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 Manager

Firdaus Moner is a final year student pursuing a double major in Psychology and Sociology with a Linguistics minor. 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.

Michael Runquan Yu is an M.Res. student in the Department of Psychology at NUS, holding a B.Soc.Sci in Psychology from the University of Macau. His research focuses on human behavioral and neural responses in social contexts, with a particular interest in how emotions, personality traits, and physiological responses shape social interactions.

Anqi Mao is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology at NUS. She earned her B.Sc. in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham – Malaysia. She is dedicated on a captivating journey in the realm of Social Perception, fueled by a profound curiosity about how individuals extract information from other’s facial features, facial expressions and actions during social interactions.

Yuqing Shi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology at NUS. She holds an M.S. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Beijing Normal University and a B.S. in Psychology from the same university. Her research interests lie in the naturalistic social perception and its neural representation, particularly focusing on the computational modeling of the dynamic processes of human interaction. Besides her academic pursuits, Yuqing finds joy in Latin dancing, hiking, and video calling with her cat.

Joy Tong is a Ph.D. student 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, specifically in terms of how quantity and quality of intergroup contact influence decisions in criminal justice and other settings.

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.

Honors Thesis Students

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.