People

DongWon Oh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is affiliated with the NUS Centre for Computational Social Science and Humanities. He is a 2024 APS Rising Star and a 2024 SESP Fellow. DongWon has received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Princeton University, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at New York University and Columbia University. DongWon’s interested in how biases from social contexts play out in perceptions and how these perceptions can be altered by individuals’ actions.

Lab Managers

Finneaz Moner is a Lab Manager with MAPLAB. He holds a B.S.S. in Psychology from the National University of Singapore. Driven by curiosity about social perception and the roots of discrimination, his research delves into how faces, voices, and language structures influence these social dynamics. He is also interested in how notions of social deviance are constructed. When he’s not immersed in research, you’ll likely find him on the field, chasing flying discs in a game of ultimate frisbee.

Shubham Choudhary chose a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics because he loves turning raw data into stories about how we think and feel. Introduced to psychology through AP Psychology and inspired by IB TOK debates with his psychology teacher, he first explored social perception by examining how online behaviors affect mental health. Now in the Oh Lab, he combines his computing skills and fascination with human behavior to design and run experiments that uncover the hidden patterns in our expressions and voices.
When he’s not at his screen, you’ll find Shubham writing eco‑fiction, strumming his sitar, or practicing yoga—always seeking the balance between analytical insight and human connection.

Yuqing Shi is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology at NUS. She holds an M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience and a B.S. in Psychology, both from Beijing Normal University. Her research centers on the cognitive processes involved in impression formation, emphasizing their variability across individuals and cultures. Outside of academia, Yuqing enjoys dancing, hiking, and video calling her cat.

Anqi Mao is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology at NUS. She earned her BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus. Her research focuses on person perception, combining computational modeling, eye-tracking methods, and behavioral experiments to investigate how people extract and process information from others’ faces, actions, and language during social interactions. Outside of academia, she enjoys dancing and has a special love for Guobaorou (a crispy sweet-and-sour pork dish from Northeast China).

Joy Tong is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology at NUS. She has a M.Phil. in Criminology from the University of Cambridge and has worked in applied forensic and organisational psychology settings. She has research interests in the applications of social cognitions in other-race face perception. Specifically, she is interested in how other-race contact, self-identity, emotions, and motivation influence other-race face recognition.

Michael Runquan Yu is a Ph.D. student in Psychology at the National University of Singapore. He earned a B.Soc.Sci. in Psychology from the University of Macau. His research investigates how humans perceive and respond to social cues, focusing on the mechanisms of movement patterns during face perception, social interaction in virtual reality, and real-time impression updating in naturalistic interactions.

Honors Thesis Students

Avril Goh is a Year 4 undergraduate pursuing a B.Soc.Sci (Hons) in Psychology at the National University of Singapore. She is particularly curious about the socio-cognitive aspects of psychology, seeking to understand how social contexts and cognitive processes shape thoughts, behaviours, and emotions, and how these insights can be applied to real-world issues. Her interests extend to trauma psychology, with hopes of supporting disaster-affected communities through mental health interventions that are compassionate, effective, and grounded in their lived experiences. Beyond academics, Avril enjoys magical realism literature and films, loving stories that mix the fantastical with the familiar.

Tamrita Pandrangi is a Year 4 NUS Psychology major with a strong interest in social cognition, particularly, how racial biases are formed, sustained, and updated within multicultural contexts. Beyond her research interests, Tamrita is passionate about community service and has worked with multiple people groups of varying needs and backgrounds. She is especially committed to using psychological insights to foster greater inclusion and equity in everyday social environments.

Tessa Ng is a Year 4 Psychology major with a Sociology minor. She is drawn to the diverse subfields of psychology and how they offer unique insights into human behaviour. Her academic interests centre on how empathy, social perception, conformity, social norms, and bias interact to influence mental health and and affect the way individuals relate to one another in increasingly diverse social environments. In addition, Tessa is interested in clinical psychology, with a focus on working with children on the spectrum. She hopes to apply these psychological concepts to support the development of a more compassionate society for individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Zhijun Li is an NUS undergraduate student pursuing a B.Soc.Sci (Hons) in Psychology, with a second major in English Literature, in the National University of Singapore. Her research interests lie mainly in the realm of social and cognitive psychology, with a focus on how gender perception, stigmas, and stereotypes shape behaviour. She is also interested in examining social perception of others based on external appearance, as well as self-representation of individuals in different settings. With her research, she hopes to advocate for equal rights. In her free time, she is interested in reading and ACGN subculture.

