BSI-News (Volume 6, Issue 4) | Behavioural Sciences Initiative

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Volume 6, Issue 4 (December 2016)

Announcements

	•	BSI Conference 2017, with the theme “Unintended Consequences in Singapore”, will be held on 24 February 2017 at Orchard Hotel. Speakers and panelists include Arnoud De Meyer, Lily Kong, Tommy Koh, Chan Heng Chee, Kishore Mahbubani, Han Fook Kwang, Tan Kok Yam, Neo Boon Siong, Lim Lai Cheng, Jeremy Lim, Mathew Mathews, Paulin Straughan and David Chan. Details will be available when registration opens in early January 2017.
	•	Professor David Chan has been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre.


BSI Outreach

The following are some BSI outreach activities that took place in October-December 2016.



(From left: Prof Chan, Prof Diener and Prof De Meyer)

•	On 27 October, BSI, in collaboration with SMU Office of University Events, hosted world-renowned psychologist Professor Ed Diener at SMU where he delivered a public lecture on well-being and public policy under the Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series. Following the talk, Professor David Chan joined Professor Diener in a panel discussion moderated by SMU President Arnoud De Meyer. [Link to summary report of the lecture]

•	At the JurongHealth Quality Month Ceremony, Professor David Chan delivered a keynote address where he spoke about quality service and safety in healthcare at both the individual and organisational levels.

•	Professor David Chan was an invited panelist at the Societal Leadership Summit where he talked about leader’s well-being in societal leadership from both a research and a practical personal experience perspective, focusing on applications from behavioural sciences.

Upcoming BSI Seminars

•		17 January 2017 Meaning and Satisfaction in Everyday Life Seminar by William Tov Associate Professor of Psychology, Singapore Management University

•		24 January 2017 It Can’t Be All Bad: Can Workplace Interactions Improve Well-Being at Work and the Work-Home Interface? Seminar by Devasheesh Bhave Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources, Singapore Management University

•	31 January 2017 Avoiding Hunger or Attaining Fullness? Implicit Theories of Satiety Guide Portion Selection and Food Intake Patterns Seminar by Bobby K. Cheon Nanyang Assistant Professor, Division of Psychology, Nanyang Technological University

•	7 February 2017 Reconciling an Apparent Contradiction: How Do Asians Maintain Motivation While Making External Attributions? Seminar by Evelyn Au Assistant Professor of Psychology, Singapore Management University

•	14 February 2017 Motivating Safety and Security Behaviors: An Illustration of Personal Factors that Contribute to Food Safety Seminar by Verlin B. Hinsz Professor of Psychology, North Dakota State University

•	7 March 2017 When and Why Envious Leaders become Laissez-faire Leaders: The Moderating Role of Envied Follower’s Benevolence Seminar by Kenneth Tai Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources, Singapore Management University

•	14 March 2017 Vocational Interest Congruence and Job Performance: Person × Occupation Cross-Level Interactions Seminar by Serena Wee Assistant Professor of Psychology, Singapore Management University

•	21 March 2017 How Can We Change Others' Preferences Effectively? Seminar by Tsai Ming-Hong Assistant Professor of Psychology, Singapore Management University

•	4 April 2017 The Cost of Ties: Explaining Balance and Status in Signed Tie Formation Seminar by Nicholas Harrigan Assistant Professor of Sciology, Singapore Management University

Highlights of Recent BSI Seminars

		•	11 October 2016 Albert Lee, Assistant Professor of Psychology, NTU, presented a seminar titled “The Underlying Processes of Metaphorical Cleansing”. He discussed the research findings on temporal distancing and proposed psychological separation of the self as a key underlying process that explains the attitudinal and behavioural effects of physical cleansing.

		•	25 October 2016 Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Associate Professor of Sociology, SMU, presented a seminar titled “How do Living Arrangements and Intergenerational Support Matter for Psychological Health of Elderly Parents? Evidence from Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand”. She discussed how cultural differences across Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand may influence the relationship between living arrangements and psychological health of elderly parents in these countries.

		•	8 November 2016 Bobby K. Cheon, Nanyang Assistant Professor of Psychology, NTU, presented a seminar titled “Mere Experience of Low Subjective Socioeconomic Status Stimulates Appetite and Food Intake”. He discussed how the subjective sense of relative low socioeconomic status could stimulate appetite and food intake thereby leading to increased caloric consumption and weight gain.

Insights from Behavioural Sciences

In this regular section on Insights from Behavioural Sciences, we feature an invited commentary in which Professor David Chan explained how cynicism works and suggested how harmful cynicism can be turned into healthy scepticism. The article was published in The Straits Times on 19 November 2016. [LINK]

Applications from Behavioural Sciences

In this regular section on Applications from Behavioural Sciences, we feature an invited commentary from Professor David Chan where he reviewed Singapore's major happenings in 2016 and discussed how they are related to important future-focused issues concerning Singaporeans and the country. The article was published in The Straits Times on 17 December 2016. [LINK]

We also feature comments from Professor David Chan, who was one of the three experts on a Straits Times roundtable discussing issues of terrorism in Singapore. He noted that terrorism has evolved such that a terrorist attack can be carried out by anyone, and it can happen anywhere and everywhere. He also explained how research on diffusion of responsibility can explain why in some crowded situations we do not do anything even when we observe something suspicious, and recognizing this and taking action could make a real difference to not just ourselves and our family but also the entire country. He noted the importance of building cohesion and trust among various groups in Singapore, embracing diversity, and building a core value common identity to address differences. The articles were published in The Straits Times on 20 November 2016. ISIS losing ground, but extending reach How prepared is Singapore for an attack? The day after: Would Singaporeans stay unified?

About BSI The Behavioural Sciences Institute (BSI) is a multi-disciplinary research institute for creating, disseminating and applying scientific knowledge about human behaviours in various social, organisational and cultural settings. For more information on BSI, please refer to our website. Should you have any further enquiries, do contact us with the email or phone contact details provided below.

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