in the Digital Era on the Lingnan campus yesterday, 21 February. The conference continues today, 22 February, on Sun Yat-sen University’s Shenzhen campus. It highlights the crucial role of psychological science in shaping AI applications across work, healthcare, and daily life, and attracted about 160 participants on the first day.

Mental health in the young has become a growing concern in recent years. To improve the psychological wellbeing of university students in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the Department of Psychology at Lingnan University has conducted a five-year longitudinal study through a series of mental health education courses. The programme aims to enhance students' resilience, psychological knowledge, and basic counselling skills. Using questionnaires, the study seeks to find out the effect of such interventional mental health programmes on their psychological wellbeing. Results show that participants’ resilience, prosocial behaviour, and growth mindset have improved significantly, and their negative mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety have diminished.

How people decide to confront or avoid unfairness

Born from 1995 to 2012, Gen Z is motivated by financial pragmatism, personal achievement, and values-driven work distinctive from older generations.

SUTD researchers had set out to test the effect of bilingualism in mitigating cognitive decline in older adults. The team developed and conducted a novel game-based cognitive training programme and found that older adults who played in dual-language mode improved their cognitive skills more than those who played in single-language mode.

Eye-contact has a significant impact on interpersonal evaluation, and online job interviews are no exception. In addition to the quality of a resume, the direction of the interviewee’s gaze might help (or hinder) their chances of securing the job.

Lingnan University's Department of Psychology was honoured to host delegations from Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai (BNU Zhuhai) and East China Normal University (ECNU) for a series of enriching visits and academic exchanges. These visits were a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing between the institutions.

Findings could aid research into how information presentation might prevent human error

SUTD researchers found that younger children were likelier to accept new information from a human than a social robot, even if both informants were previously shown to provide inaccurate information.

… all while discovering how the Universe evolved, how galaxies form and where the elements come from.

Japanese fossil forest found, AI finds a way to people’s hearts, Language diversity and child social development & Supplement for kidney disease. Plus Submissions open for Asia Research News 2024. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice.

Greetings from JHSSR, Horizon is proud to announce the highly acclaimed publication of the latest issue of 2023, Vol. 5, Issue 1 (Jul. 2023). The issue is now live at the Journal’s webpage. You may explore our range of contributions within this Issue. Explore this issue, click the links below.

Tree rings forecast extreme weather in central Asia, Squid 🦑and chemistry make versatile hydrogels, James Webb telescope reveals the earliest galaxies & Reducing negative effects of screen time. Read all in the latest Editor's Choice. Plus our latest journalist resource "Experts for Media: Antimicrobial Resistance "🦠.

Team studies discrimination, mental distress, and work impairment in COVID-19 survivors.

New research from Osaka University indicates that more screen time at age 2 is associated with poorer communication and daily living skills at age 4—but when kids also play outdoors, some of the negative effects of screen time are reduced. Increasing outdoor play time could reduce the negative effects of screen time on daily living skills by almost 20%.

Training individuals to inhibit imitation of others increases empathy and allows them to recognize facial expressions in others regardless of their situations.

Exploring virtual human-agent relationships, A fly protein gives clue for human cancers, Rare earth elements formed in neutron star mergers 💥, One-stop process for hydrogen production. Read all in the November's Editor's Choice plus Upcoming event K4DM KNOWLEDGE MARKETPLACE – Bangkok 2022: Exchanging Ideas for a Democratic Myanmar.

New research identifies a unique way that people find connection in the modern world and provides novel insight into the fields of anthropomorphism, virtual interactions, and relationship science.

Demonstration of embodied cognition mechanisms in the brain could have implications for artificial intelligence.

Commercially available transparent face masks allow for the perception of facial expressions while suppressing the dispersion of respiratory droplets that spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and thus have a clear advantage over surgical face masks.

A research team has studied how humans react to the introduction of AI decision making. Specifically, they explored the question, “is society ready for AI ethical decision making?” by studying human interaction with autonomous cars.

A recent infant study suggests that the visual experience in daily life contributes to the emergence of upper visual field bias for faces.

Feeling unsure of yourself? Your brain’s background noise may be interfering with the long memory signals communicated by your neurons’ electrical chatter.