Hong Min Tan is an NUS undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Philosophy, with a Data Science minor. He is particularly interested in understanding how humans behave across various social contexts. He is also deeply drawn to the field of clinical psychology and seek to explore the intersection of human behavior and mental health.

G (Gurnoor) Kaur Suri is an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia pursuing a double-major in Psychology and Sociology. Fascinated by change-making, Gurnoor finds research to be the most powerful way to understand the “why” of all our social behaviours with a particular interest in empowerment, stereotyping, and social groups research.

Hua Shen is an undergraduate student majoring in B.Sc. Psychology and Language Sciences at the University College London. Her research interest focuses on developmental psychology, specifically how infants and children form their personality, behavior patterns, and emotional responses. She is also interested in social perception, and how these perceptions impact social interactions and relationships.

Sharanyaa Awasthi is an undergraduate student at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a B. Soc. Sci. in Psychology with a double major in Comms and New Media. She has a passion for psychopathology and is passionate about exploring the bio-psycho-social factors behind mental disorders. In Social Psychology, she finds concepts such as cognitive dissonance and group polarisation to be particularly fascinating.

Claresta Kong is an NUS undergraduate student pursuing a major in Psychology, with a minor in Forensic Science. She is particularly interested in the field of forensic psychology and is eager to explore the intersection between psychology and the criminal justice system. She enjoys reading and crocheting in her free time.

Elisha San is a Psychology undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a second major in Social Work. She is interested in understanding human behaviour, particularly how people perceive and relate to one another in social contexts. With a keen interest in clinical psychology, Elisha hopes to further explore the intersections between personality, social cognition, and mental health.

Muyang Sun is an undergraduate student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Psychology with a minor in Cultural Studies. His academic interests lie in the unified modeling of psychological processes and the intersections of behavioral, cognitive, developmental, and analytic psychologies with philosophical and cultural theory. Currently, he is exploring the use of AI to simulate and model various theoretical mental structures.

Yeow Ai Tong (Eva) is an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a double major in Psychology and Life Sciences. She’s interested in social perception, stereotyping, and cognitive biases, particularly how our beliefs and prior knowledge shape the way we interpret others. She is also deeply interested in clinical psychology, with the hope of exploring innovative approaches to improve mental health care and intervention. During her free time, she enjoys sports and learning languages.

Duan Shuo is an NUS undergraduate student majoring in Statistics and Computer Science, fascinated by the human factors in technology. Her experience as a research assistant in the MAP lab provides a crucial lens for her work in machine learning, driving her to explore how algorithms can understand and mitigate human cognitive biases rather than amplify them. She aims to pursue research at the intersection of ML and social science, developing more equitable intelligent systems that account for the complexities of human behavior.

Ananya Agarwal is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.Soc.Sci (Hons) in Psychology, with a second major in Communications & New Media, in the National University of Singapore. Her interests lie in pursuing clinical psychology in the future, specialising in helping and supporting youths facing various forms of mental health distress. In her free time, she enjoys baking, travelling, and cafe-hopping.

Kavya Singh is an NUS undergraduate majoring in psychology with a second major in Business Management. She is interested in social perception biases and cultural influences, and how they shape the way individuals interpret and respond to others in both everyday and consumer contexts. She is also curious about how these processes contribute to broader patterns in judgment and decision making. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching shows and cafe hopping.

Freesia Tong is an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a major in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology. She is particularly curious about psychotherapy and the biopsychosocial factors underlying childhood psychological disorders. With a background in the arts, Freesia hopes to meld her interests in the arts and psychological health. She is fascinated by its therapeutic potential and hopes to pursue art therapy in the future. When she’s not studying, Freesia can be found dancing, painting, and munching on bread.

In 2024/25, Shing Yu Yeo is an NUS Year 4 Psychology major. She is interested in social judgements and perceptual processes, and how they can be integrated to influence our perceptions. She is also interested in how differences in these areas may explain the various presentations in mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders. In her free time she enjoys exploring new things to learn, reading and drinking milk tea.

