Haidar Buldan Thontowi, S.Psi., M.A., Ph.D.

Research Interest

Cultural psychology, social relations, trust, happiness, and achievement.

Haidar Buldan Thontowi is an academic and researcher in the field of psychology with a strong international educational background. He completed his undergraduate education at the Faculty of Psychology, Gadjah Mada University in 2010, and then continued his master’s studies in the General Psychology Program at New York University, which he finished in 2013. His academic achievements continued with a doctorate obtained from St Andrews University, England, in 2020.


Currently, Haidar serves as an academic staff member at the Faculty of Psychology, Gadjah Mada University. His expertise focuses on educational psychology as well as social and community psychology. His research interests include cultural psychology and social relations, reflecting his global perspective in understanding human behavior within cultural and social contexts. Haidar is also actively developing his teaching skills, as evidenced by his participation in the Basic Instructional Techniques Skills Enhancement Training (Pelatihan Dasar bagi Dosen UGM dan Pelatihan Peningkatan Keterampilan Dasar Teknik Instruksional (PEKERTI)) in 2021. With an international educational background and a focus on educational and social psychology, Haidar brings a unique perspective to the development of psychology in Indonesia.

  • Disaster Resilient Nurses: Strengthening the Psychological Preparedness of Local Nurses in Mamuju in Facing Disaster Emergencies [2024]
Student NameResearch Title
Wresti WrediningsihElementary School Students Flourishing Model
Sovi SeptaniaDigital Well-Being: Concept and Measurement
Rahmat Fitrah TuasikalInter-Ethnic Friendship Relations of Senior High School Students in Ambon City Post-Conflict

Azizy, A. H., & Thontowi, H. B. (2024). Stigma, Support, and Ideation About Suicide in Indonesian Twitter: A Topic Modelling Study. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying,0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228241253972

Hanif, F., Aprilia, G., Buchari, Z., & Thontowi, H. (2024). Psikologi siber: Reaksi warganet Twitter terhadap kasus pencabulan oleh Mas Bechi sebagai cerminan nilai dan sikap. Jurnal Psikologi Sosial, 22(1), 41-53. https://doi.org/10.7454/jps.2024.06

Ramdhani, N., Thontowi, H. B., & Ancok, D. (2018). Affective reactions among students belonging to ethnic groups engaged in prior conflict. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.1017/prp.2017.22

Thontowi, H. B. (2015). Something to share about AASP Summer School 2013, Yogyakarta. Asian Association of Social Psychology Newsletter, Issue: 30, page: 8-9.

Thontowi, H. B., Wulandari, R. C., Hakim, M. A., Moordiningsih., Yuniarti, K. W., & Kim, U. (2014). Causes of anger among senior high school students in Indonesia: An indigenous psychology approach. International Journal of Research 3(2), 29-38. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsp.2014.104

Hakim, M. A., Thontowi, H. B., Yuniarti, K. W., & Kim, U. (2012). The basis of children’s trust towards their parents in Java, ngemong: Indigenous psychological analysis. International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 1(2), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsp.2012.v1i2.78

Thontowi B.H. (2011). Causes of anger among Indonesian senior high school students. Poster presented in 9th Biennial Conference of Asian Social Psychological Association, Kunming China.

Ancok, D., Ramdhani, N., & Thontowi, H. B. (2011). Emotional expression of in-group members towards out-group members among groups involved in Ethnic Conflicts. Presented by the first author in the 9th Biennal Conference of Asian Social Psychological Association, Kunming China.

Ancok D. Ramdhani N. Thontowi, H. B. (unpublished). Affective Personality and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among Employees in Kudus State Owned Electrical Company. Yogyakarta: Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada

2022 Validasi linguistik alat analisis teks: pengembangan kamus bahasa indonesia linguistic inquiry and word count (liwc)
2022 Rasisme terhadap etnis papua di Indonesia
2020 Reaksi terhadap pandemi korona ditinjau dari analisis twitter
2020 Konstruksi memori dan identitas nasional antargenerasi di Indonesia
2014 Acculturation orientations of Muslim majority group members towards minority Chinese in Indonesia. I am the principal investigator.
2014-2015 The role of implicit theories and competition on group bias and perception of threat towards the Chinese. I am the principal investigator.
2012-2013 Master’s thesis “Intergroup Bias between Ethnic Groups: The Role of Competition and Implicit Theories.” I was involved in: designing and conducting the experiment, data entry and data analysis, writing the report.
2012-2013 Research Assistant in Aronson Lab, New York University. I was involved in doing literature reviews and data entry.
2010-2011 Research Assistant for Research Project “Study of Conflict in Indonesia: Post Reforms Era”, Faculty of Psychology Universitas Gadjah Mada. I was engaged in discussing the method of the experiment, collecting data, statistical analyses using SPSS, and writing the report.
2009-2010 Undergraduate Thesis “Influences of Affect on Borrowing Behavior”
2009 Research Assistant for World Class Research University Team “Studies on Trust, Happiness and Achievement in Indonesia”, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada in collaboration with Inha Univesity, Korea. I was engaged in collecting data, data analyses by categorizing responses into themes, research meetings in evaluating the methods and findings of the research.
2009 Research Assistant for Development of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Scales in Indonesia, in collaboration with Faculty of Psychology, University of Boras, Sweden. I was engaged in the process of linguistic validation of the scales, data collection as well as data analyses using SPSS.
2009 Research Assistant for Research Project “Influences of Affective Personality on Organizational Citizenship Behavior”. I was engaged in writing the research proposal, data collection, data analyses using SPSS, and writing the final report.
2013Park Jung-heun Young Scholar Travel Award, Asian Association for Social Psychology (AASP)
2013Master’s Scholar Award for excellent academic achievement, New York University
2013Best Poster (honorable mention) Department of Psychology MA Conference, New York University
2011Fulbright-DIKTI Masters Scholar Award
2011-2012Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) tuition scholarship from New York University
2008Recipient of Grant for the Student Creativity Program Competition, to implement “Program for Improving Social Skills for Child Prisoners in Kutoarjo Child Prison to Reduce Aggression,” organized by the National Department of Education 2008