Name of Activity / Programme / Experience
SMU - X: PSYC307 Psychology Study Mission
What motivated you to participate?
As an aspiring researcher, I felt like the practical aspect of applied psychology is really something we do not have much time to interact with. The moment I heard this would be an SMU-X module, I knew it would be a treat!
A brief reflection on your overall experience
I thought the trip was truly packed to the gills. From the intensity of the assignment after we arrived at NCKU, to the wonderful times we had eating at the cultural heart of Taiwan (Tainan), I experienced first-hand difficulties in managing cross-cultural projects. This manifested in so many different ways including interpersonal conflicts, role management as well as how individuals responded to the outcomes of the overall project. I felt like this was an eye opening experience, especially because I am particularly interested in the field of cultural psychology as well!
How did this add value to our SMU education or professional development?
As someone who intends to become a seasoned researcher, I feel like looking at practical applications of theories and learning how they could manifest in many different ways in the real world is really valuable and interesting since we spend so much time learning about the theoretical perspectives and expected outcomes.
Why Asia? What advice would you give to juniors considering a similar experience?
Asia is one of the least studied areas in psychology. As one of the greatest criticisms to the current body of literature being that it is dominated by WEIRD sample sizes, I feel like working with non-WEIRD samples to be particularly rewarding as confirming or disconfirming theoretical perspectives are both relevant and significant contributions!