In 2023/24, TEO Ming Huang was a final year undergraduate student majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology at NUS. His interests lie in utilising facial and bodily features to investigate prevailing social perceptions and examine how they can be further utilised to gain insights on one’s affect. He is passionate about further studies in the field of Affective Computing and Social Psychology. In his free time, he enjoys hiking and loves listening to K-RnB music.

In 2023/24, Jothiga BASKARAN was a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology at NUS. Her research interests include social perception and cognition, particularly stereotypes and individual differences influencing person perception. Jothiga is also passionate about mental health and aspires to become a clinical psychologist in the future to help those suffering from various forms of mental health distress (aims to specialise in eating disorders).

In 2023/24, Minkyung KIM was a Year-4 Psychology major. She is compelled to indulge in various aspects of human perception formations and their corresponding impacts on cognitions and behaviors. Minkyung is especially interested in the factors that affect the formation of the first impression and their influences. Additionally, Minkyung is highly interested in developmental psychology, especially in children’s moral development and the impact of family and parenting on children’s development.

In 2023/24, Natasha TAN was a final year undergraduate student double majoring in Psychology and Communications and New Media at NUS. Her interests lie in learning about various mental disorders, specifically exploring the various underlying psychological and environmental factors that influence its development and maintenance. Natasha also is a big advocate for mental health, and aspires to be a clinical psychologist in the future to help improve the lives of individuals affected by such conditions.

In 2023/24, Dian Lin was a final year student with a double major in Psychology and Chinese Studies in NUS. Dian’s research interests include social cognition, motivation, and the development of social cognition and morality. Dian is passionate about further studies in the field of social psychology. In Dian’s free time, Dian enjoys watching movies and visiting exhibitions.

SIn 2024/25, Sakshi Pizanis  is an undergraduate student pursuing a B.A. (Hons) in Psychology at Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi. She is deeply intrigued by the complexities of the human brain and how our environment shapes perception. Her passion extends to understanding substance abuse, human anatomy and physiology, mental disorders, and advocating for mental health. Sakshi enjoys traveling and exploring in her free time.

In 2024/25, Su Kee Tan  is a Master’s student in the Department of Psychology at NUS, where she also earned her B.Sc. in Psychology. Her research focuses on children’s social cognition, fueled by a deep curiosity about how human social understanding develops. She is currently studying the development of children’s facial perception and their understanding of traits. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, spending time with dogs, and practicing yoga and Pilates. She works in the NUS Child Development Lab.

In 2024/25, Nikita Ong is a Year 4 student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Social Work. She is interested in how individual processes, such as self-evaluation, social cognition and impression management, perpetuate systemic social inequality. Her academic pursuit is fuelled by her professional aspiration as a social worker, as she hopes to carry her learnings forward in her potential work with marginalised and vulnerable populations.

In 2024/25, Xin Ni Goh  is is a Year 4 Psychology major with a Statistics minor. Fascinated by the kaleidoscope of psychology’s diverse fields, she is passionate about exploring how different perspectives converge to shed light on the complexities of human behaviour. Her interests lie particularly in empathy, prosocial behaviour, trauma, human resilience, and how these elements intertwine to impact mental health. Xin Ni’s academic journey is driven by a strong curiosity to understand these interconnected areas, with a focus on how they can be harnessed to improve mental health outcomes.

in 2024/25, Piaa Ong is a Year 4 Psychology major who is interested in social perceptions with regard to how they could be informed by internalised value systems, as well as how they could influence behaviour such as discrimination or neglect. He also holds a keen interest in clinical psychology, in particular working with youth in navigating socioemotional challenges.

In 2024/25, Raeann Ong  is a psychology undergraduate at the National University of Singapore. She is currently interested in clinical psychology and hopes to explore how different temperaments and personality traits relate to mental health and one’s overall well-being. Through the MAP Lab, she’s excited to gain hands-on research experience and figure out where her main interests might lie. But beyond psychology, she’s happiest with a camera in her hand and a trip to plan.

National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

National University of Singapore

University of Rhode Island

Purdue University

University of Reading – Malaysia

University of Reading – Malaysia

University of Nottingham – Malaysia

Johns Hopkins University

If you are interested in joining the lab or collaboration, contact DongWon directly at doh [at] nus [dot] edu [dot] sg.