Exploring the human mind at HELP’s psychology school convention

IN light of the many exciting and rapid developments taking place as part of the 4th industrial revolution, the field of psychology has emerged as one of the fundamental drivers of these changes

The Psychology School Convention, held annually at HELP’s Subang 2 campus explores how various aspects of psychology, including Neuropsychology, Forensic (profiling criminals) and also Cognitive Psychology are shaping the way we think, work and live in the age of 4IR.

The event, which is free of charge, draws close to 1000 students every year from over 50 schools in the Klang Valley, Johor, Kuantan, Penang and Malacca.

The one day convention helps secondary school students experience psychology in a fun and interactive way through escape rooms, virtual reality demonstrations, experiential booths and workshops on current topics like online predators, anxiety disorders, managing stress, studying smart, bullying, music therapy and cyber addictions.

HELP University Faculty of Behavioural Science Dean, Dr Goh Chee Leong said psychology can provide solutions to address most of the major challenges faced by society.

“Psychology, through its scientific understanding of people, can present ideas that bring understanding, unity, peace, success, innovation and productivity, elements that can help Malaysia progress further,” he said.

To kick-start the Convention, Dr Goh, who is also the first Malaysian elected to the EXCO of the International Union of Psychological Science, began with a rousing keynote speech, discussing potential careers in psychology and surprised the audience with the abundance of careers in psychology and related careers.

Dr Choy TseeLeng the resident neuro scientist at HELP spoke about the functions and design of our brains, explaining how different parts of the brain work and what happens to us when specific brain structures are damaged.

Dr Eugene Tee, whose academic expertise focuses on human emotions, laid out the basic spectrum of emotions that people experience, such as anger, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness, and fear.

While these emotions are independent of each other, they can also be experienced at the same time, thus forming more complex or secondary emotions, such as anticipation, gratitude, shame, and even jealousy.

Elaine Fernandez, the current Head of the Department of Psychology, and a former graduate and valedictorian of the HELP Psychology programme, spoke on the topic of social psychology and how individuals relate to one another, how we deal with love and relationships, how beliefs and groups are formed, and how opposing groups deal with each other.

HELP’s Psychology Challenge saw the participation of around 30 schools, engaged in answering questions related to psychology.

The event culminated with SMK Kota Kemuning emerging the winner, and student Ng Han Xiang walking away with a full scholarship worth RM 90,000.

This year, The Psychology School Convention will be held on July 28th, 2018, and will focus on how Psychology is driving the 4th Industrial Revolution in areas like Virtual Reality research and neuropsychology experiments.

Students can also join HELP’s Psychology Challenge, to win the grand prize of a scholarship that will cover HELP’s Foundation programme and the 3 year Bachelor of Psychology degree programme in full.

Secondary school students from Form 3 and above can register directly for this event.

For more information and enquiries on this year’s Psychology Convention, please contact psyc.at.helpuni@gmail. com

The Department of Psychology at HELP offers undergraduate Psychology programs, such as the Bachelor of Psychology and Flinders-HELP Joint Degree programs.

There are 3 intakes per year – January, May, and August. The Orientation Day for next intake will occur on Aug 2324.Interested applicants who have completed their pre-university may contact Mr Joshua Yap at joshua.yap@help.edu.my

For Masters programmes, the Department of Psychology also offers the Masters in Counselling, and the Master of Clinical Psychology programme.