UTAR Faculty of Arts and Social Science (FAS) Department of Psychology and Counselling Senior Lecturer N. Sarvarubini and Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) Psychology student Lee Jia Jie won the Best Presenter Award respectively at the International Conference on Psychology (IConPsy 2022).

Held from 4 to 5 December 2022 at Trove Hotel, Johor Bahru, the conference was organised by the School of Human Resource Development and Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

Themed, The Role of Psychology in the IR5.0 Empowering Human Intelligence and Well-Being, the conference aimed to bring together scholars and researchers to stimulate exchanges of research findings and panel discussions on various topics in psychology and social science. The conference also included keynote speeches and oral presentations of peer-reviewed papers. The IConPsy 2022 was graced by two honourable key speakers, namely Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Hatta bin Shaharom and Assoc Prof Dr Wen-Dong Li.

Sarvarubini’s research was titled “Family support and life satisfaction among Malaysian elderly: The mediating role of perceived filial piety”. Her research paper discussed the impact of family support and the traditional familial value known as filial piety on the life satisfaction of the elderly. Her research findings suggest that the effect of family support on elderlies’ life satisfaction may be related to their perceived filial piety.

On the other hand, Lee’s research was titled “The relationship between self-esteem, fear of COVID-19 and Instagram addiction among undergraduates in Malaysia”. Her paper urged policymakers and relevant authorities to pay more attention to the overall well-being of undergraduates by educating them on healthy ways to cope with fear and anxiety rather than allowing them to engage in compulsive Instagram use, as well as providing more accessible psychological support to the at-risk population.

Sarvarubini and Lee walked away with an e-certificate each.

Sarvarubini enthused, “I am very happy to receive the recognition. It is a significant achievement for our research. We are glad that the findings of our research grabbed the attention and impressed the audience. Apart from gaining valuable insights into the research field, I also developed some networking among other researchers. I believe this first-hand experience will always serve as a reminder that never say no before you even give it a try because the sky is the limit, and that will motivate me to continue striving in my future endeavours.” She added, “I think recognition is important in a sense that it acknowledges the substantial amount of time and hard work we have dedicated to the work, and it is commendable and praiseworthy to recognise the effort we have given to pave the way towards success.”

Lee said, “I was so surprised when my name was announced as one the best presenters during the closing ceremony of the conference. In the beginning, I was intimidated by the fact that it was my first experience attending and presenting at a physical conference. However, with unconditional support from my family, friends and supervisor, I tried my best and eventually, was very grateful and honoured to be awarded as the best presenter.”

Lee’s supervisor, Dr Ooh Seow Ling enthused, “It provides an excellent platform for our students to present their final-year work and exchange ideas with experts in the field of psychology. I am happy about her accomplishment and that her hard work has been recognised. I have no doubt that she has learnt a lot from this conference that will benefit her in her future profession. I also believe this competition helps students to enrich their knowledge particularly to acquire up-to-date knowledge about psychological trends in Malaysia from conference experts. As a result, the students become confident in conducting research.”